Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu (File Photo)
Three weeks after his cabinet approved establishment of a new department to take care of indigenous faiths and cultures, Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Pema Khandu on Friday said it was a step “purely to preserve indigenous tribal beliefs and traditions”, and was not against any religion.
Speaking at a function organised to celebrate the Solung festival of the Adi and Gaalo communities of the state in Roing, chief minister Khandu also said that his BJP government would never take such steps which would undermine the secular character of the state. The sole intention behind creating a separate department was because the existing department of art & culture had some limitations due to which it was not able to fully support the effort to preserve local culture, an official press release issued from Itanagar said.
“The department of indigenous faith and culture is for all tribal faiths and is to protect indigenous beliefs and not against any religion,” chief minister Khandu said. Underlining the importance of preservation of indigenous culture, chief minister Khandu also appealed the people to speak in their own local dialects. He particularly stressed on the importance of children to learn their local dialect and to have understanding of their local traditions and customs. “I have four children, but I never bothered to send them away abroad or to other states for studies. I want them to grow in our local environment so that they can be acquainted with their culture and dialect first,” the chief minister said.
Participating at a Solung festival organised at Pangin in Siang district deputy chief minister Chowna Mein on the other hand called upon the people to keep alive the oral literature of the tribal communities through practice, research and documentation. “The tribal communities of Arunachal Pradesh have very rich oral literature which has been passed on from generation to generation. But these have not been preserved in written form due to absence of written scripts. Today we are facing fear of losing our own script, traditional chanting and healing system which need to be preserved through proper research and documentation,” Mein said. Some scholars including some foreign experts have been engaged for the documentation, he informed.
Asking the young generation to practice and participate in preservation and promotion of traditions and culture, Mein also said there was a tendency among a section of the younger people of feeling ashamed of their own traditions and culture. “If we don’t preserve and protect our own traditions and culture, who else will?” he asked.
Cabinet decision:
On August 12, immediately after the state cabinet had approved setting up of a separate department, chief minister Khandu had said that it was required in order to prevent indigenous culture of the hill state from fading away. While chairing the cabinet meeting chief minister had also said that indigenous communities of the state were fast getting disconnected from their rich culture and languages due to globalization, exposure and external influences. It calls for specific steps to preserve and protect them from disappearing into oblivion, he was quoted as having said.
“Creation of an independent department to look after preservation, protection and promotion of the rich indigenous cultural heritage of the state is a right step in the wake of fast changing world. We cannot let our indigenous culture just fade away like many in the world,” Khandu had said on August 12.
The new department would also work to promote local languages and scripts along with literature on indigenous folklores, folk tales, proverbs, chanting of priests, etc, apart from preserving and promoting indigenous cultural heritage for overall prosperity and constant growth of the communities. It would also maintain welfare schemes for indigenous priests and the priesthood institutions, document rituals related to traditional marriages, births, deaths and festivals, etc and help research on traditional medicinal plants and healing systems.
According to official reports, the new department would also introduce certificate courses on indigenous faiths and culture of the state, apart from helping preserve and promote indigenous games and sports.
