Tribals

BJP demands KCR to release white paper on what govt did for tribals

Telangana BJP president and MP Bandi Sanjay Kumar on Sunday demanded that Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao come out with a white paper on what his government has done for tribal people in the past nine years. Addressing BJP booth committee members at Mulugu, Sanjay Kumar said that before the Assembly elections, KCR had promised to implement 12 per cent reservations for Scheduled Tribes, but deliberately not done it by linking it to the reservations for Muslims, a release from Telangana BJP said. "It was a conspiracy to hoodwink the tribal people. If the Chief Minister is sincere, he should promulgate a special ordinance and implement 12 per cent quota for the STs. Does he have the commitment to do so?" Sanjay Kumar asked. He accused KCR of "cheating" the tribals once again by dodging on providing title deeds for 'Podu' lands (shifting cultivation). Even for establishment of a Tribal University at Mulugu, the Chief Minister had not allotted lands for years, he ...

Special court verdict on April 4 in case of tribal man's killing in 2018

A special court in Kerala on Thursday said it will on April 4 pronounce its verdict in the case of killing of a tribal man in Palakkad district of the state for allegedly stealing food articles in 2018. Madhu, a tribal from Attappady, was killed after he was caught, tied and thrashed by a group of local people alleging theft on February 22, 2018. The special court for trial of offences under the SC/ST Act reserved judgement in the case after hearing arguments from April last year. The trial in the matter saw witnesses turning hostile, allegations of threats to the victim's family to settle or withdraw the case and a change in the Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) in June last year, Advocate Rajesh M Menon, who was the additional public prosecutor in the case, took charge as SPP in June last year after the victim's family sought a change in prosecutor. SPP Menon confirmed that the special court reserved its judgement and has set April 4 to pronounce its decision. There are 16 accuse

Odisha announces Rs 500 crore worth livelihood scheme for tribals

The Odisha government has announced a new livelihood and income-generating scheme for the tribal people with an outlay of Rs 500 crore, an official said on Friday

Budget has focused on providing last mile facilities to tribals: PM Modi

Addressing a post-budget webinar on 'Reaching the last mile', Modi said: "For the first time, the country is tapping the huge potential of the tribal society of our country at this scale

Modi govt spending Rs 89,000 cr for tribal welfare, says Amit Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said the Narendra Modi government is spending Rs 89,000 crore for tribal welfare when compared to Rs 24,000 crore during the Congress-led UPA dispensation. He was addressing the 'Kol Mahakumbh' on the occasion of Shabri Mata Jayanti in Satna in Madhya Pradesh, where Assembly polls are to be held at the end of the year and Scheduled Tribes make up a sizable part of the electorate. "The Congress government used to spend Rs 24,000 crore for the development of tribal communities. Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, this figure has gone up to Rs 89,000 crore," he said. He went on to add the Congress, which ruled the country for a major part since Independence, never thought of making someone from the tribal community the President, whereas the Modi government had ensured the top post went to a woman from a poor tribal family. Droupadi Murmu was sworn in as President of India on July 25 last year. She is the first from the tribal community and the

PM Modi to inaugurate Aadi Mahotsav on Thursday to showcase tribal culture

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate 'Aadi Mahotsav', a mega national tribal festival, on Thursday here as part of the efforts to showcase the tribal culture on a large scale. The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) noted that Modi has been at the forefront of taking steps for the welfare of the tribal population while also according due respect to their contribution in the country's growth and development. The Aadi Mahotsav, which celebrates the spirit of tribal culture, crafts, cuisine, commerce and traditional art, is an annual initiative of the Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation Limited (TRIFED) under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs. This year, it is being organised from February 16 to 27 at Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium in Delhi, a statement said. It will showcase the rich and diverse heritage of tribes from across the country in over 200 stalls at the venue. Around 1,000 tribal artisans will participate in the exercise. Since 2023 is being celebrated

