To honour newly elected Members of Parliament (MPs) from the Scheduled Tribe (ST) community, Akhil Bharatiya Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram, Delhi Province, hosted an important event at the Constitution Club of India in Delhi on August 6, 2024. The occasion was marked by the recognition of over 56 MPs from both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, reflecting the significant representation of the tribal community in the Indian legislature.
Setting up of Tribal Ministry
Union Minister for Tribal Affairs, Jual Oram, who graced the event as the chief guest, highlighted the pioneering steps taken by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Government in addressing issues concerning tribals. He said that the Government of Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the first to think about the rights of tribal people. “Under his leadership, a separate Central Ministry for tribal affairs was created for the first time in 1999. After Atalji, Narendra Modiji is doing a lot of work to take the people of the tribal community forward. The most prominent example of this is the President of our country, Droupadi Murmu. Her becoming the country’s President is a matter of pride for all the people of the tribal community,” said Jual Oram.
Employment Opportunities
Jual Oram further said that we have to connect the people of the tribal community with education. “Only then will employment opportunities be available for them. To achieve this objective, the Central Government is setting up National Tribal Research Institutions. These institutes are being started in all the States of the country. The Central Government’s efforts are gradually becoming a significant effort to make the people of the tribal community self-reliant.”
Welcoming the gathering, Kariya Munda, former Union Minister and ex-Deputy Speaker of the 15th Lok Sabha, said, “All the public representatives belonging to the tribal community will have to constantly think about the development of Anusuchit Janjati.” He added that some people forget the community’s people after reaching the post. We have to introduce the ancient art of the people of our tribal community to the youth again. Our youth are skilled and can achieve a different identity based on their skills.”
Kariya Munda said that he has contested the Lok Sabha elections 12 times. He said he never used more money to win the election; he has been continuously reaching the Parliament due to the public’s love.
Deep Connection with Forests
Apart from this, Satyendra Singh, President of All India Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram, said that the way we behave with our family, we should also behave with other people. “We should consider all people as a part of our family. We have seen natural disasters in Wayanad and even before that in many States of India. All this is happening due to our greed. We have hollowed out the mountains for our greed. Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram has a deep connection with forests and forest dwellers. Through its various activities, Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram is working to bring the people of the tribal community into the mainstream.”
National Scheduled Tribes Commission Chairman Antar Singh Arya said that the condition of tribal community people is not good in some States of the country. More than 12 crore people are associated with the tribal community in India. If there is oppression against the people of the tribal community anywhere in the country, then we all need to work together. The culture of the tribal society of India is disappearing in many States, we have to save it. The local dialects of our tribal society are becoming extinct. Culture will be saved only when our youth will try to adopt our culture. We are trying to connect the youth with tribal culture by running awareness campaigns through the commission.
Speaking on the occasion, former Chairman of the Scheduled Tribes Commission, Harsh Chauhan, said, “The previous Governments have not done much work for the tribal society. Due to Atal Bihari Vajpayeeji, the people of the tribal community were able to get their rights. Even today, many people do not know about the tribal people. We have to take our culture to every home.”
Yogesh Bapat, General Secretary of Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram, said, “For the last several years, we have been organising such programmes to welcome MPs and Ministers from the Scheduled Tribe community. In today’s programme, 56 MPs from the Scheduled Tribes from Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha are participating. All-India Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram was established in 1952. For the last 72 years, the Ashram has been working for the development of all the tribal community people living in the tribal areas in every district of the country and to connect them to the mainstream. For this, we have more than 1,100 full-time workers working selflessly in different areas. All the public representatives from the tribal community should raise their voices as much as possible for the development of the tribal community in the Parliament.”
Pointing out that on August 9, 1994, the UN proposed to celebrate World’s Indigenous Peoples Day. Yogesh Bapat said in America, an attempt was made by Christian missionaries to eliminate tribal communities. “We should celebrate World’s Indigenous Peoples Day in India as a protest. The Government has celebrated the birth anniversary of Bhagwan Birsa Munda on November 15. It has been announced to celebrate it as Janjatiya Gaurav Divas. This day is an inspirational day for all the tribal people around the world. The Central Government is doing a very good job for the people of the tribal community. Some people are trying to defame the tribal community by spreading the wrong narrative; we need to be cautious of such people.”
The event garnered enthusiasm across the nook and cranny of the country. A large number of officials from various States and those who are associated with Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram participated in this programme.
