Nowhere people

The Sudan crisis has highlighted the plight of the nomadic tribes in India, particularly the Hakki Pikki tribe, who are marginalised and ignored instead of being valued for their knowledge

As the strife in Sudan roils the streets of Darfur and Khartoum and sets up a scramble among the stranded expatriate community to get back home, there has been an unexpected fallout in India. The crisis has focused attention on an Indian tribe that few know about—the Hakki Pikki, whose members are caught in the crossfire—and cast a light on the near-invisible existence of nomadic tribes in the country.

Among the most ancient forest nomads, the Hakki Pikki are traditionally foragers, bird trappers and healers. They have reinvented themselves as medicine men in recent years and in countries such as