Ranchi: Chief Minister Hemant Soren on the auspicious occasion of World Tribal Day said that Tribal language-culture is being threatened by the new incarnation of development. While addressing the “Jharkhand Tribal Festival-2022” program organized at the historic Morhabadi Maidan in Ranchi he said that the story of tribals is a story of struggle and sacrifices and the community is proud of its great men and brave heroes.
He said his tribal identity is the most important thing for him which is his truth and today he was speaking in a way in the Panchayat of his society. The Chief Minister said that it is true that many provisions have been made through the Constitution so that the standard of living of the tribal society can be changed but the result of the indifference of the later policymakers is that even today the poorest, uneducated, oppressed, displaced and exploited class of the country is the tribal class.
Hemant Soren said that today a crisis has arisen in front of the tribal society regarding its identity. He asked whether it was not a misfortune that today’s policymakers are not ready to accept the same diversity because of the different language, culture and religions, due to which they are considered tribal.
He said that constitutional provisions have become only a matter of discussion. The Chief Minister said that land, culture and language are very important for the tribals but all these things are threatened by the new avatar of development. The speakers of different tribal languages have neither numerical power nor money power. For example, he points out that in Hindu culture the tribals have been depicted as ‘Asurs’.
The Chief Minister said that about whom hatred has been written in the majority culture and the same has been shown through idols after all there is a need to think on how to ensure its protection. He said that had the tribals had money and power they would have been able to save their culture like Jain/Parsi community. In such a situation, special attention needs to be given to this diverse group, he said.
The Chief Minister said that the tribal community is a self-respecting community, it is a hard worker and it does not beg anyone. He said that Tribals hail from the community of Bhagwan Birsa, Eklavya, Rana Poonja, whom no one can bow down, no one can intimidate, no one can defeat. “We are the people of that community who learn skills from the Guru’s picture,” he said that we are people who attack from the front and take blows on the chest.
The Chief Minister said that the ancestors saved the forest, saved the animal, saved the mountain but today this society is compelled to think that there is a very fast effort to snatch the forest land which it protected.
The Chief Minister said that everyone speaks to save animals, save forests, but no one speaks to save tribals. “Save tribals, save the forest, all the animals will be saved. All eyes are on our land. We have forest on our land, iron, coal but we have neither sawmill machine nor factory, “ he said.