Bridging Academia And Indigenous Realities: Tribal Futures Workshop Opens A New Chapter In Kerala’s Tribal Policy Discourse
Thirur, Kerala: A quiet transformation unfolded this week on the leafy campus of Thunchath Ezhuthachan Malayalam University when scholars, cultural icons, policy architects, social workers, students, researchers, and tribal representatives gathered for a landmark three day residential workshop on Tribal Community Development and Policy Formation. Held at the university’s Rangasala, the workshop was organised by the School of Development Studies, with the support of the University UBA Cell, the ICSSR PVTG Project, and UBA,SAFI Institute of Advanced Study (Autonomous) SAFI Media School.
From the inaugural moments to the final drafting of a policy document, the event attempted something unusual in Kerala’s academic world: to centre tribal voices within the heart of policy thinking rather than on its periphery.
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The programme was presided over by Registrar Dr. K.M. Bharathan, while the inaugural lamp was lit by Mannan King Raman Rajamannan, the traditional sovereign of the Mannan tribe of Idukki’s Kanchiyar region. The inauguration began on the 25th at 10.00 am, and the programme concluded on the 27th at 4.30 pm, with certificates distributed to all participants.
Adding another layer of significance, the policy formation session that followed was opened by Rajendraprasad, President of Thamp, an organisation known for its interventions in marginalised spaces.
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The workshop included talks by an array of speakers: JNU Associate Professor Dr. R.R. Patel, Dr. M.G. Mallika, Dr. G. Sajina, Tameem Rahman, Muhammed Mubashir, S. Rohith, Dr. R. Vidya, Dr. K. Shubha, Nazarullah Vazhakkad N. Abhinav, and M. Arshad Ali, each presenting different strands of thought on the future of Kerala’s tribal development policies.
Yet the workshop’s deeper purpose lay not in speeches alone, but in what the gathering symbolised: an attempt to convert scattered concerns and lived experiences into a unified narrative that the state can no longer afford to overlook.
An Inauguration Rooted in Tradition and History
As Raman Rajamannan climbed the steps of the university auditorium in ceremonial attire, his turban and staff of authority drew instant attention. The Mannan tribe, around three thousand people living primarily in Kanchiyar, has preserved a distinctive matrilineal system and cultural order. Rajamannan, who ascended the throne in 2012 under the traditional marumakkathayam lineage system, continues to work as a farmer and holds a degree in economics.
Observers noted that his presence represented more than symbolism. It was a reminder that communities historically excluded from state policy tables carry their own governance structures, worldviews, and social institutions, rich, sophisticated, and worthy of respect.
The King’s address, though brief, carried weight. He spoke of rapid erosion of traditional knowledge, precarious livelihoods, and the dilemmas of preserving cultural identity amid structural inequality.
“It is not enough that policies are made for tribal communities,” he said. “They must be made with us. And wherever possible, by us.”
Day One: Serious Conversations Begin, and a Quiet Farewell That Stayed With Everyone
From the first day itself, the workshop moved beyond ceremonial formality. After the inauguration at Rangasala on the 25th at 10.00 am, the discussions turned serious, grounded, and wide ranging. Tribal leaders, academicians, social workers, students, and researchers jointly discussed land related issues, education, health, employment, cultural questions, environmental concerns, housing challenges, gender, and the many everyday tensions that sit beneath official policy language.
The day one discussion was moderated by Dr. Mallika M G, who helped keep the room inclusive, attentive, and focused on what mattered most: lived experience, not administrative assumptions. Across sessions, Prof. R R Patel remained a continuous source of inspiration, returning again and again to the need for respectful transitions, real capability building, and long term institutional commitment rather than symbolic gestures.
A defining feature of day one was the remarkable student participation. Research students Aneesh V P, Muhammed Junaid, and Athira Vyas documented the proceedings along with postgraduate students, capturing not only formal presentations but also the quieter insights that often get lost. Students coordinated the tribal green decorations , and all arrangements with visible enthusiasm. Guests repeatedly mentioned one unique gesture: the students created artistic, handwritten greeting cards, not printed ones, for the guests. Many described it as a rare warmth in an academic setting, a small act that changed the atmosphere of the hall.
