Template:Unbulleted list
Template:Hlist
Adivasi and Dalit rights activism
Abhay Flavian Xaxa (Template:Circa – 14 March 2020) was an Indian Adivasi rights activist, poet, and social anthropologist.[1] He was known for his efforts to advocate for indigenous identity, land rights, and social justice. He was a research scholar at Jawaharlal Nehru University. After graduating in social anthropology from the University of Sussex, he focused on empowering adivasi youth through education and activism. His poem I Am Not Your Data become known for his Adivasi resistance against marginalisation. He died at the age of 37 due to a heart attack.[2]
Early life and education
Abhay Xaxa was born in Chitkawine village, located in the Jashpur district of Madhya Pradesh (now in northern Chhattisgarh). He belonged to the Kurukh tribe.[3] Abhay completed a Commerce degree in Kunkuri, studied law at a college in Jabalpur. He earned a master's in Social Anthropology from the University of Sussex through a Ford Foundation fellowship in 2007,[4] and later obtained an MPhil and a PhD in Sociology from Jawaharlal Nehru University, with his doctoral research focusing on Adivasi land rights in Jharkhand.[3]
Career
His early professional career included work in Hindi journalism, but he soon shifted focus to research and activism due to the marginalisation of Adivasi issues in mainstream media.[5] He was a national convener of the National Campaign on Adivasi Rights (NCAR) and also served as a program coordinator with National Campaign for Dalit Human Rights (NCDGR) from 2012 to 2019 and coconvener of the Tribal Intellectual Collective.[6]
In 2015, Abhay Xaxa led a protest against the Land Acquisition Bill, where a group of Adivasi men publicly discarding the copies of the bill through a bold public act.[7] This non-violent protest aim to highlight land rights violations and corporate land grabs affecting Adivasi communities in Jharkhand.[8][9]
He died on 14 March 2020 due to heart attack.[10]
Literary work
As a writer, he wrote a poem I Am Not Your Data.[11] Apart from this he co-authored some books.
- Being Adivasi: Existence, Entitlements, Exclusion[12][13]
- Rethinking India : The Politics of the Marginalized
References
- ↑ Remembering Abhay Xaxa, a Fiercely Unapologetic Adivasi Scholar-Activist, Alam, Mahtab. The Wire(10 April 2020). Retrieved 13 May 2025.
- ↑ Adivasi rights activist and poet Dr Abhay Xaxa passes away at 37, Mounika, Alithea Stephanie. The News Minute(15 March 2020). Retrieved 5 May 2025.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Remembering scholar and activist Abhay Xaxa, whose death is an irreparable loss to Adivasi movements, Sushmita. caravanmagazine(27 June 2020). Retrieved 13 May 2025.
- ↑ Young Adivasi scholar Abhay Xaxa dies, Staff, Maktoob. Maktoob media(14 March 2020). Retrieved 13 May 2025.
- ↑ In Memoriam: Sociologist and Activist Abhay Xaxa. The India Forum(2 April 2020). Retrieved 13 May 2025.
- ↑ Global Language Justice{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Columbia University Press(21 November 2023). ISBN 9780231558396
- ↑ Adivasis defecate on copies of Land Acquisition Bill in show of protest, Edmond, Deepu Sebastian. The Indian Express(18 March 2015). Retrieved 13 May 2025.
- ↑ India's unusual protests: Pink underwear, poop and snakes. BBC News(3 September 2015). Retrieved 13 May 2025.
- ↑ Tribals in Jharkhand defecate on copies of proposed Land Bill | Tribals in Jharkhand defecate on copies of proposed Land Bill. Deccan Chronicle(19 March 2015). Retrieved 13 May 2025.
- ↑ आदिवासी हितों के रहनुमा डॉ. अभय खाखा की महज 37 वर्ष की आयु में हार्ट अटैक से मौत - Aadivasis activist Dr. Abhay xaxa passed away at the age of 37 due to heart attack - Jharkhand Ranchi General News. Jagran(15 March 2020). Retrieved 13 May 2025.
- ↑ I am not your data. The Shared Mirror. Retrieved 14 May 2025.
- ↑ 'Being Adivasi': Questions about Adivasi life are answered in this book, but not always convincingly, Dongare, Avadhoot. Scroll.in(3 December 2023). Retrieved 13 May 2025.
- ↑ Strangers in their own land. Telegraph India(15 April 2022). Retrieved 13 May 2025.
Sources
- Global Language Justice{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Columbia University Press(2023). ISBN 9780231558396