Union govt sanctions tribal freedom fighters' museum in 10 states
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Sidhu Murmu and Kanhu Murmu were the leaders of the Santhal rebellion against both the British colonial authority and the corrupt zamindari system.| Source: Forward Press
New Delhi: The Ministry of Tribal Affairs has sanctioned the Tribal Freedom Fighters' Museum in 10 states to acknowledge the contribution of the tribals who fought against the British rule.
These museums have been sanctioned in Gujarat, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Manipur, Mizoram and Goa under the centrally sponsored scheme 'Support to Tribal Research Institutes', the ministry said in the Lok Sabha on Monday.
India celebrated its first Tribal Day (Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas) on November 15 - the birth anniversary of Birsa Munda, a tribal freedom fighter, religious leader and folk hero who belonged to the Munda tribe. On this occasion, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated a museum to commemorate the leader in Jharkhand.
"The government of India has declared Janjatiya Gaurav Divas to honour all the tribal freedom fighters and for remembering and acknowledging their contribution to the freedom struggle and cultural heritage, and to re-energise the efforts for the socio-economic development of the tribal regions," the ministry said.
It further said that the ministry is implementing the schemes of "Support to Tribal Research Institute" and "Tribal Festival, Research, Information and Mass Education" under which various activities to promote tribal culture have been taken up across the country.
"Tribal Research Institutes are conducting documentation (audio-video, photos and documentation in written and published form) of indigenous knowledge systems, practices, cultures and customs of the tribal communities," the ministry added.
Besides, the ministry is also focusing on research studies, publication of books and documentation, including audio visual documentaries, to promote the rich tribal cultural heritage.
To preserve and promote tribal cultural heritage, a searchable digital repositories viz Tribal Digital Document repository has been developed where all research papers, books, reports and documents, folks songs, photos and videos are uploaded, the ministry said.
The repository currently has more than 10,000 photographs, videos and publications.