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Indigenous or Traditional knowledge has been defined as the knowledge base acquired by Indigenous peoples and local people over many hundreds of years through direct contact with the environment and passed on from one generation to another. This is the basis of local-level decision-making in the economy, health, education, natural resource management, etc.

Since the ‘Earth Summit’, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992, the idea of Sustainable Livelihoods (SL) began as an approach to maintain or enhance natural resources productivity and the capacity of individuals or communities to engage in activities that sustain their well-being while safeguarding the environment’s vitality and robustness. In essence, SL brings together the thinking and practice of poverty reduction strategies, sustainable development and, participation and empowerment process into a framework for policy analysis and programming.

Indigenous knowledge systems (IKS) are the complex arrays of knowledge, know-how, practices and representations that guide human societies in their innumerable interactions with the natural milieu: agriculture and animal husbandry; hunting, fishing and gathering; struggles against disease and injury; naming and explaining natural phenomena; and strategies for coping with changing environments. IKS is inextricably mixed up with this participatory process of the agro-economic system under the decentralised governance and institutional mechanism for sustainable use and conservation of bio-resources.

The study of Indigenous knowledge systems as part of common property resources and their interactions with the surrounding ecology falls within the purview of Anthropology, particularly within the realms of cultural ecology or environmental anthropology. The Anthropologists understand Indigenous knowledge as participants’ knowledge of their temporal and social space. In this context, the Anthropological method of holism is a particular kind of epistemology. The term Indigenous knowledge system delineates a cognitive structure in which theories and perceptions of Nature and culture are conceptualised.

The study focuses on three Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG) of Madhya Pradesh, viz. Baiga, Bhariya and Sahariya, Attempts have been made in this paper in Anthropological perspectives to discuss the role of Indigenous knowledge in attempting sustainable livelihood for achieving sustainable development in three Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG) in Madhya Pradesh.

Keywords: Indigenous, Knowledge, Community, Livelihood, Management, Sustainability.

The COVID-19 affected individuals and institutions alike. Not only did it change human lives from the context of the biological, it simultaneously transformed the psychological, economic, social and educational lives too. This paper attempts to look into the online classes, specifically for Kindergarten and Grade One students, which became the norm during the years 2020 and 2021. It aims to see how it affected the caregivers (parents, particularly mothers) who were indirectly yet actively engaged and associated with this new medium of academic training. This paper discusses the investigation of parents to find out how this process affected their daily routines and what modifications they had to adopt in order to offer their children the proper guidance they required. It proposes to view what gender concerns arose in the management of this situation and how socio-economic backgrounds influenced the conduct of online classes. The psychological implications and effects are also equally delved into to understand how this set-up touched the stakeholders. This paper, in all, aims to depict how COVID-19 induced many striking transformations and reasserted the presence of inequalities, which were not just physical but also behavioural, emotional and psychological.

Keywords: COVID-19, online classes, children, parents, inequalities

This paper explores the rising informalisation of the economy in a semi-urban space in a transitioning nation through a case study of zardozi casual workers. Through fieldwork and personal narratives of precarious zardozi workers, their experiences have been captured to assess their socio-economic conditions, operating at the intersection of the formal and informal economies. Individual stories of 50 respondents from localities, including Rakabganj and Bhiyon, situated in the marketplace of Farrukhabad, were collected using a narrative inquiry approach. This methodology was chosen as the study focuses on the subjective experiences of zardozi workers in their everyday lives.

The paper finds that contractual labour forms the basis of informal zardozi work, where workers are employed either in workshops or at home, depending on the mode of payment. Through descriptive analysis, it reflects on various themes, including the gendered workspace, increased surveillance in informal settings, wage differentiation, the role of contractors and subcontractors in the recruitment process, rising precarity and poverty risk among zardozi workers, increasing horizontal mobility among zardozi workers, and the dual work burden on female workers with the growing feminisation of labour.

This study is significant as it highlights the complex, interwoven nature of the informal economic structure in a semi-urban locality, illustrating the interlinkages between formal and informal economies. It concludes that, rather than leading to formalisation, increasing development in India has resulted in a deeper embeddedness of the informal sector. Adopting a bottom-up approach, this study seeks to understand the everyday lives of poor informal workers, who remain the backbone of the rising global market yet continue to be excluded from the recurring gains of international trade.

Keywords: semi-urban, contractors, dual work burden, surveillance, informalisation.

