Union Minister for Tribal Affairs; Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Shri Arjun Munda, virtually laid the foundation stone of ‘Centre for Preservation and promotion of Tribal Culture & Heritage’ at Padampur, Kharsawan district, Jharkhand today. The museum is an effort to depict and preserve the rich legacy of the tribal community in the State of Jharkhand, while showcasing the rich tribal way of life and culture.
Addressing the gathering via video conference, Shri Munda said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, the Central Government has been working for the last 10 years with the principle of ‘Development along with preservation of Traditions and Cultural Heritage’. The Prime Minister has given utmost importance to the task of preserving and promoting Indian knowledge systems, traditions and cultural ethos at the national and international level. Following the vision of the Prime Minister, it is our duty and shared responsibility to encourage and empower the tribal community for a strong self-reliant India of tomorrow, the Minister added.
Union Ministry for Tribal Affairs has approved this initiative by allocating a budget of Rs. 10 crores for the establishment of this Centre in Kharsawan district of Jharkhand. It would be showcasing the physical and intangible tribal culture, its history and heritage of the region. Further, it would be a knowledge and information centre for assisting the tribal communities in their development. The centre is aimed to be developed in future as a live centre, with space for artisans to demonstrate their skills and to serve as a hub for tourism.
In an another event, Shri Arjun Munda inaugurated the recently renovated the National Unique Tribal Museum, e-Library and ST Girls’ hostel funded by the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs at Bharatiya Adim Jati Sevak Sanghathan (BAJSS), in New Delhi today. BAJSS was established in the year 1948 by Shri Amritlal Vithaldas Thakkar, popularly known as Thakkar Bapa, an Indian social worker who worked for the upliftment of tribal people. Shri Munda acknowledged that the BAJSS museum of tribal artifacts and library, located at Jhandewalan, New Delhi, has a collection of rare books, a cultural heritage which if not conserved, protected and taken care of, it could have disappeared.
Addressing the event, Shri Munda reiterated Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s clarion call that in the Amrit Kaal wider awareness must be generated for India’s tribal heritage, culture, traditions and give due recognition to the sacrifices made by tribal heroes during the freedom struggle of the country. With this resolve, the Minister said, the Union Tribal Affairs Ministry decided to revive the Tribal Museum at BAJSS Bhawan, and allocated an amount of over Rs. 3 crores for the project. Shri Munda expressed happiness that while the initiative of the Ministry has led to the revival of this building and the museum, the library located here is also being digitalized so that rare books can be collected and preserved. Further, interactive digital kiosks have been installed at various places in the museum to provide various types of information, the Minister added.
An MoU was signed on 21st February, 2022 between National Tribal Research Institute (NTRI) New Delhi (under M/o Tribal Affairs) and the Bharatiya Adim Janajati Seva Sangathan (BAJSS) to establish BAJSS as resource center of NTRI.
