New Delhi: The two-day workshop on ‘Janjatiya Anusandhan- Asmita, Astitva evam Vikas’ was inaugurated on 27th November in the Plenary Hall of Vigyan Bhawan in the capital, with lamp lightening by the Chief Guest Jatinder K. Bajaj, Chairman, ICSSR and Harsh Chouhan, Chairperson, NCST, Ananta Nayak, Member, NCST and Alka Tiwari, Secretary, NCST. The inaugural session was opened by Alka Tiwari, Secretary, NCST. She addressed the August gathering and expressed that amongst the various models of the comprehensive development throughout the world, the most comprehensive provisions are enshrined in the Constitution of India with the provisions of the affirmative action to ensure the tribal identities. The constitution of the NCST under Art. 338A of the Constitution of India in 2004 was made for the protection of safeguards provided to the STs. She apprised that the NCST has an important mandate to advise the Governments in Centre and the States in policy and planning. She further stated that the Commission conducts reviews of the departments and organization in the Centre and the State, entrusts research studies and make recommendations to the Centre and the State, and the annual report of NCST with recommendations is presented to the President of India. In the keynote address, Harsh Chouhan, Chairperson, NCST discussed the distorted narratives of tribes in colonial period and the reasons of the deprivation of the ST Communities. He remarked that for advancement of the Communities, it is essential to know the pride and self-esteem in the history (Asmita); the knowledge of the present (Astitva); and the dreams and aspiration of the Community for the development of the country (Vikas). He also underlined the need for bridging the divide in society and also sought research papers on the STs from their own perspectives, preferably penned by among those in community. J.K. Bajaj, Chairperson, ICSSR and the Chief Guest of the Workshop, in his address, focused on the ‘Development of India’ and the ST Communities in the next 25 years. He stressed upon the research on the indigenous values, role of tribal heroes in the freedom struggle and called for the Universities to come ahead with the in-depth research on Tribal Communities. The inaugural session of the Workshop was concluded by Ananta Nayak, Member of the Commission. Session I The Session I was moderated by Sandeep Kavishwar. In this session, Prof. Rami Desai made a presentation on ‘Changing the Gaze for Research’ on ST Communities and discussed the linkages of the STs from past to present. Next speaker, Dr. Phirmi Bodo, JNU stated that the true well-being of the STs in the course of development need to be coupled with the harmony and co-existence while ensuring the people’s livelihood and environment sustainability. In Session I, the voices from the Communities were presented by Raja Ram Katara who quoted that tribal traditions may guide the world for sustainable development. Further, Roop Narayan Marawi stressed on the identity and self-esteem of the ST and highlighted the issue of Tribal Identity and Conservation of Culture. As the representative of the ST Community Dr. Phirmi Bodo stressed on need to reverse the psychology and do away the anthropological biasness. Session II The Session II was moderated by Milind Dandekar, founder of SGITS, Indore. Mahesh Sharma, Padma Shri Awardee talked on the women empowerment, the education system and learning processes in the villages. Prof. M. Jagadesh Kumar, Chairperson, UGC highlighted to nurture the cognitive ability of the youth, principles of learning and multi-disciplinary approach for holistic education under NEP. Session III This session was moderated by Konthang Touthang, Joint Secretary, NCST. In this session, Milind Thatte discussed the rights of STs on land, water and the survival of the ST communities in the villages of India. Prof. R. Balasubramanyam, Chairperson, CCI elucidated his views on violation of rights and also spoke about the need to learn from tribal ethics as diversity in action. Lakshman Singh Markam discussed the traditional knowledge of the STs and the need to understand the tribal voices that are not much vocal. Ananta Nayak, Hon’ble Member NCST concluded the first session and talked about the issued that are required to be addressed in research such as the FRA, PESA, Land acquisition, displacement and to contribute on the modification of the Acts in the law of the Country. President Droupadi Murmu addresses the delegates of National Workshop on 'Janjatiya Anusandhan-Asmita, Astitva evam Vikas' at Rashtrapati Bhavan https://t.co/AbSITdyXvd — President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) November 28, 2022
