On the occasion of International Indigenous People's Day on Monday, in the indoor building of the Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya, the exhibition titled “Leaving No One Behind: Indigenous Peoples and the Call for a New Social Contract” was inaugurated by the Director of the Museum, P.K. Mishra, Mrs. Bhuri Bai and Mrs. Gangu Bai jointly. Many dignitaries were present on this occasion.
The present periodical exhibition titled “Bharat ki Adivasi: the Cultural Panorama of Indian tribes” is presented to celebrate the auspicious occasion of the International Day of World’s Indigenous People on 9th August 2021. The event is hosted every year and this year the United Nations (UN) announced a theme as “Leaving No One Behind: Indigenous Peoples and the Call for a New Social Contract”.
The Indigenous people who are called scheduled tribes by the nation state have been given certain special privileges besides the right of a citizen. In India the term indigenous is not in vogue. Instead, tribal are said to be the original settlers to this country. There are other few terms which are also used for the indigenous people. They are the Vanavasi, Adivasi, Girijan, Janajati and Adimjati etc.
The present exhibition portrays different ethnic zones and spatial distribution of the Indigenous peoples (scheduled tribes) in India. It highlights some of their unique cultural traditions and significant part of documentations carried out by the Indira Gandhi RashtriyaManavSangrahalaya (I.G.R.M.S.) on different occasions through the salvage activities of in-reach and outreach programmes. The exhibition not only create awareness but also will help to develop a sense of respect among the Indigenous people.