Preservation of indigenous culture govt’s foremost priority: CM

Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Wednesday said that the foremost priority of his government is 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’, organised by International Centre for Cultural Studies (ICCS) here in Assam, 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.”

“The rich legacy of our traditions and cultures are passed down to us by our families, our communities and our societies. Our elders are indeed the living encyclopaedias 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.

He said that “knowledge-sharing, research and study works, and the papers submitted on the theme of reviving traditions, ecological knowledge and collaborative governance 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.”

“I am sure that the manifesto declared today will develop mutual respect and mutual understanding among each other and create a harmonious society,” he said.

Informing that Arunachal is home to “one of the most diverse cultures in the world,” Khandu said that his government has allocated funds for construction of tribal cultural centres in all the districts, besides constructing three gurukuls for the Galo and Nyishi tribes, and two gurukuls for the Adi and Tangsa tribes.

“The functional gurukul – Nyubu Nyvgam Yerko in East Kameng district – has captured popular imagination. We are providing financial assistance to all districts for celebration of local festivals, the 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,” he said, adding that “we have also conducted the 7th state-level Indigenous Youth Festival in Namsai, while the first-ever International Tribal Film Festival-2022 was held in Dirang,” he informed.

He said that his government “firmly believes in involvement of local communities and people in the protection and preservation of cultural heritage, and is providing corpus funds to community-based organisations 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 (Maharashtra),” he informed.

“We have also undertaken documentation of the tangible and intangible of indigenous people, including Tangsa, Nocte, Wancho, the 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,” he added.

“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 folktales for use in classrooms have been developed for eight tribes – Nyishi, Galo, Tagin, Wancho, Tangsa, Idu-Mishmi, Taraon Mishmi and Kaman Mishmi,” Khandu said.

He further informed that Arunachal’s indigenous affairs department 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 commended the efforts of the ICCS “in finding commonalities and bringing all the cultures together,” and invited it to organise its next conference in Arunachal.

Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein also attended the event