New Delhi
The National Tribal Research Institute (NTRI) on Wednesday organized Adi-Vyakhyan, a conference on tribal development through the eyes of tribal thinkers, writers and leaders participating from different states of India on the institute premises here.
Chief guest Union Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda said that it is the Prime Minister’s vision that we are celebrating Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas every year on 15th November to mark tribal pride. It is an historic occasion which has placed new thrust on tribal issues and will give new direction to the destiny of tribal people in the country, he said.
The Minister felicitated tribal Padma awardees Usha Barle (Pandwani Singer), Prof Janum Singh Soy of Jharkhand (Language Preserver-Ho) and key tribal achievers during the programme.
Although 15th November has always been an important day for tribals, Munda pointed out, it is only now under the leadership of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi that it has helped initiate a fresh narrative and given new impetus to initiatives for all-round tribal welfare and development.
Union Minister of Tribal Affairs Arjun Munda felicitated tribal Padma awardees Usha Barle (Pandwani Singer) and Prof Janum Singh Soy of Jharkhand (Language Preserver-Ho)
Munda said that today’s Adi-Vyakhyan is a multi-dimensional event which looks at various aspects of tribal life, culture , language , livelihood among others through the eyes of tribal thinkers, leaders and writers. On one hand, it represents an opportunity, on the other it also presents a challenge on discussing and deciding the way forward, the Minister added.
Talking about tribal languages, the Minister said that when the new National Education Policy was formulated, it emphasized that the tribal languages and dialects spoken in local areas should also be given their proper place. Accordingly, in the new National Education Policy, emphasis has been laid on the preservation and promotion of tribal languages.
He explained that in recent years very important initiatives have been launched for tribal people by the Government including the recent Rs 24000-cr PVTG Mission, Aadi Adarsh Gram Yojana, Sickle Cell Mission, and setting up of 740 Eklavya Model Schools among others.
NTRI as an apex institute will now give more impetus to this decision making by providing inputs for realistic policy formulation for tribals, on the basis of ground level research, he said. The Minister said that it will also provide a vision for a holistic approach to the working of 27 Tribal research Institutes located in states.
The Minister exhorted the large number of tribal participants at the event to do proud to Bhagwan Birsa Munda and the sacrifices made by him by taking up ownership of the schemes for tribal welfare and development and ensuring the reach of their benefits to the last man
Surendra Nath Tripathi (Director General, IIPA) highlighted the efforts of NTRI in taking forward the study of various distinctive tribal communities and the rich indigenous history, cultural heritage and art.
R. Jaya, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Tribal Affairs, highlighted the roll of NTRI and state TRIs. She also spoke about the initiatives taken by NTRI for promoting tribal art, culture and traditions. Anil Kumar Jha, Secretary, Ministry of Tribal Affairs; Vibhu Nayar, OSD, MoTA and Asit Gopal, Commissioner, NEST, senior officials of the Ministry and other dignitaries were also present on the occasion. The tribal artists regaled the audience with their lively performances.