Studies have shown that the main reasons for adolescent pregnancy are due to curiosity, immaturity, lack of sex education, financial dependence, family problems as well as uncontrollable emotions, which result in adolescent pregnancy out of wedlock. It is inevitable for adolescent mothers to face a lot of challenges and issues. This study aims to find out their lived experiences as adolescent mothers out of wedlock, covering their socio-economic background, psychosocial health and mental health issues. The study tries to understand the impact of their financial independence decision-making power and, lastly, to identify their support systems. This qualitative study is based on the exploratory research design, and purposive sampling was applied while selecting the five participants (16-18 years) from the city of Shillong, Meghalaya.

Keywords: Lived experiences, out of wedlock, adolescent mothers, psychosocial issues.

This paper outlines methodological and ethical concerns of conducting research with children and locating them as collaborators in the research process. The paper draws from broader research- an ethnographic study which argued that researching with children, especially on the issues concerning their lives (including play) requires a distinct orientation to the research subject/ theme, an evolved set of methods and techniques to encourage their participation (Sharma, 2021). Reiterating children’s positionality in the research process, the paper exhibits that children are experts in their own lives. Adopting the social constructionist perspective, the paper talks about data-generation methods following a mosaic approach (Fraser et al., 2004) including strategies and negotiations taken up by the researcher in the field. Some of these include- navigating the parental consent, utilising the play time for rapport building and interaction, developing a shared vocabulary, and lastly, negotiating the twofold power structure between the researcher and the researched (adult and the child). Further, some of the ethical considerations discussed include children’s capacity to understand what the research is about, in giving assent or informed consent, concerns of privacy between parents and children, being sensitive to the implications of rights of privacy- how a researcher can find ways to give active voice to children’s experiences and how children and childhood’s conceptualisation has a bearing upon the way children are viewed. Lastly, examining critically the socially subordinate positioning of children, this paper establishes them as social actors and rightful collaborators in the research process.

Keywords: Researching with children, Mosaic-approach, Social-construction of childhood, Play, Ethics

Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are essential in research, diagnostics, agriculture, medicine, animal husbandry, anthropological research, and many more, as they shed light on genetic diversity, population dynamics, and evolutionary connections. The present study focused on the identification of the Duffy intronic variant (a SNP) (C5411T; C>T) (rs863002), which has been shown to be strongly associated with malaria. A total of 242 samples were analysed by a modified allele-specific PCR and TaqMan assay. About 5% of the sample’s genotypes were confirmed on Sanger Sequencing.

In the present study, an efficient allele-specific PCR (AS-PCR) methodology was developed and validated to successfully identify the Duffy intronic variant by end-point PCR. The results obtained by AS-PCR and TaqMan SNP genotyping assay technique were compared for concordance, and the percentage of identity between the two techniques was found to be 100%. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are frequently used as genetic markers in studying population structure and genetics. The present study focused on the identification of a specific genetic variant associated with malaria. The study collected blood samples from different geographical regions and developed an efficient PCR methodology to identify the variant. The modified PCR technique used in this study does not require additional treatments, making it cost-effective and time-efficient.

The simple AS-PCR methodology developed can be used in anthropological studies to understand human genetic diversity and migration patterns.

Keywords: Allele-specific PCR (AS-PCR), DNA Sequencing, single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), markers, TaqMan assay.

Food has always been an integral part of all living organisms. Anthropologists have been interested in food and food-related studies for a long time. Next to breathing, eating is the most essential of all human activities and one with which much of our social life is intertwined. Thus, because of its centrality in our lives, food acts as a vehicle for rituals, and food rituals have become central to most religions. Food taboos are also as universal as food, as religious identity plays a massive part in the formation of cultural food taboos. Food has always been a topic of interest among the Sangtam people. The tribe has a deep-rooted culture of beliefs and rituals in their personal and communal life. With the advent of Christianity in the early twentieth century, Sangtam people gradually shifted their belief system into their newfound faith; some Indigenous beliefs and rituals associated with food, practised by the people for many generations, were discarded, and some merged with their new beliefs.

This study is based on fieldwork conducted among the Sangtam tribe in Sanphure village, Kiphire District, Nagaland, from January 15 to March 22, 2020. Using anthropological methods such as observation, semi- tructured interviews, and case studies. This paper explores the role of food in the sphere of rituals among the Sangtam tribe of Nagaland.

