Tribal Ministry to focus on language preservation at National Conclave starting tomorrow in Mysuru

New Delhi, Aug 23 (IANS) A national dialogue on documentation of tribal languages and strengthening of Tribal Museums and Tribal Freedom Fighter Museums (TFFMs) will top the agenda at a three-day National Conclave starting in Mysuru from Monday, an official of the Tribal Affairs Ministry said.

The National Conclave aims to advance the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s roadmap for a Viksit Bharat @2047, under which reviving India’s traditional knowledge systems and ensuring no community is left behind remain key pillars of inclusive national development, the official said in a statement.

The Ministry is organising the National Conclave on Tribal Languages & Museums from August 24-26 to provide a single platform for dialogue on the documentation, preservation and revitalisation of tribal languages, together with a parallel track on strengthening Tribal Museums and Tribal Freedom Fighter Museums (TFFMs) across the country.

The conclave will be inaugurated by Minister of State for Tribal Affairs Durgadas Uikey, in the presence of Karnataka Tribal Welfare Minister T. Raghumurthy and Joint Secretary, Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Anant Prakash Pandey, said the statement on Sunday.

The Conclave will carry forward the vision shared by the Prime Minister in his 2016 Independence Day address, recognising the contribution of tribal communities to India’s freedom struggle.

Pursuant to this, the Ministry has sanctioned 11 Tribal Freedom Fighter Museums across 10 States, of which four have been inaugurated, and the Conclave will deliberate on a common vision for Tribal Museums and TFFMs as vibrant institutions of contemporary curation, storytelling and community-rooted heritage representation.

This reflects the Prime Minister’s broader conviction that language is not merely a medium of communication but a living repository of a community’s culture, heritage and traditional knowledge — a vision in which tribal languages occupy a central place, said the statement.

The National Conclave also aims to place community priorities at the centre of the agenda and arrive at a national roadmap for tribal language documentation, preservation and revitalisation.

The Ministry also recognises that the loss of a tribal language takes with it an entire body of ecological, medicinal, agricultural and cultural knowledge and has engaged the network of Tribal Research Institutes (TRIs) and State Tribal Welfare Departments for preservation of tribal languages, the statement said.

–IANS

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