First National Tribal Carnival to be held in Delhi –Jual Oram

First National Tribal Carnival will be held in Delhi from February 12 to 17, 2016. The carnival will be inaugurated by the Prime Minister. This was announced by Union Tribal Affairs Minister Shri Jual Oram in New Delhi while addressing the meeting of the Parliamentary consultative committee attached to his Ministry. He said the purpose of this carnival is to showcase and promote various facets of tribal culture on a large scale. The Minister said, “the underlying idea is to preserve and promote various facets of the tribal life relating to culture, tradition, customs and their skills and to expose it to the general population with a view to utilizing the potential for overall holistic development of the Scheduled Tribes.” Activities liked displaying documented traditional socio-culture aspects, collection of art/artifacts, cultural performances, demonstration of skills like sports, paintings, traditional healing practices etc. will be part of the six day event. The Minister said, “the thematic panel discussion on issues like tribal health, education, skill development and culture with experts in the relevant filed will be a part of the carnival”.

Shri Oram informed the members that the events during the carnival will be a mix of live musical and dance performances, exhibitions, display of craft, fashion show, panel discussion, book fair etc. He said, “a pride parade by tribal troupes in traditional attire shall be added event. The carnival promises to be a mix of art, music, traditional food and one of its kind of non-stop venue for lively entertainment of India’s traditional tribal way of life full of experience and knowledge”. The Minister said around three thousand tribals from across the country are expected to take part in the carnival. Beside, eminent tribal personalities who excelled in various field i.e sports, art and culture, literature, academic, medicine etc have also been invited.

It may be recalled that in a review meeting before the Prime Minister in January this year it was decided that Ministry of Tribal Affairs shall initiate a “Tribal Carnival” with cultural troupes from various tribal communities of different States.

The members of Parliament attending the meeting congratulated the Ministry for this initiatives and gave their valuable suggestions. They were of the view that seminars during the carnival should have focused discussions on various important tribal issues. One member suggested that such carnivals should be organized on state level also. Another member suggested that carnival should have separate section for traditional tribal healing practices.

Earlier the Secretary of the Ministry Shri Arun Jha gave a power point presentation about the carnival. He said the carnival will not only showcase the tribal cultural and heritage but will also be a celebration of the tribal spirit. Shri Jha informed the member that a film festival of tribal films will also be held along the carnival.

The following members attended the meeting:-

Shri Arjunlal Meena, Shri Ashok Mahadeorao Nete, Shri Prem Das Rai, Shri Ramsinh Patalyabahi Rathwa (all from Lok Sabha ) and Rajya Sabha member Shri Santiuse Kujur.