Chief Minister Hemant Soren today said that the modern model of development has disturbed the balance of tribal and nature relations. Addressing a gathering on the inaugural ceremony of three-day international conference on ‘Tribal Philosophy’ here on Friday the CM said that the global hunger for resources has mostly damaged the tribal identity. The tribals from many countries in the world like Brazil, Australia, Malaysia, etc. have been largely separated from their nature-culture and these communities had to migrate, he said.
The CM, citing the example of Malaysia and Brazil, said that the people of the tribal communities in Malaysia used to spend their lives by catching and harvesting fish, which was a culture of their community, but they were exploited and oppressed.
He said that the tribal communities of Brazil, known as 'Gaurani', used to cultivate sugarcane there but they were also exploited and had to flee. He said that tribals have been forcefully separated from water, forest and land for mining of mineral-wealth in Jharkhand. The work of snatching the land of the tribal community has also been done.
The international seminar on 'Tribal philosophy' being organised for the first time in the world at Audrey house, Ranchi, was inaugurated today by Governor Draupadi Murmu and Chief Minister Hemant Soren. The three-day International seminar is being organised by Dr. Ramdayal Munda tribal welfare Research Institute and Scheduled Tribes, Scheduled Castes, Minorities and Backward Classes Welfare Department.
The conference will include 12 international scholars associated with tribal philosophy and more than 100 scholars from across the country. There will also be participation of professors, researchers and students associated with tribal philosophy from the State universities.
The CM said that tribal philosophy is a vast subject. “Jharkhand is a tribal dominated state. A lot of research has been done continuously in the country and the State, but as far as tribal philosophy is concerned, it itself is a very large group. Understanding or researching on tribal philosophy is also a big challenge. The three-day international seminar on 'Tribal Philosophy' will prove to be a milestone for the overall development of the tribal community of the State,” he said.
Soren said that research works are going on in the whole world on the subject of tribal philosophy. “The manner in which these research works are going on has also been continuously discussed. About 37 crore tribals live in about 90 countries all over the world. These communities have 5 thousand cultures and contain 40 thousand languages which are spoken. About 5 per cent of the world's total population comprises of tribal communities.
Today it is a big irony that tribals own 15 per cent of the world's poverty. Why is this so? This is the subject of research,” he said.
The CM further said that the tribal community has always shown its tradition and culture. He said that till 1951 AD, about 30 to 35 per cent of the tribals used to live in the country, today the number of tribals has reduced to just 26 per cent. This is a very serious matter in itself, and research should be done in this field, he said. Soren said that today the whole world is worried about global warming and the situation has arisen due to change in nature.
“The role of the tribal community has been and will continue to be the most important in maintaining the natural balance. No one can do better than tribal society to protect the nature and save us against natural disasters like global warming. The natural beauty has its own identity in our country and State thus, we should not harm this natural beauty with brick, concrete and stone in the name of development,” he added.
Speaking on the occasion, Governor Draupadi Murmu said that there are 9 types of philosophies in India where the 'Tribal philosophy' is the best and greatest of these. “People from tribal communities worship nature. Till now subjects related to tribal communities have been limited till their external activities, their relationship with the outside world and their practices in their society. It is hoped that with such an event, Tribal philosophy will be successful in making its important place in the Indian branch of philosophy,” she said.
The Governor also said that the tribal community constitute a major part of the population of the country. Tribal communities have been an integral part of Indian civilization and culture since ancient times. She said that the art, culture, folk literature, tradition and customs of the tribes have always been rich. Tribal songs and dances are also very beautiful in their own way.
VC of DSPMU Dr SN Munda, Welfare Dept Secretary Himani Pandey, Director of Ramdyal Munda Tribal Welfare Research Institute Ranendra Kumar, Writer and tribal philosopher Mahadev Toppo, HOD TRL Professor Hari Oroan alongwith several eminent personalities were present on the occasion.
