Tejgadh tribals chart own course

TEJGADH, June 27: It was probably history being made, but quietly. A conference on and for the tribals was organised by the Bhasha Resear...

TEJGADH, June 27: It was probably history being made, but quietly. A conference on and for the tribals was organised by the Bhasha Research Centre at Tejgadh on June 26 and 27. The agenda: to chart a course of survival for the region8217;s Adivasi art, culture and society. And implement a few measures in that direction.

Events began with a simple function, attended by Adivasis from all over the State 8212; the traditional types in their colourful outfits and the city-based ones in more western wear 8212; and some students.

Guest of honour, outgoing Vadodara DSP Shamsher Singh stressed the social aspects of police work and launched a training programme for tribal youths keen to join the police. Later, he flagged off a motorcycle-borne free library, which will travel to 20 villages around Tejgadh with books of all genres and a few magazines from the Bhasha library at Tejgadh.

BRC founder G N Devy announced that computer classes would be conducted at the Tejgadh centre.

The evening8217;s session, which was held where the tribal academy is proposed to be constructed, saw the course of action being chalked out. 8220;Tribals have a history of empire8221;, he said, adding that it was the British who labeled them criminal tribes8217;.

8220;The Indian administration did not treat them much better8221;, he said. 8220;Five years after independence, Nehru remembered that tribals incarcerated by the British were still in jail. So he cut a ribbon in front of cameras and declared to the world that these people were now viram mukta or vimukta de-notified.8221;

Adivasis, Devy said, existed in three states like water. There were the adivasis in the villages, poor but happy. There were the adivasis who worked as labourers in cities. And those who were drifters, like the bajaniyas. 8220;They don8217;t exist for the rest of India8221;, he said. 8220;There is no money for them, no land, no water8230;nothing.8221;

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Devy ended his talk with a call for tribal unity, which was followed by a discussion on the conservation of tribal art and culture. Artist Alaknanda Patel, dance critic Sunil Kothari, archaeologist Ajay Dandekar and author Kanjibhai Patel were among the prominent speakers.Prime on the day-two agenda was working out the modalities for a micro-credit society for tribals residing around Tejgadh. There was also a discussion on the aesthetics of tribal art. An international tribal conference and a dance festival of some 60,000 tribals were planned for later this year.

The Rotary Club will sponsor a trophy for the dance festival.Spontaneous song and dance, and a play in the traditional style of the adivasis were also part of the two-day meet.