New Delhi : Ministry of Tribal Affairs , Government of India along with other ministries and state governments celebrated the Janjatiya Gaurav divas today across the country.
On the occasion, President of India Smt. Draupadi Murmu, today visited Ulihatu in Khunti, Jharkhand which is the birth place of Bhagwan Birsa Munda.
In Ulihatu, Union Minister for the Ministry of Tribal Affairs Shri Arjun Munda, welcomed the President of India Smt. Draupadi Murmu, in the esteemed presence of Governor of Jharkhand Sh Ramesh Bais, Chief Minister of Jharkhand Shri Hemant Soren, and MoS (Education) Smt. Annapurna Devi.
President along with other dignitaries also paid floral tributes on the statue of Bhagwan Birsa Munda. Shri Arjun Munda, presented the President of India Smt. Droupadi Murmu with a Pashmina Shawl from Ladakh and a Statue of Bhagwan Birsa Munda on her visit.
President Smt Droupadi Murmu also interacted with followers of Bhagwan Birsa Munda at Ulihatu. President also honored the relatives/descendants and Grandson, Sukhram Munda of Bhagwan Birsa Munda at Ulihatu today.
The President also addressed a Janjatiya Samagam in Shahdol, Madhya Pradesh today. Governor of Madhya Pradesh, Shri Mangubhai Patel, Chief Minister, Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Union Tribal Affairs Minister, Shri Arjun Munda were also present on the occasion.
Addressing the gathering, the President greeted the fellow citizens on the occasion of Janjatiya Gaurav Divas. She said that Madhya Pradesh has the largest tribal population in the country. Therefore, organising this Samagam in the state is appropriate.
The President said that the spirit of sacrificing everything in the interest of justice has been the speciality of the tribal society. In our freedom struggle, different ideologies and activities have played important role. The history of freedom struggle also includes several streams of struggles by the tribal communities. Many great personalities like Bhagwan Birsa Munda and Sidhu-Kanhu of Jharkhand, Tantia Bhil and Bhima Nayak of Madhya Pradesh, Alluri Sitarama Raju of Andhra Pradesh, Rani Gaidinliu of Manipur andSaheed Laxman Nayak of Odisha have enhanced tribal pride and also amplified the pride of the country. Many revolutionary warriors of Madhya Pradesh include Kishore Singh, Khajya Nayak, Rani Phool Kunwar, Sitaram Kanwar, Mahua Kol, Shankar Shah and Raghunath Shah. Revered as the ‘Gandhi of Chhindwara’, Shri Badal Bhoi had chosen the path of non-violence for the freedom struggle. The President paid her tributes to all such freedom fighters.
The President said that tribal communities have been instrumental in enriching the cultural heritage of Chambal, Malwa, Bundelkhand, Baghelkhand and Mahakoshal regions of Madhya Pradesh. She expressed confidence that this region, once full of prosperity during the reign of the tribal kings, will once again write impressive tales of modern development.
The President said that most of the tribal areas have been rich in forest and mineral wealth. Our tribal brothers and sisters live a life based on nature and respectfully protect nature. They had fought fiercely during the British rule to protect this natural wealth from exploitation. Conservation of forest wealth was, to a large extent, possible due to their sacrifices. In today’s time, of climate change and global warming, everyone needs to learn from the lifestyle of tribal society and their determination towards forest conservation.
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