Tribal community is base of India: Jual Oram
Source: The Sangai Express / Press Information Bureau
New Delhi, January 31 2015 :
Jual Oram, Union Minister of Tribal Affairs today said that tribal community is the base of India and without strengthening it no developmental infrastructure could be firm.
Jual Oram was speaking during a reception function here in New Delhi in honour of tribal guests and tableaux artistes and supporting staff who had participated in this year's Republic Day parade.
Members of Parliament belonging to Scheduled Tribes were also invited to the Reception.
Welcoming them, the Minister said that Government of India is committed to make tribals a partner in the developmental process of nation by keeping focus on their interests.
They also presented gifts on behalf of Ministry of Tribal Affairs to tableaux artistes.
Welcoming the tribal guests and the artists, Jual Oram said that the tradition of inviting tribals to attend Republic Day parade has been continued since the first Republic Day in 1952 .
He said that the purpose of inviting Tribal Guests is to provide them an opportunity of visiting the National Capital and interact with the diverse and rich cultural tradition of this country so that they could feel proud of it.
This includes the meeting of tribal representatives with the President, Vice-Presidemt, Prime Minister and the Defence Minister, Dilli Darshan and a visit to the Museum and Library of Parliament.
Giving an account of the Ministry's activities, Oram said education is the main theme of Tribal Development hence the Union Gonvernment is implementing special programmes for girls education in particularly those areas where girls literacy rate is below par.
He also said that the recently launched "Vanbandhu Kalyan Yojana", a scheme for the integrated development of tribal community will prove to be a milestone.
Oram reiterated that the Government is fully concerned with the tribal development along with the conservation of their cultural heritage.
However, the role of the State Governments and their cooperation is equally importamt in this regard.
Minister of State Manusukhbhai Dhanji Bhai Vasava and senior officers of the Ministry were also present.
It is important to note that for the Republic day parade 2015, the 60 special Tribal Guests from 25 States and Union Territories were invited and this provided a good opportunity to each one of them to know more about the other cultural traditions of the country.
In response the tribal representatives appreciated the efforts and vision of Oram and his Ministry.