Participants included students from SAFI Institute of Advanced Study (Autonomous) and Zamorin’s Guruvayurappan College, alongside social workers, members of the public, researchers, and teachers from various parts of Kerala. The diversity of the gathering made the conversation richer and more honest.
It was also on this first day, as participants began dispersing after intense exchanges, that Raman Rajamannan paused briefly outside the hall and spoke patiently with students who wished to know more about his community. He left after the first day, but that moment lingered. His presence became a living image of what the workshop tried to argue: Indigenous leadership is not folklore. It is institution, memory, dignity, and future.
The Many Cracks Beneath Kerala’s Tribal Policies
Kerala often celebrates its welfare reputation, yet Indigenous communities across the state continue to grapple with challenges that neither vanish in official reports nor soften over time. The workshop’s background note and repeated interventions across sessions captured these layered struggles with clarity.
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Tribal communities in Kerala face * Land loss and insecurity, with many still awaiting assured titles • Uncertain livelihoods tied to forest produce that is poorly compensated • Health disparities, including limited access to specialist care • Educational barriers, from inaccessible institutions to linguistic exclusion • Migration induced dislocation, leaving traditional social structures strained • Erosion of ancestral knowledge, trapped between modernity and survival needs • Exclusion from institutional decision making despite decades of development planning
Speakers repeatedly questioned why, despite long queues of policies, programmes, and committees, tribal distress remains entrenched. Some argued that the issue is not lack of policy, but lack of imagination and inclusion. Others pointed to bureaucracy’s inability to recognise diverse tribal cultures as equal and sovereign knowledge systems.
Dr. M.G. Mallika observed that reforms often stop at token representation. Unless the state accepts the epistemic authority of tribal communities, the authority to define their own needs and development pathways, real change will not arrive.
Several speakers also noted a paradox that shaped the entire workshop’s tone: Indigenous communities can be hyper visible in files and reports, and yet invisibilised in actual governance.
Voices from the Field: Scholarship Meets Lived Reality
One of the key sessions brought together Dr. R.R. Patel, Raman Rajamannan, and Rajendraprasad in an engaging conversation on land rights, contemporary policies, and existing schemes. Dr. Patel spoke about policies that appear progressive on paper but get diluted during implementation, especially when bureaucratic fragmentation forces schemes to operate in silos.
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Rajendraprasad, drawing from grassroots experience, emphasised the disconnect between administrators and community life. Development workers often enter tribal regions with predetermined templates, he argued, leaving little room to understand internal dynamics.
The Mannan King offered a powerful framing of land as more than commodity. Land, he stressed, is woven into identity, memory, and kinship, and alienation is not merely a legal issue but a cultural rupture. The audience remained engaged, frequently pausing to take notes and raise questions.
Screening Stories from the Margins
The documentary “Thottappiyan Stories” was screened at the university theatre, offering a cinematic lens into the silent worlds of fishermen communities. The film, produced by the School of Development Studies as part of an action research initiative on the overall development of the fishermen community in Vettom Panchayath, foregrounded individual narratives of habitat loss, pressures of modernity, bureaucratic interference, and everyday resilience. Participants noted that the screening was not merely a programme item, but an extension of the school’s sustained neighbourhood engagement, another movement in uplifting the lives of deprived fishing communities living close to the university, and a reflection of the institution’s social commitment.
The setting added its own meaning. Malayalam University’s beautiful theatre, shaped by the presence of its Film Studies School, turned the screening into a shared public experience rather than a private viewing. Many participants later spoke about the need for cultural documentation and oral histories to enter official policy archives, not as side notes but as living evidence within development planning. The moment also reminded the gathering of what makes the university distinctive: across disciplines, teaching is carried out in Malayalam, and research too is pursued in Malayalam, positioning the language not just as medium, but as a knowledge system.
