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The Hindu
7 days ago
- Lifestyle
- The Hindu
Toda community members in the Nilgiris sensitised to the need to preserve their culture
More than 20 members of the indigenous Toda community took part in a project aimed at the 'Revitalisation of the Toda language in prose, song and cultural ecology.' As part of the initiative, the members were given an overview of their traditional dress and rituals and how over time, many techniques are being lost. Speaking at the event, held with the involvement of the Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare Department of Tamil Nadu's Tholkudi scheme, Dr. Tarun Chhabra, founder of the Nilgiris Kuttawady Center, said that the scheme by the government was launched to preserve the culture and tradition of indigenous communities from across Tamil Nadu. 'There are four major distinguishing features that characterise each community, their physical characteristics, their language, dress and culture,' he said, emphasising the importance of preserving the traditional Toda language. Mr. Chhabra, who is the author of the book, 'The Toda Landscape : Explorations in Cultural Ecology,' is an eminent expert on the Toda community, and spoke of the need for the community to take pride in their language. 'I also see that Todas are now adopting non-Toda second names to fit in with the mainstream. Each of you is named after a mountain, peak, temple, stream or other facet that comprises Toda life. It is important that the community takes pride in its culture, traditions and its languages,' he said. He then made a presentation about Toda dress and their rituals and spoke of the different embroidery techniques used in traditional Toda garments such as embroidered cloaks, known as poothkull(zh)y and kefehnaarr in the Toda tongue. The workshop, which will give the Todas a training course on their traditional embroidery techniques, was also used as a tool to speak about quickly disappearing Toda practices such as body-tattooing. Also present at the event was Nilgiris Collector, Lakshmi Bhavya Tanneeru. Speaking at the event, the Collector told members of the community that it was imperative that their culture and traditions were passed down to future generations. 'Despite the huge changes that are transpiring, the Todas are an ever-present entity in the Nilgiris,' said Ms. Tanneeru, adding that it was the responsibility of the community to help in its preservation. She appealed to the community to bring their children to future workshops so that they too would learn about their culture and traditions.
The Mainichi
10-05-2025
- The Mainichi
Japan man arrested in Tokyo subway slashing cites education pressure as motive
TOKYO -- A man arrested on suspicion of attempted murder for stabbing a male university student at the Tokyo Metro's Todaimae Station has stated he wanted to highlight the downside of excessive parental pressure over education, investigative sources said. Yoshitaka Toda, 43, from Ikusaka, Nagano Prefecture, was quoted as telling investigators, "I wanted to show education-obsessed parents who push their children toward the University of Tokyo (called "Todai" for short in Japanese) that excessive pressure could cause their kids to go astray and commit crimes like me." Authorities believe Toda aimed to attract public attention by carrying out the attack near the prestigious university. Investigative sources said Toda had initially remained silent after his arrest but began cooperating on May 8. He reportedly told investigators that when he was in junior high school, his parents' excessive focus on education led him to stop attending school. Regarding his choice of Todaimae Station in Tokyo's Bunkyo Ward, Toda was quoted as saying, "The station's name includes 'Todai,' which I thought would make people easily associate the incident with educational abuse." The stabbing took place at around 6:55 p.m. on May. 7. The victim, a 20-year-old university student, was about to board a train when he was attacked from behind with a kitchen knife with an approximately 16-centimeter-long blade. He sustained cuts to the back of his neck, forehead and left hand, requiring about 10 days of hospitalization. Toda is thought to have been unacquainted with the victim. He reportedly claimed, "I targeted this man just because he happened to be nearby. As long as my message was conveyed, it didn't matter to me whether the victim lived or died." Toda also stated financial hardship was partially behind his actions. According to a Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) investigation, Toda traveled from Nagano Prefecture to Tokyo on the day of the incident. At around 4 p.m., he is believed to have been walking near the Tokyo Metro's Hongo-sanchome Station, which is close to the University of Tokyo. On May 9, the MPD sent Toda to the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office on charges of attempted murder and a violation of the Firearms and Swords Control Law.