Keywords: Food, Taboos, Rituals, Christianity, Sangtam

The Agasthyamalai Biosphere Reserve at the southern tip of Western Ghats, India - is home to a large tribal community known as the “Kaani” with a rich cultural legacy and traditional wealth. The Kaani people were traditionally nomads, but around the 18th century, they began to settle down and live in communities, their communities are located in four districts: Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam, in Kerala, and Kanniyakumari and Tirunelveli in Tamilnadu. The name “Kaani” means “Land Proprietor,” and there are 47 Kaani tribal hamlets in the Kanniyakumari region called “Kaanikudi.” A tribe chief known as Mootukkaani is in charge of each hamlet, and with the assistance of his subordinate chief, Vilikaani, he oversees the group following customary regulations. A tribal priest known as ‘Pilathikaani’ is present in every Kaanikudi; he is thought to possess superpowers and is well-versed in medicinal knowledge from his forefathers. Here, diseases are cured by two types of practices: one by using natural herbs as medicine and the other by spiritual healing called ‘Saththu Pattu’ Their traditional houses, known as “Eer madam,” are constructed atop trees using bamboo and palm leaves, which enable them to protect themselves from dangerous predators. Despite being governed by rules and regulations, the livelihood of the Kaani remains highly dependent on nature, their mother source. The Kaani people have continued to live in isolated areas and strictly followed their traditions and customs.

This paper is based on fieldwork conducted in 2022 in villages near the Pechiparai and Kodayar dams in Kanniyakumari district. Interviews with elderly Kaani healers provided insights into their medicinal and ritual practices. In this study, the Kaani people’s ancient wisdom has been thoroughly detailed.

Keywords: Culture, ethnic medicine, Kaani, Kaanikudi, Settlement, Traditional knowledge, Tribes.

Certain turning points in a person’s life are significant. For girls, such significance is the first menstruation (or menarche), which marks the transition from being a girl to womanhood. The study aimed to ascertain the mean age at menarche, compare menarcheal and non-menarcheal girls, and determine the relationship between menarcheal status and body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), socioeconomic status (SES), and lifestyle. The cross-sectional study was conducted among adolescent girls aged 10 to 15. Anthropometric measurements were taken, and BMI and WHR were calculated. Data on socioeconomic status and lifestyle were also obtained. Analysis was done using IBM SPSS Statistics 26. Statistical analyses such as independent sample t-test, chi-square or Fisher’s exact test, and binary logistic regression were used to evaluate the data collected. P-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant for all analyses. The mean age and mean menarcheal age of the girls under study were 12.54±1.71 years and 12.29±1.09 years, respectively. A positive correlation (p<0.001) was found between menarcheal status and the anthropometric variables. Furthermore, a statistically significant relationship was also noted between menarcheal status and BMI, WHR, SES, and lifestyle. Thus, the study shows that there is a decline in mean age at menarche, which could lead to premature menopause and various health issues associated with it in adulthood.

Keywords: Adolescence, Anthropometry, BMI, Menarche, Socioeconomic Status.

Mirror neurons have emerged as a prominent topic in neuroscience and psychology, shedding light on the mechanisms behind human cognition, social interaction, and empathy. This comprehensive review aims to provide a thorough understanding of mirror neurons by examining their underlying mechanisms, functions, and implications. The present study begins by elucidating the neurophysiological basis of mirror neurons, exploring their discovery, and discussing the brain regions involved in their activation. The role of mirror neurons in action, observation and imitation is extensively examined, highlighting their contribution to motor learning, language acquisition, and social cognition. Furthermore, the review explores the functional significance of mirror neurons in various domains, including empathy, theory of mind, emotional processing, genetics, and environmental influences. The influence of mirror neuron dysfunction in neurodevelopmental disorders, such as autism spectrum disorder, is also discussed, emphasising the clinical implications and potential therapeutic interventions.

Keywords: Mirror neurons, advance in mirror neurons, functions of mirror neurons, implications of mirror neurons.

Disasters do not affect everyone equally. In India, Dalits, who have faced caste-based discrimination for centuries, suffer more during disasters. This literature review looks at how disasters impact Dalit communities and why they are more vulnerable. Many Dalits live in disaster-prone areas because of poverty and social exclusion. When disasters happen, they often struggle to get relief and support due to discrimination.

The social vulnerability framework (Wisner et al., 2004) helps explain why Dalits are at higher risk. Studies (Gaillard et al., 2017; Ray-Bennett, 2018) show that disaster policies often ignore caste-based challenges, leading to unfair distribution of aid. Dalits also have little to no say in disaster planning and decision-making, which makes their situation worse.

This review highlights the need for disaster policies that recognize caste discrimination. A fair and inclusive approach can ensure that Dalits receive equal help and protection before, during, and after disasters. Addressing caste-based inequality in disaster response is necessary to create a more just and resilient society.

Keywords: Dalits, Caste, disasters, Social vulnerability, social exclusion