Ethnic Groups of North East India: Education, Health and Nutritional Perspective

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The present compiled work of sixteen chapters is based upon the research papers presented in the UGC sponsored national seminar on "Problems and Prospects of Ethnic Communities of India with Special Reference to North East India" organised by the Department of Anthropology, Dibru College, Dibrugarh in collaboration with District Research Office of Assam Institute of Research for Tribals and Scheduled Castes, Guwahati, Assam on 18th and 19th January, 2012. The book covers a wide spectrum of issues, relating to nutritional status, health and hygiene, genetic markers, demographic characters, child care, dental problems, ethno medicine and educational status among various tribes and communities of North East India.

The present volume containing these wide ranging research findings will be of equal interest and utility to the health administrator, policy maker, social workers and the scholar and student of anthropology, medicine and other social sciences.

JASWANT SINGH (b. 1979) presently working as an Assistant Professor in the department of Anthropology Dibru College, Dibrugarh has received MSc (2003) and Ph.D. (2009) degrees in Anthropology from Dibrugarh University, Dibrugarh. He served in different institutions in India like Lakhimpur Girls College, North Lakhimpur, Assam (2003-2006) and Dibrugarh University (2007-2008). He has to his credit 10 original research papers published in reputed professional journals, several chapters in edited volumes and edited two other books.

He has organised one UGC sponsored National Seminar and is an active life member of several professional anthropological bodies. He is also a member of the editorial board of the Journal Manthan and is the joint secretary of Assam Science Society, Dibrugarh branch. His research interest includes genetic demography and growth and nutritional studies among the ethnic communities of North East India.

PROMANITA BORA (b. 1971) is an Assistant Professor of Anthropology in Dibru College, Dibrugarh, Assam. She was educated at the University of Dibrugarh, Assam Her academic career was very bright.. She stood First Class in B.Sc examination in Anthropology (Major) with distinction marks Dr. Bora did her M.Sc.in Anthropology from Dibrugarh University with first class first position followed by Research work. Further, she was honoured with postgraduate (Merit) Prize and during her Ph.D.work she was awarded with Departmental Research Fellowship offered by Research Council. Dibrugarh University Later on, her doctoral thesis was qualified for getting financial assistance by the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICS.S.R) New Delhi.

Moreover, she has published eight Research papers and several popular articles in Assamese and English. Recently she had the opportunity to get the post doctoral research fellowship from the ICSSR, New Delhi. She had successfully completed one UGC sponsored Minor Research Project and played the secretarial role in organizing and conducting one UGC sponsored National Seminar at the premises of Dibru College, Dibrugarh, Assam. At present she is busy with various Research activities and projects, specially in NE region of India.

Nutrition and Education are two of the basic requirements for complete health. According to World Health Organisation health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well being, and not merely the absence of diseases and infirmity. This holistic view of health however, has been essential in much of traditional practices, such as Ayurveda for centuries, Unani, Homoeopathy as well as in the Greek origin of "Western" medicine.

The 30th World Health Assembly in 1977 resolved to adopt strategy for 'Health for all by the year 2000' and thus health became a global concern. The Government of India, for the first time could work out a National Health Policy (N.H.P.), only in 1983 upholding the philosophy of the Alma Ata Declaration of health for all by 2000 A.D. It is now more than a decade since we missed the target but we are still far from reaching the goal of health for all. One of the major health problems in many developing countries is the widespread prevalence of under nutrition and infectious disease and India is no different. According to the World Health Statistics report 2012 India stands second in the field of underweight children below the age of five years. Pneumonia contributes to 11 percent of deaths and diarrhea accounts for another 11 percent of total under-five deaths in India.

Similarly the Education For All (EFA) by 2015 an international initiative was first launched in Jomtien, Thailand, in 1990 to bring the benefits of education to "every citizen in every society." After a decade of slow progress, the international community reaffirmed its commitment to EFA in Dakar, Senegal, in April 2000 and again in September of that year. It adopted six major goals for education, two of which also became Millennium Development Goals later in the same year. The Dakar goals covered the attainment of Universal Primary Education (UPE) and gender equality, improving literacy and educational quality, and increasing life-skills and early childhood education programmes, and were to be achieved within 15 years.

It is a great pleasure to be able to contribute a Foreword to the book entitled "Ethnic Groups of North East India Education, Health and Nutritional Perspective" which is an outcome of a UGC sponsored national seminar organised by the department of Anthropology, Dibru College, Dibrugarh on the theme Problems and Prospects of Ethnic Communities of India with Special Reference to North East India. Generally it is seen that the papers presented in the seminars are not of high standard and the organizers do not feel it necessary to publish it and hence the whole process remains within the confines of the seminar hall.

This volume of the proceedings of the seminar is the result of the dedicated effort of the editors and their associates and presents some of the paper presented in the seminar. I hope this volume will reflect on a wide gamut of issues concerning the education, health and nutritional status of different communities living in this region and will be of great help to the students, research scholars and agencies working in this field.

I congratulate the organizers of the seminar for the commendable work done in bringing out this valuable publication.