The Tourist Welcomed

- The Adivasi Exiled

Research Papers and Case Studies

‘The Tourist Welcomed – The Adivasi Exiled’ reflects on tourism’s impacts on indigenous communities in India. Using numerous cases and examples the paper illustrates the commodification of indigenous communities and their culture, the usurpation of their lands and the exploitation of their livelihood resources for tourism. While this benefits mass commercial tourism, the paper also explores cases and models of tourism that has benefited indigenous communities. The paper then moves to scrutinize the various international guidelines and codes that have come up in response to address this issue and their effectiveness in ensuring the meaningful and rightful participation of indigenous communities in processes that affect them. The latter part of the paper then debates the extent to which tourism policies in India recognises and addresses the concerns of indigenous communities. The paper depicts how tourism contributes to the displacement, exploitation and marginalisation of indigenous communities. It also provides glimpses of hope that tourism might transform itself into a tool for benefiting these communities – economically and culturally – without being exploitative.

Johar for us in Jharkhand is more than just a word in our language...

...Johar is a spirit, an attitude, a feeling and an expression of welcome, of gratitude, of praise, of togetherness, a salutation...

...It is the word we first use when we meet one anther for the first time...

...We said Johar to you,

but our song and dance, our language and folklore have become just pages in books of libraries where your anthropologists can debate over. Thus you have distorted our history. You have misinterpreted our culture, and made it a commodity to be marketed at your universities and seminars.

We said Johar to you...

[From the poem “JOHAR” – Manifesto of the Jharkhandis Organisation for Human Rights.]

Geographies

India

Local Regions/Cities

Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Andamans

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