Meghalaya celebrates Jan Jatiya Gaurav Divas, honours tribal freedom fighters

Shillong: Along with the rest of the country, Meghalaya on Wednesday celebrated Jan Jatiya Gaurav Divas (Tribal Pride) at U Soso Tham Auditorium, Shillong, to honour tribal freedom fighters.Floral tributes were paid at the life-size statues of U Tirot Sing, U Kiang Nangbah and Pa Togan Sangma. A museum, showcasing tribal cuisine, craft and culture were also set up for the function.“As we celebrate Tribal Pride Week, we should celebrate the pride of belonging to the soil and we should keep in mind that the soil and the soul are one integral part of a tribal,” said cabinet minister Paul LyngdohHe said one major and distinct fact that the Khasi Resistance Movement led by U Tirot Sing in 1829 was far ahead of the Great Revolution against the British rule of 1857. “We should no longer be just a footnote in history but we deserve an entire chapter of our own,” he added.“As we celebrate our roots, origin, we should also acknowledge the son of our soil, Reverend JJM Nichols Roy who was a member of the constituent assembly and who had articulated the need of the tribal people of this region that today we have a space and capacity to protect, promote and perpetuate our interest within India,” Lyngdoh said.Earlier in the day, chief secretary DP Wahlang flagged off a cultural procession on Tribal Pride by artists, cultural troops and cultural associations. Wahlang also flagged off vehicles carrying the message of Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra, which will cover all the blocks of West Jaintia Hills, East Garo Hills and North Garo Hills districts.

Our government gave due respect to Jharkhand tribal heroes: PM Modi

Prime Minister Modi addressed a massive crowd at Khunti's Birsa Munda Football Stadium in Jharkhand. He paid tribute to Birsa Munda at his native village of Ulihatu and met with his descendants. Thousands of people attended the event, with more arriving even as Modi began his speech. Modi announced that Jharkhand has become the first state in the country to achieve 100% electrification of the railway network. He also visited the Birsa Munda Memorial Park and the Freedom Fighter Museum in Ranchi.

Tribal parties commit to 90% quota

The Bhartiya Tribal Party (BTP) and Bharatiya Adivasi Party (BAP) in Rajasthan have promised up to 90% job reservation in tribal sub-plan areas. They aim to extend reservations in both government and private sectors. The BTP also wants the first right to tribal water, land, and forest resources. The BAP plans to close the Ved Vidhyapeeth at Gobind Guru Tribal University and ban English liquor and religious processions. Both parties oppose the Honour of the Dead Body Act and exemption from the Uniform Civil Code. The BTP won two seats in the 2018 polls and emerged as the largest party in the Dungarpur municipal polls in 2021.

Tribals fight for poll quota begins with Panaji stir today

Mission Political Reservation for Scheduled Tribes of Goa is organizing a public meeting at Azad Maidan, Panaji, to demand tribal rights and political reservation. The meeting will coincide with the birth anniversary of tribal freedom fighter Birsa Munda and will follow the Ulgulan movement, an 18th-century tribal uprising. Munda, known as the first tribal revolutionary, fought for tribal rights against the British government.

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