New Delhi Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said the country is working for the tribal population with a sense of pride and acknowledging the community’s contribution to the freedom movement for the first time, hailing adivasis for their sustainable lifestyle in the middle of the climate crisis.
Inaugurating the “Aadi Mahotsav” in the national capital, the PM said, for the first time, a tribal is occupying the top constitutional post in the country, referring to President Droupadi Murmu who was elected last year. He also stressed that the community’s welfare was a matter of “personal relations and sentiments” for him.
Aadi Mahotsav is a mega national festival to showcase tribal culture on a large scale. It is being held from February 16 to 27 at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium.
“In the last eight to 10 years, several events associated with tribal culture have been organised. For me, their development is of utmost importance. I have observed their culture closely. I have experienced it and learnt from them. The tribal community’s development and welfare is a matter of personal relations and sentiments for me,” Modi said at the event.
“What was once considered remote, the government is now going there from Delhi on its own and bringing the remote and neglected into the mainstream,” he added.
“For the first time, a tribal in Droupadi Murmu has occupied the top constitutional post in the country,” he said, adding, “Tribal history is getting much-deserved recognition in the country.”
The PM said that India is also leading the conversation when it comes to climate change.
The speech underlined Modi’s push to expand his government’s popularity in tribal-dominated areas by highlighting the administration’s welfare schemes, outreach and developmental programmes for tribes, many of whom remain impoverished and with significant hurdles in accessing education, health care and employment. Adivasis form a significant chunk of the population in a clutch of states that go to the polls later this year.
Modi said that tribals played a major role in India’s freedom movement but “attempts were made for decades to ignore these golden chapters and the sacrifices made by men and women from the community”. He added that his government was now bringing them to light in the Amrit Kaal. the period between now and the centenary of India’s independence in 2047.
“For the first time, the country has started celebrating Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas on the birth anniversary of Birsa Munda. Museums on the life and contribution of tribal leaders are coming up in various states. It will provide inspiration and give direction to the country for many centuries,” he said.
He hit out at previous governments for failing to set up schools in tribal areas. “We took up the challenge when I was the chief minister of Gujarat and established such schools. The education of tribal children is our priority,” he said.
He said the number of Eklavya Model Residential Schools – to impart quality education to tribal children in remote areas – has gone up by five times, from 80 schools between 2004 and 2014 to 500 schools from 2014 to 2022.
More than 400 schools have already started functioning, teaching about 100,000 children. The 2003-24 Union Budget announced 38,000 teachers and staff for these schools. Scholarships for tribal students was doubled, he added.
The Prime Minister said the Centre is continuously working to ensure that the demand for products made by adivasis rose. “Their recognition should increase, their demand should increase. The government is continuously working in this direction as well,” he said.
“When I meet foreign heads of state, and give them gifts, I try that there should be some or the other gift made by my tribal brothers and sisters,” Modi added.
He highlighted a few initiatives taken by his government in recent years.
“Under previous governments, cutting bamboo was restricted… we lifted this (restriction). This led to an increase in demand for bamboo products. The government is working to further increase the demand for products associated with tribals,” he said.
He said that more than 3,000 Van Dhan Vikas Kendras – an initiative targeting livelihood generation for tribal population by harnessing the wealth of forest – have been established in different states of the country. “Ninety forest products have been covered under the minimum support price scheme,” he said.
The Prime Minister recalled his formative years in the tribal belts, from Umargam to Ambaji in Gujarat. “I have seen your traditions closely, lived them and learnt from them. Tribal life has taught me a great deal about the country and its tradition,” he said.