Day Two: Moderated by Dr. Libitha and Mr. Shamseer, the Ground Speaks Without Filters
The second day carried a different energy, direct, raw, and unforgettable. The sessions were moderated by Dr. Libitha and Mr. Shamseer, and the structure allowed sustained space for voices from multiple tribal groups to lead the room.
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Sudheesh from Attappadi, Neethu from Wayanad, Krishnan from Kasargod, Belssiya from Idukki, and Shajan from Wayanad discussed education, health, employment, cultural life, and also deeper issues that policy drafts often avoid: power hierarchies, conflict with the forest department, and human animal conflict. They stressed that many policies fail not because tribal communities lack knowledge, but because implementation is done without understanding ground realities.
Language in Primary Education: Malayalam as a Foreign Language for Many
One theme returned with urgency: language, especially in primary school education. Speakers pointed out that tribal communities have different mother tongues, yet systems often assume Malayalam as the default mother tongue. For many children, Malayalam functions as a foreign language. Participants stressed that education policy must take this seriously, or learning will continue to produce silence, fear, and dropout rather than confidence and opportunity.
Neethu’s Story: When Secluded Schooling Creates Fear of Society
Neethu’s story moved the audience deeply. She spoke of studying at the Rajeev Gandhi School for the Kattunayikkan community and scoring 82 percent. With the support of Vasu Sir, she joined BA Economics in a college in Kozhikode, but the college environment was not suited to her transition. She was not given enough exposure to the wider community during school years, and the sudden shift was overwhelming.
Her account opened a difficult but necessary conversation about the unintended consequences of specialised and secluded education. Participants cited the example of three Kattunayikkan girls who completed plus two but struggled to speak freely with others and felt afraid of the wider community. The point was clear: education cannot stop at classroom completion. It must prepare students to live and thrive in society.
Neethu also shared how she failed one subject because her internal marks were extremely low. Her family circumstances did not allow her to compete within the existing system. She expressed a desire to continue education if the government takes specific steps that support tribal students beyond admissions, steps that address exposure, mentoring, confidence, and social integration.
Health and Food: Rice, Anaemia, and the Loss of Traditional Diets
Health discussions were equally pointed. Tribal participants argued that abundant supply of plain rice has altered traditional food habits, which may be contributing to anaemia and related health issues. They raised a practical suggestion: instead of only rice, why not provide cheaper millets and motivate local production and procurement, since millets were historically common staple foods for many communities. Their larger argument was that policy cannot treat food security as mere distribution. It must understand nutrition, culture, and livelihood together.
Employment: Education Without Dignity or Wage Incentives
Participants described employment as another area where the promise of upliftment breaks down. Even educated tribal youth often end up in casual jobs similar to the less educated, creating weak incentives to continue schooling. Dropout may have declined, but employability remains lacking.
One example stood out: a woman qualified in nursing skills received only 6000 rupees per month, quit, and moved to sales because sales offered better income and respect. Speakers also noted that course enrolments remain traditional and narrow, while skill development aligned with job market realities is limited. Many argued that reservation policies are not sufficient if foundational barriers remain unaddressed, and this can lead to dropout in higher education.
Information Gaps and Unequal Support Within ST Communities
A strong portion of the discussion focused on lack of information about government benefits. Many argued communities do not receive adequate knowledge about what exists and how to access it. Another sensitive issue was also raised: many ST promoters are from relatively better placed tribal groups, while the most deprived groups do not receive enough support. Cultural barriers and notions of pollution can restrict interaction, resulting in unequal access even within the broad ST category.
This led to a repeated call for micro level planning, because treating diverse groups as one category can deepen deprivation for those already most marginalised.
Human Animal Conflict: Ecology and Policy Blindness
Participants from forest areas discussed increasing human animal conflict and argued that ecological changes, including artificial afforestation and the spread of teak, reduced grasslands and deer food sources, affecting wildlife movement and intensifying conflict. Many students were surprised by the precision of ecological understanding expressed in the room. The discussions reshaped a common assumption: deprivation is not due to lack of knowledge, but due to lack of inclusion and respect in policy implementation.
