Renowned academician and activist Nandini Sundar urged the students of IIIT-Hyderabad to ponder over the erosion of values in the context of human rights violations in the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh.
Delivering a lecture on the theme ‘neither human nor animal — is there a place for tribals in India today?’ Prof. Sundar said the tribal population of Chhattisgarh were fighting with the Indian State to protect their land and resources, despite their abysmal health and other human development parameters.
She cited from various sources the demographics, language, education, and health statistics of the tribal population in India, and elaborated on how they have been treated worse than animals over the years.
Students from the University of Hyderabad and activists from various organisations attended the event.