Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi inaugurated the famous annual Adivasi Mela at the Exhibition Grounds in Bhubaneswar on Sunday. This year, the fair is being organised from January 5 to January 15, ahead of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas conference.
On this occasion, the Chief Minister said that this fair has become an integral part of the life of those coming to Bhubaneswar as well as the people of Bhubaneswar. This year, overseas Indians will come to Bhubaneswar and see, know and experience the beauty of Odisha’s tribal culture. The Chief Minister said that this great festival of all tribals of Odisha will definitely gain fame on the world stage this time.
The Chief Minister also launched the Shahid Madho Singh Haath Kharcha Scheme and said that this will help in increasing the tribal students’ interest in education and reducing the dropout rate.
As per the scheme, tribal students who pass Class 8 and enroll themselves in Class 9 and 10 and those who enroll in Class 11 will be given an incentive amount of Rs 5,000 per annum at one time.
Students who are studying in regular classes after registering in the relevant class will benefit from this scheme. On Sunday, 1.6 lakh tribal students received the incentive amount, while a total of more than 2 lakh tribal students will benefit from it, the Chief Minister said.
The Chief Minister said that the sacrifices of the tribals in the country’s freedom struggle are unparalleled. He shed light on the struggle of Bhagwan Birsa Munda and Shaheed Madho Singh.
Narrating the story of the struggle of Shaheed Madho Singh, the Chief Minister said that the martyr was a tribal landowner of Ghansa area of Bargarh district. He was a close associate of Veer Surendra Sai and revolted against the atrocities of the British government. In 1857, he killed many British soldiers at Sangada Ghati near Sambalpur. Madho Singh also killed British Captain Shakespeare and Captain Woodbridge in that battle. However, after fighting for many days, he was finally captured by the British soldiers and hanged on December 31, 1858. Even after this, his four sons – Hatte Singh, Kunjal Singh, Bairi Singh and Iri Singh fought against the British and became martyrs in the freedom movement, making Odisha blessed.
The Chief Minister said that about a quarter of the population of Odisha is tribal. Stating that the progress of the state is impossible without the development of such a large number of people, he said that the sad thing is that even after 75 years of independence, tribals are lagging behind in every social and economic indicator. The Chief Minister opined that the tribals of Odisha are very backward in the fields of education, health, income, and livelihood, etc.
It is worth noting that this year there are 147 stalls, 15 live demonstrations, food courts, art and handicraft stalls, Bhagwan Birsa Munda Pavilion.
The Minister for Scheduled Tribes and Caste Development, Minority and Backward Classes Welfare, School and Mass Education and Social Security and Empowerment of the Disabled, Nityanand Gand said that this year’s Tribal Fair is unique. In this fair, tribal communities from every corner of Odisha have got an opportunity to sell their products. This Tribal Fair has provided a suitable platform to the tribal community and they will get an international market for their products, he said.
On this occasion, the Chief Minister honoured nine tribal talents and 10 tribal farmers. He released the edition of the journal ‘Banja-2025’ published by the Tribal Language and Culture Academy.
