Who Does India Really Belong To? | Nope w/ Kunal Kamra ft Jacinta Kerketta | 065

Jacinta Kerketta is a poet, writer, and thinker whose work centres Adivasi history, worldview, and resistance. In this episode, she weaves poetry and analysis to explore Adivasiyat as a life philosophy rooted in self-rule, community, and harmony with nature. She reflects on power, development, nationalism, and education—questioning who defines progress and whose voices are erased. The conversation challenges dominant hierarchies and invites us to re-imagine India through dignity, balance, and shared humanity. Follow: Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/kuna_kamra/ X (Twitter) – https://x.com/kunalkamra88/ Timestamps: 0:00 – Opening 0:25 – A poem on what it truly means to be Adivasi 1:48 – What should we learn from Adivasi history? 2:06 – India as an Adivasi land: roots before civilisation 3:07 – Self-rule, collectives, and early social organisation 4:02 – From self-governance to hierarchy and kingship 4:23 – Buddha, violence, and the search for alternative life paths 5:12 – Two worldviews in conflict: harmony vs hierarchy 6:56 – Why Adivasis resist power concentration today 7:21 – “Anti-development” narratives and misunderstanding India 8:44 – Beyond words: feeling the country, not just defining it 10:09 – What is Adivasiyat? A life philosophy explained 11:14 – Humans not at the centre: nature, dignity, balance 13:21 – Self-rule vs State rule: where conflict begins 14:48 – Adivasi leadership without kings or dictators 15:31 – Resistance culture and rejection of Brahmanical hierarchy 16:23 – Divide-and-rule: census, identity, and fragmentation 19:21 – RSS, political strategies, and internal divisions 22:00 – Education, religion, and alienation of Adivasi youth 23:58 – Who defines “national interest”? Whose country is it? 25:49 – Adivasi vision of development: rooted, balanced, humane 27:05 – City vs village: dignity, sharing, and survival 29:19 – Famine, forests, and the power of community care 31:26 – A poem on gated nationalism and selective belonging 33:19 – Rethinking development: imagination beyond concrete 35:03 – Fear, control, and violence in modern governance 36:37 – Poetry: loss of rivers, mountains, and memory 38:18 – Poetry: abandonment, violence, and hypocrisy 39:00 – Closing: waiting to be human again Credits: • Research Head: Anirban Bhattacharya • Camera Operator / Mixing and Mastering / Intro Music — @Mahansangeet : https://www.instagram.com/hi_mahan/ • Camera Operator / Video Editor / Intro Animation — @RevantTalekar : https://www.instagram.com/revanttalekar • Camera Operator / Guest Logistics Coordinator — @VybhavSharma https://www.instagram.com/vybhavsharma/ • Production Assistant — Haran Shetty