A two-day National Seminar on The Contribution of Tribal Culture and Life Style in Enriching Bharat’s Culture and Lifestyle” was inaugurated at Central University of Odisha Campus on 9th January 2023. The University is organizing the Seminar in collaboration with the Tribal Knowledge Research Centre (TKRC), New Delhi, and Vanavasi Kalyan Ashram of Odisha. The two-day Seminar was formally inaugurated by the Hon’ble Vice-Chancellor of Central University of Odisha, Prof. Chakradhar Tripathi. Sj. Pabitra Kanhar, Vice Chairman of TRIFED, was the Chief Guest on the occasion, and Dr. Vinod Kumar, Executive Board Member of TKRC, was the Guest of Honour. Other dignitaries present on the occasion were Sj. Girish Kuber, Veteran member of All India Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram, Tribal Rights activist Sj. Shyam Prasad and Dr. Kapila Khemundu, Associate Professor, Central University of Odisha and Convener of the event.
Inaugurating the seminar, Prof. Tripathi said that the lifestyle of the tribal people is unique and should be followed by all. The happiness level of the tribe is fantastic, and they never run for material needs. They are happy with their life, whatever income they have. We are educated, but following the Western culture, we forget our culture. So we should follow the tribal culture if we want happiness in this world. He urged all the faculty members to take the students to live with the tribals for at least 10 hours in one day. The purpose of the University is to preserve the tribal cultural resources of this area. The University vows to work to fulfill its objective, he said.
Sj. Kanhar defined the concept of the tribal and explained the various classes and clans among the tribals. He also felt the need to popularize the tribal culture and preserve it for the future so that India could achieve development. We should learn tribal skills and implement them in our day-to-day lives. Dr. Vinod Kumar explained about the purpose of TKRC and its activities. He said that the thought of tribal development can be converted into reality if we include the tribal culture and tribal way of research in our syllabi. He also said that the traditional Western research methodology will not work for tribal research. We should live with the tribals to know about them.
Sj. Kuber emphasized the contribution of tribal culture and lifestyle to the development of India. He said that proper research is required to bring the real issues of the tribals into the limelight and urged the policymakers to plan accordingly. Dr. Kapila Khemundu, while delivering the welcome address, explained the purpose of the Seminar. On occasion, the dignitaries released a book, “The Health of Hills is the Wealth of Plains,” authored by Prof. Shiva Ramakrishna. Further, few social activists were felicitated for their contribution to tribal culture and development. Dr. B.K.Srinivas, Co-convener of the Seminar, proposed the Vote of Thanks, and Dr. Nirjharini Tripathy, Associate Professor, coordinated the event.
The Inaugural session was attended by many dignitaries, faculty members, staff of the University, members of Vanavasi Kalyan Ashram and other tribal bodies, students, and research scholars of the University in large numbers. Prominent among them were Padmashree Awardee Gobardhan Panika, Sj. Jayashankar Prasad Khadanga, Organising Secretary Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram, Prof. Sharat Kumar Palita from DBCNR, Prof. Bharat Kumar Panda from Education, Distinguished Professor Shiva Ramkrishna, Sj. Vishwamitra. The Vice-Chancellor and the dignitaries also inaugurated the traditional Food and Millet festival, coordinated by Dr. Debabrata Panda of the BCNR Dept.
Comments are closed.