Guwahati: Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Wednesday said that the foremost priority of his government is the protection, preservation and promotion of the state’s indigenous culture by ensuring that activities in this sphere cover all tribes and regions.
Speaking at the valedictory function of the 8th Triennial International Conference and Gathering of Elders by the International Centre for Cultural Studies (ICCS) in Dibrugarh, Khandu said cultural traditions and value systems passed down by ancestors are very important because these shape the lives of every generation giving the community its identity.
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“The rich legacy of our traditions and cultures is passed down to us by our families, our communities and our societies. Our elders are indeed the living encyclopedias of our knowledge systems. I commend the elders of Arunachal, our forefathers for keeping our cultures and traditions alive, and inculcating those values in our youngsters,” he said.
Khandu expressed confidence that the International Conference and Gathering of Elders on the theme of reviving traditions, ecological knowledge and collaborative governance would be a great success.
The chief minister said that the knowledge sharing, research and study works, and the papers submitted on the theme would give a new dimension to preserving the rich culture and traditions of diverse communities of the world and chalk out a way of reviving lost traditions.
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“I am sure, the manifesto declared today will develop mutual respect and mutual understanding amongst each other and create a harmonious society,” he remarked.
Informing that Arunachal Pradesh is home to one of the most diverse cultures in the world, Khandu said the state government has allocated funds for the construction of Tribal Cultural Centres in all the districts besides constructing three Gurukuls for Galo and Nyishi tribes, two Gurukuls for Adi and Tangsa tribes.
“The functional Gurukul — Nyubu Nyvgam Yerko — in East Kameng district has captured the popular imagination. We are providing financial assistance to all districts for the celebration of local festivals, Indigenous Faith Day and Indigenous Youth festivals. To ensure large-scale public involvement in the celebrations of local festivals as per the needs and aspirations of all districts, we have placed these funds at the disposal of the respective deputy commissioners.
We have also conducted the 7th State Level Indigenous Youth Festival at Namsai. The 1st ever International Tribal Film Festival 2022 was held at Dirang,” he informed.
He assured that the state government firmly believes in the involvement of local communities and people in the protection and preservation of cultural heritage and is providing corpus funds to Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) for strengthening culture and traditions. Every year, the government sponsors the education of 20 students for undergoing studies at the Indian National Fellowship Centre in Pune, he revealed.
“We have also undertaken documentation of the tangible and intangible of indigenous people including Tangsa, Nocte, Wancho, story of Tai Bida Legend, arts and crafts of Tai Khamti, and Sango Tani, as well as research and documentation of Shamanic Institution of the Idu-Mishmis. We have completed documentation of the cultural heritage of the Adi, Nyishi, Wancho, Nocte and Tangsa tribes, and are now covering 14 tribes.
Books on local folk tales for use in classrooms have been developed for 8 tribes-Nyishi, Galo, Tagin, Wanchoo, Tangsa, Idu Mishmi, Taraon Mishmi and Kaman Mishmi,” Khandu said.
He further informed that the Department of Indigenous Affairs was established solely to promote, preserve and nurture our cultural heritage.
“I am happy to mention that resource allocation for this department has been significantly enhanced by our Government. We will continue with high levels of allocation on various projects under this department,” Khandu added.
He appreciated the efforts of ICCS in finding commonalities and bringing all the cultures together and invited it to organize its next conference in Arunachal Pradesh.
Arunachal Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein also attended the event.