Indigenous Peoples’ Rights and Civil Society Action against Language Death and Cultural Oppression: Evidence and Lessons from India – Irula Languages and Cultures

Mae'r cynnwys hwn ar gael yn Saesneg yn unig.

This is the second briefing from the project ‘Indigenous Peoples’ Rights and Civil Society Action’ funded by the Academy of Medical Sciences. Our research explores the issues, challenges and lessons that emerge from civil society action to support indigenous languages and cultures. Here we focus on the Irula tribe of Kerala. They are one of the largest tribes in Kerala and live in the Attappady region of Palakkad District. The Irula languages are independent Southern Dravidian tongues that are akin to Tamil. In this non-technical briefing, we draw on the findings of fieldwork, including workshops held in 2024-25 with indigenous peoples, civil society organizations (CSOs) and academics in India and present some of the emerging findings from the research. Our first publication (Non-Technical Briefing Paper No.1) discusses the contemporary situation of the Bhil in Rajasthan.