A Foot in the Door

One major drawback for the Bhil tribals is the lack of sufficient indigenous research by their own intellectuals on their history, culture, society and economy. The research that has been done is largely by non-tribal academics mostly anthropologists and sociologists. Thus, the Adivasi Academy in Tejgadh village in Vadodara district of Gujarat, pictured below, which undertakes research into precisely these spheres under the intellectual leadership of Bhil tribals is an important landmark in modern Bhil institution building. The architecture also retains a traditional Bhil flavour to distinguish the academy from the modern minimalist matchboxes that dominate urban landscapes.

While the Adivasi Ekta Parishad has established itself as a powerful forum for Bhil identity building the Adivasi Academy provides a strong institutional backing to this process. One of its most important projects is the creation of a Bhili dictionary that has received coverage in the New York Times. This in combination with the publication of a vast literature in Bhili dialects will go a long way towards fomalising the oral literary traditions of the Bhils. There is a well stocked library of books and journals which can be used by research scholars. The academy has now entered into a tie up with the Indira Gandhi National Open University for offering Phds through distance learning apart from two diploma courses in tribal studies and tribal health systems. The academy also has a musuem of tribal art and crafts which has a vast collection of Bhil tribal items covering the areas of agriculture, domestic needs, music and clothing. Pictured below is a pot and churner assembly used to churn curds and water to produce cream and whey.

An important research project underway at present is the multi-disciplinary study of the Koraj Hillock nearby for its tribal heritage in collaboration with the School of Oriental and African Studies of the University of London. In a short space of a decade since its inception in 2000 with the beginning of the new millennium the academy has established itself as a centre of excellence in tribal research. The academy thus represents a foot in the door in the sphere of formal research for tribal students and scholars.