Rahul Gandhi kickstarts Wayanad constituency visit, meets tribal family

Senior Congress leader and Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi on Monday visited the house of a tribal man who was found dead near Kozhikode medical college recently. Vishwanathan (46) was found hanging near the medical college hospital at Kozhikode on February 11, where his wife was admitted for delivery. Gandhi, who reached the Kozhikode airport on Sunday night, visited the house of Vishwanathan in Wayanad district this morning along with party leaders. Gandhi, who represents Wayanad constituency in the Lok Sabha, spent some time with the family, listening to their woes and complaints and consoled them. Kozhikode Medical College police have said that they have already registered a case when the relatives lodged a complained that the tribal man was missing from the hospital. However, Vishwanathan was later found hanging on February 11. The family alleged that some persons had harassed Vishwanathan on February 9 after which he went missing. The kin had charged that some persons accused ...

Pawar bats for tribal upliftment at forest rights-gram sabha conference

There was need to boost gram sabhas across Maharashtra as tribals are the ones who are preserving water and forests, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar said in Sewagram here on Sunday. He was speaking at the state-level Conference of Collective Forest Rights attended by gram sabhas and NGOs working in the field of river and forest conservation. Pawar also said a 'tribal development centre' will begin at Yashwantrao Chavan Pratishthan in Mumbai soon. " Tribals are the ones who are preserving water and forests. We need to boost gram sabhas across Maharashtra. Steps must be taken to ensure the upliftment of tribals," Pawar said. He praised groups like Vidarbha Nisarg Sanrakshan Sanstha, Vidarbha Va Khandesh Upajivika Manch and others and said they have been able to instil confidence in the gram sabhas, which was bearing fruit at the ground level. More than 700 persons from districts like Gadchiroli, Gondia, Chandrapur, Nagpur, Yavatmal, Amravati, Nandurbar and Dhule distri

Modi govt goes the extra mile to woo tribal population ahead of polls

The moves in the budget are just the latest in a string of efforts that have been employed by the BJP for quite a while

Wayanad becomes first district to digitise tribals' documents, Rahul lauds

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday congratulated Kerala's Wayanad on its becoming India's first district to digitise basic documents of all tribals

Tribals to hold fast on Jan 30 for Parasnath hills movement in Jharkhand

Tribals will observe a day's fast on January 30 at Ulihatu in Khunti district, the birthplace of tribal icon Birsa Munda, in solidarity with their movement to save the Parasnath hills, a member of a joint forum of Adiva bodies said. A large number of tribals on Tuesday assembled near the Parasnath hills in Giridih district, urging the state government and the Centre to free their holy site from the clutches of the Jain community. They also warned of severe agitation if their demand was not met. Hundreds of tribals from Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha demonstrated in the hill area, carrying traditional weapons and beating drums. "Marang Buru' (Parasnath) is the birthright of Jharkhand's tribals, and no power in the world can deprive them of this right," a member of the Jharkhand Bachao Morcha', which claims to be an outfit of over 50 bodies, asserted on Tuesday. Tribals will observe a day's fast on January 30 at Ulihatu in Khunti, the birthplace of tribal icon Birsa Munda, in ...

Tribal economy set to get a fillip; Madhya Pradesh govt notifies PESA Act

According to the state forest minister Vijay Shah, in this year's Van Mela, forest products worth Rs 3 crore were sold

Centre is committed to empowering tribal communities: Dharmendra Pradhan

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Wednesday emphasized the need for working towards empowering the tribal communities, and said that the Centre's motto is 'Sab ka Sath, Sab ka Vikas'

Engaging e-commerce firms to push goods made by tribals: Dharmendra Pradhan

The government is taking steps to enhance production and marketing of forest produce of tribal communities and engaging with e-commerce players like Amazon and Flipkart to push their sales, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Wednesday. He also said that the tribal community will be the major beneficiary of the emphasis of the National Education Policy on the use of mother tongue or local language as the medium. Briefing media about the steps being taken by the government for the welfare of tribals, the minister said that financial allocations under centrally sponsored schemes have been increased significantly. It was increased to Rs 91,000 crore in 2022-23 from Rs 19,437 crore in 2014-15, he said, adding funds are being pumped to open Eklavya Vidyalaya in the country to strengthen education ecosystem for them. He added that about 10 lakh tribal beneficiaries are connected with Van Dhan Vikas Kendras through 55,000 self-help groups. The objective of these centres is to ensur

