About the Project
This project, hosted by Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), will result in an inventory of written materials related to indigeneity in Jharkhand, India, between 1900 and 2019. The materials, written in English, Hindi, Bengali, and in tribal languages such as Kurukh, Nagri and Mundari, include personal works (letters, diaries) and published works (political pamphlets, newsletters) documenting politics and culture across Jharkhand. Located in private residences of Adivasi leaders such as Bishop Nirmal Minz, these materials illuminate the thoughts and actions of communities on the margins of mainstream India, revealing an alternative history of struggle for justice, dignity, and human rights.
Project Leads
Sangeeta Dasgupta
Host Institution
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Collection Details
The Jawaharlal Nehru University’s (JNU) project with MEAP aims to document personally held collections that help us better understand the political and cultural aspects of indigeneity in Jharkhand, India. The collection of Dr. Nirmal Minz, Bishop of the North Western GEL Church, includes manuscripts meant to emphasize education and literary development in tribal languages as a part of adivasi identity.
Dr. Minz wrote in English, Hindi and Kurukh (the language of the Oraon 'tribe' to which he belonged). He was one of the most important adivasi intellectuals who argued for the recognition of the Kurukh language in the Indian constitution. The completed inventory documents manuscripts written in Hindi (tab 1) and Kurukh (tab 2). They are organized thematically so that researchers can recognize the breadth of Minz' work and reference different kinds of material. The English language inventory is available separately.
Explore the Hindi and Kurukh inventory from Dr. Nirmal Minz' personal manuscript collection >