It is a sad reality that despite having immense talent in various fields, our tribals remain neglected and marginalised. The tribal belt of India is, in fact, the treasure trove of sports talent which can even fulfill India's Olympic dream
Over the years, tribals in India have immensely contributed in the fields of sports, cinema, music, songs, folk art and craft etc. Their creations have been plagiarised by smart city-bred artists. Their art and craft works are also sold in the global market at premium without the knowledge of the actual creator.
However, though their raw strength, stamina, creativity and killer instinct have made India proud in the sports arena, their potential has not been tapped fully.
Identifying tribal talents in the bud: A transparent and inclusive selection process should be started for the identification of raw talents in the tribal belt. Being brought up in natural environment, the tribals are tough, intelligent and creative people who have excelled in many international sports meets. Those breeds are available all across the country.
Dilip Tirkey of Odisha was considered as one of the best full back players in hockey. Michael Kindo, another Olympian hockey stalwart from Sundergarh district of Odisha was a member of the Indian hockey team which won World Cup in 1975. The tribal district, Sundergarh has gifted more than 25 players to the Indian hockey team.
However, it is not thet the tribals have made their impact felt only in the field of hockey. They have made achievements in other sports disciplines too. For instance, Dutee Chand, the 100-metre national champion sprinter hails from a remote tribal village of Odisha. Chand, who shattered the national 100m mark, narrowly missed the Rio Olympic qualifying score by 0.01 seconds.
Mary Com, the five-time world amateur boxing champion and the 2012 Olympic Bronze Medal winner, belongs to Kangathei, a tribal village of Manipur.
legendary footballer, Baichung Bhutia too is a tribal from Tinkitam of Sikkim. Bhutia led India to win the lG Cup in Vietnam in 2002. He is also the first Indian to play professional football in England.
In 2007, the tribal boys from Odisha surprised the world by winning the under-14 International School Rugby Tournament in london, beating South Africa. The boys, despite their small physic, could beat the bigger and stronger South African boys with amazing tackling skill, determination and instinct. The boys studied in the Kalinga Institute of Social Science in Bhubaneswar which gives residential schooling to 5,000 tribal students from different parts of the State.
The National Sports Policy, 2001 envisaged a co-ordinated effort of the Union Government, the State Governments, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and the National Sports Federation to achieve “broad-basing” in sports and “achieving excellence in sports at the national and international levels”. However, everything remained on paper only.
India has not so far built an eco-system which could encourage a child to take sports as a career. The Government has to introduce sports quota in public and private sectors so that sportsmen and women would start taking sports as a career option.
“Under the Target Olympic Podium (TOP) programme of the Union Government, customised training to all athletes will be given. We need to start preparing for
2020 Summer Olympics, Tokyo, from now and I am expecting over 200 athletes to qualify from India in the next Olympics”, said Vijay Goel, the Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports.
Inclusive selection process, purely on the basis of merit, is the key to winning medals in the Olympic games. The tribal belt of India is the treasure trove of sports talents which can fulfill India’s Olympic dream. The performance in the Olympic games have shown the country’s level of discipline, commitment, strength, stamina, skill and patriotism.
Scores of small and poor nations like Vietnam, Kosovo, Fiji, Singapore, Puerto Rico, Bahrain, Jordan, Tajikistan and Ivory Coast walked away with Olympic gold in the Rio Olympic while India was pushed to the 67th position with a lone silver and a bronze in Rio Olympic.
Understanding tribal economy is the key: We can’t force the tribal to play when they are hungry. We can’t force them to change their way of life. While living in forest fringed villages they can contribute immensely to the economic growth too. There are hundreds of minor forest products which get immense value addition.
Honey, bamboo, precious wood, tamarind and many organic products get huge value addition. Giving the tribals an honest and transparent supply chain will be self sufficient.
The tribals of Bastar district inChhattisgarh make world famous wood craft, iron craft and Dhokra handicraft. They can earn more if they have direct access to the market. The Bhil and Bhilala tribe of Jhabua of Madhya Pradesh make ragged dolls which are sold at Rs10,000 to Rs15,000 in the international craft bazaars. The tribal can also do agriculture, make handicraft and collect forest products to lead a happy life.
Recent incidents of Maoist violence have not only caused immense damage to the tribal culture and economy but India has lost hundreds of security personnel and innocent lives in anti-Maoist operations. An economic model enshrined in nature and sports activities are the effective tools to fight the red menace.
(The writer is a freelance commentator)