Culture, Performance, and an Evening Together
After intense discussions, the workshop made space for culture, not as entertainment, but as another archive of reality.
A celebrated performance by Aneesh Mannarkkad, a renowned Ottamthullal artist from the university, became a highlight. He performed Kalyanasougandhika Ottamthullal, incorporating contemporary socio political concerns into the classical form. Participants described it as a powerful and joyful experience.
Later, there was an outing session. The group visited Unnyal Beach near the university. For many, the evening became a quieter form of dialogue where students, scholars, and community members spoke as people, not categories.
Day Three: Language, Freedom, and the Question of What Development Means
The third day widened into deeper reflection on language, freedom, culture, climate change, and shifts in food habits. Bindu Irulam A well known poet who writes poems in a tribal language spoke powerfully, beginning again from the question of language. She said that when people declare Malayalam as the mother tongue of Kerala, she feels surprised, because for her Malayalam is a foreign language and her mother tongue is different. She asked why tribal languages are not given importance.
She also raised points on gender and freedom that sparked intense discussion. She said she cannot live within her tribal settings because she does not get freedom there. That statement opened a hard question that stayed in the room: do we romanticise tradition and demand tribal communities carry cultural burdens, even when individuals within those communities seek change and personal freedom.
The day three discussion was moderated, like day one, by Dr. Mallika M G, who guided the room through competing viewpoints without losing the policy thread. Prof. R R Patel again provided a framing that influenced the entire day. He argued that all human beings carry certain tribal nature, and reflected on how society defines “tribal”. Many people gradually leave older ways and embrace development infrastructure, but the shift should be gradual and chosen. The problem, he suggested, is when development is imposed rapidly, without communities reaching readiness and agency.
He also observed that tribal economies are often not monetised properly, and that financial literacy gaps can create vulnerability to exploitation. The issue is not lack of knowledge, but differences in modes of production and transaction. Permanent protectionism, he argued, is not the answer. Capability building is. He also cautioned that unchecked freebies can create inefficiency and deepen deprivation.
The discussions continued in that spirit: frank, complex, sometimes uncomfortable, and therefore meaningful.
Drafting a Policy Document for the State
Toward the end of the workshop, a drafting committee assembled to shape the three days of insights into a comprehensive policy document to be submitted to the Scheduled Tribe Development Department. The committee emphasised that the document should not become another addition to the state’s policy shelf, but function as a demand charter shaped by lived experience.
The draft aims to
- Strengthen land rights through simplified procedures and community based monitoring
- Protect traditional knowledge systems with legal and educational frameworks
- Promote culturally grounded, multilingual education for tribal children
- Create livelihood pathways aligned with ecological sustainability
- Ensure gender sensitive development policies that recognise the leadership of tribal women
- Establish mechanisms for community led governance in development schemes
- Incorporate art, oral histories, and cultural narratives into official policy archives
- Build accountability structures to track policy implementation transparently
A Workshop That Redefined Academic Space, and a Beginning, Not an End
By the final evening, as Rangasala quieted, a shared sense lingered that something meaningful had occurred. Not in the spectacle of speeches, but in the openness of exchanges and the sincerity of listening.
Students later remarked that the workshop challenged longstanding assumptions about tribal communities often portrayed as passive recipients of welfare rather than active architects of knowledge and governance. Many said the three days reshaped their understanding of policy itself.
The organisers and participants described the workshop as a unique experience, not only for its themes, but for its collective spirit. The active participation of students, their handwritten greeting cards, their careful arrangements, and their serious documentation made the gathering feel alive rather than procedural.
A clear commitment also emerged: this workshop is not the end. Continuous dialogue with community members is being planned, and the university has expressed readiness to support tribal communities in every possible way within its academic and institutional capacity.
If the Scheduled Tribe Development Department embraces the document produced here with sincerity, this gathering may well be remembered as a pivotal moment in Kerala’s policy landscape. For now, the university’s lawns carry the memory of three days when academic knowledge and Indigenous realities met not as distant categories, but as equal voices in the same room, shaping a shared future.
