Arjun Munda, Minister of Tribal Affairs launched the first virtual Aadi Mahotsav — a celebration of the spirit of tribal culture, crafts and commerce to showcase the rich and diverse culture, crafts of Madhya Pradesh on Tribes India website. The first edition will be from December 1-10, 2020.
“I am really happy to be a part of the inauguration of the event projecting Madhya Pradesh. It is a national tribal festival and a joint initiative of Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India & Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED). The festival showcases traditional art, handicrafts and cultural heritage of the country. The ultimate objective of TRIFED is socio-economic development of tribal people by way of marketing development of the tribal products. Under the leadership of Pravir Krishna, MD, TRIFED has really been doing a good job towards the upliftment of the tribal community in the country.”
The virtual launch took place in the presence of Meena Singh, Minister for Tribal Welfare, Govt. of Madhya Pradesh, Ramesh Chand Meena, Chairman, TRIFED, Navaljit Kapoor, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tribal Affairs and Pravir Krishna, Managing Director, TRIFED. Nanu Bhasin, ADG, Press Information Bureau, senior officials of the ministry, TRIFED and members of the media fraternity also attended the event.
The event was moderated by TRIFED’s goodwill ambassador, Abhinav Chaturvedi. The highlights included a virtual tour of the artisans’ work place and glimpses of the tribal dance and music from Madhya Pradesh. It was also announced that the next focus state from December 11 would be Gujarat, following which the spotlight would shift to Bengal from the December 21 this year.
In his welcome address, Pravir Krishna spoke about the entire concept of the event and how it will help in popularising tribal culture to national and international audiences. With the onboarding of more than 3500 tribal artisans on to the Tribes India Marketplace, this event offers the tribals a new avenue for popularising their culture and arts and will go a long way in helping their economic situation and make them self-reliant.
Ramesh Chand Meena, Chairman, TRIFED congratulated the team for providing a viable alternative to the artisans. Munda also expressed his happiness that despite such challenging circumstances, efforts are being carried out to mitigate the adverse conditions of tribal populations. Extolling the virtues of the simple, sustainable lifestyle of these people, Munda expressed his concern at the disadvantaged economic state of this section and was happy that with TRIFED’s initiatives, the middlemen have been eliminated.
Tribes India e-market place is a noteworthy initiative that showcases the produce and handicrafts of tribal enterprises from across the country and helps them market their produce/ products directly. It is a major leap towards the digitisation of tribal commerce. Five lakh tribal producers/ artisans from across the country are connected via this platform to national and global markets.
Tribes constitute over eight per cent of our population. But even then they are among the disadvantaged sections of the society. An attitude that pervades among the mainstream is the erroneous belief that they have to be taught and helped.
However, if we sit and ponder over it, the truth is otherwise — the tribals have a lot to teach urban India. Characterised by natural simplicity, their creations have a timeless appeal and authenticity. The wide range of handicrafts which include hand-woven cotton, silk fabrics, wool, metal craft, terracotta, bead-work, all need to be preserved and promoted.