Tata Steel conducts 'Samvaad'

The tribal meet is being organised by Tata Steel’s Tribal Cultural Society, the arm which works extensively for the tribal welfare, preservation and promotion of tribal culture and heritage.

The day was marked by panel discussions at the two auditoriums, Manthan and Chintan with eminent panelists discussing issues related to ‘Tribal livelihood’ and ‘Particularly vulnerable tribal groups’ (PVTG) respectively.

The discussion on PVTG witnessed participation from eminent thought leaders and activists representing various regions.

The session was moderated by Dr. Premananda Panda, Former Director, SC & ST Research and Training Institute, Bhubaneswar.

In his address, Panda said, "While industrialisation has contributed to the growth of society and nation, it has also impacted tribals. There is a need to create a balance to make this growth sustainable for all.’ While stressing on the cultural aspect, he also said, “Language is the vehicle of culture; the culture invariably gets extinct if the language gets extinct.”

Sharing some startling facts on the need for preservation of languages across the country, Dharmendra Pare, Assistant Professor, Hamidiya College, Bhopal, MP said, "Every day 14 languages in the world die a pre-mature death. Even the UNESCO has identified 196 dying languages. When language dies, the knowledge and history of a particular tribe dies. Please preserve languages."

During the panel discussion on Tribal Livelihoods at Manthan, T V Kattimani, Vice Chancellor, Indira Gandhi National Tribal University, Amarkantak, MP, said, "Education is a potent tool of empowerment. It can enable a tribal to achieve success and lead a respectable life.’ Adding thoughts on the topic, Martin Rabha remarked ‘We are trying to popularise clothes woven by Rabha people. I remember Barack Obama’s wife buying one such piece at our stall during their visit to India. It was a moment of pride for us."

The 4-day conclave include a conglomeration of 2000 plus tribal artists, thought leaders, eminent personalities and activists from more than 40 different tribes, from across 19 states in the country - Andaman & Nicobar, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Tripura.