Meta restores video of sexual assault on woman citing newsworthiness

Social media major Meta's oversight board has upheld company's decision to restore a video of sexual assault allegedly on a tribal women by a group of men on Instagram citing newsworthiness in the content, the board said on Wednesday. In March 2022, an Instagram account describing itself as a platform for Dalit perspectives posted a video from India showing a woman being assaulted by a group of men. Sharing details of the case, the board said that the woman's face is not visible in the video and the text accompanying the video states that a "tribal woman" was sexually assaulted and harassed by a group of men in public, and that the video went viral. The account which posted the video has around 30,000 followers, mostly located in India. "The board has upheld Meta's decision to restore a post to Instagram containing a video of a woman being sexually assaulted by a group of men. The board has found that Meta's 'newsworthiness allowance' is inadequate in resolving cases such as this a

Murmu asks Gates Foundation to give attention to ailments affecting tribals

President Droupadi Murmu asked the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation on Tuesday to give attention to serious ailments like sickle cell anaemia, which particularly afflicts tribal communities, apart from its focus areas such as public health, malaria and TB. According to a Rashtrapati Bhavan statement, Murmu conveyed her views in an interaction with the foundation's co-chair and trustee Melinda Gates who called on her on Tuesday. The president was happy to note the work done by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation over the past two decades, it said. Speaking about India taking over the G-20 presidency, she said India's experience and best practices can be very useful lessons for other developing countries. "In particular, India's rich and diverse tribal heritage can be showcased to the world - living in harmony with nature, traditional systems of medicine, and a genuine 'sustainability' approach are the hallmarks of this unique lifestyle," the statement said. She said the governme

Tripura party's sit-in at Jantar Mantar seeks more autonomy for tribals

Hundreds of tribals from Tripura, including a large number of women, on Monday began their two-day sit-in demonstrations at Jantar Mantar in the national capital to intensify their demand

Congress oblivious to existence of tribals in India, says PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday took a swipe at Congress saying its leaders remained oblivious to tribals for a very long time even though tribals have been living in the country since the days of Lord Ram and Lord Krishna. Canvassing for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Jambusar town in tribal-dominated Bharuch district in poll-bound Gujarat, the prime minister also said leaders of Congress mocked him for wearing traditional tribal attire at public functions. "For a very long time, Congress leaders remained unaware of the existence of tribals in India. Weren't they living here since the days of Lord Ram and Lord Krishna?.. Weren't they part of the 1857 mutiny? Tribals did so many things for this country. But, Congress leaders never knew that Adivasis exist." "Otherwise, why was there no separate ministry for tribals until Atal Bihari Vajpayee became prime minister? It was Ataljee's government at the Centre which carved out a separate ministry and allocated a budget for their

Tribals inspiration behind govt schemes: PM pays tributes to Birsa Munda

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday paid tributes to Birsa Munda, an iconic tribal leader, on his birth anniversary and said the tribal community has been the inspiration behind various schemes of his government. In a recorded video address, Modi cited a number of welfare programmes of the central government and said crores of tribal families have benefitted from them and their lives have become easier. He noted that museums dedicated to tribal freedom fighters are being built across the country to recognise their contributions. His government, Modi noted, had announced Munda's birth anniversary as 'Janjatiya Gaurav Divas'. The country is marching on to fulfil the dreams of Munda and many other tribal heroes, the prime minister said. Munda is not only an icon of the freedom struggle but also denotes the country's spiritual and cultural energy, he said. He named Tilka Manjhi, Sidhu and Kanhu, and Tana Bhagat among other leading tribal revolutionaries besides Munda and paid tri

Chhattisgarh emerging as world forum for tribals: CM Bhupesh Baghel

Launching the National Tribal Dance Festival, CM Bhupesh Baghel said that Tribal culture is deeply-rooted in Chhattisgarh and the state is moving towards the becoming world forum for tribals