Tokyo Reported
10-05-2025
- Tokyo Reported
Suspect in stabbing near Tokyo University wanted to send message to 'education-conscious parents'
TOKYO (TR) – A 43-year-old man in custody over the alleged stabbing of university student on a Tokyo Metro subway line in Bunkyo Ward on Wednesday has told police that he committed the crime to send a message to his 'education-conscious parents,' reports the Yomiuri Shimbun (May 9). At just before 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, Yoshitaka Toda, of no known occupation, allegedly used a kitchen knife to slash the head of a third-year Tokyo University student, 20, on a Namboku Line train stopped at Todai-mae Station. Three commuters apprehended Toda at the scene. One of them, a Nepalese man, suffered a cut index finger on his right hand. Police arriving at the station arrested Toda on suspicion of attempted murder. They also retrieved a butcher knife from the subway pkatform. Neither the student nor the Nepalese man suffered serious injuries, police said. Yoshitaka Toda (X) 'Crimes will occur' Police believe that he chose the station since it is named after Tokyo University and attacked passengers indiscriminately. According to a senior official with the Tokyo Metropolitan Police, Toda had remained silent during questioning after his arrest. But he started explaining his motive on Thursday. 'I wanted to show my education-conscious parents who were aiming for [me to go to] Tokyo University that if they go too far, crimes will occur,' he told police, according to an investigative source. Police found a butcher knife on the subway platform after the stabbing on Wednesday night (X) 'I didn't care if he died' Toda, who lives in the village of Ikusaka, Nagano Prefecture, said that he stopped going to school in junior high school because of his strict parents. He confessed, 'The station is named after Tokyo University, so I thought it would be easy to associate it with educational abuse.' When asked why he attacked the student, he said, 'I targeted him because he happened to be nearby. I didn't care if he died.' On Friday, police sent Toda to the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office on suspicion of attempted murder and violation of the Swords and Firearms Control Law.
09-05-2025
No Link Seen between Suspect, Victim in Tokyo Knife Incident
News from Japan Society May 9, 2025 20:08 (JST) Tokyo, May 9 (Jiji Press)--The suspect in Wednesday's knife attack at a subway station in Tokyo has told police that he chose his target because the person was just nearby, and that he does not know the victim, investigative sources said Friday. In the attack, Yoshitaka Toda, 43, a self-proclaimed sole proprietor, injured a third-year male student of the University of Tokyo at Todaimae Station on Tokyo Metro Co.'s Nanboku Line in the Japanese capital's Bunkyo Ward. No connection has been found between Toda and the 20-year-old student, and Tokyo's Metropolitan Police Department believes that this was an indiscriminate attack. The male student told the police that Toda is a stranger to him. The sources quoted the suspect as saying that he targeted the student just because he happened to be there, and that there was no particular reason for assailing him. Toda said the motive for the attack was his experience of suffering educational abuse, or excessive demands by his parents to study hard, during his junior high school years. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
Yomiuri Shimbun
09-05-2025
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Knife Attack Suspect Picked Todaimae Station Due to University-Related Name; Says He Wanted to Show Danger of Education-Obsessed Parenting
The Yomiuri Shimbun Yoshitaka Toda is seen at a police station in Bunkyo Ward on Wednesday. The suspect who assaulted a man with a knife at a station in Tokyo on Wednesday night told police that he wanted to show parents that being too obsessed with educating their children in hopes of sending them to the University of Tokyo could lead to crime, according to investigative sources. The suspect, Yoshitaka Toda, 43, of Ikusaka, Nagano Prefecture, was arrested by the Metropolitan Police Department after cutting the head of a 20-year-old male college student with a knife on a Nanboku Line train while it was stopped at Todaimae Station at around 7 p.m. The MPD believes that he chose the station because it was named for the University of Tokyo — commonly called 'Todai' in Japanese — and began attacking passengers indiscriminately. According to the sources, Toda remained silent after being arrested, but on Thursday explained that he dropped out of junior high school because his parents were too obsessed with education. He also stated that because the name of the station refers to the University of Tokyo, it would be easy to associate it with educational abuse. As for why he attacked the victim, he said it was just because he happened to be nearby and that he didn't care if the victim died.
