Union Minister of State for Tribal Affairs Durgadas Uikey inaugurated the three days National Conference on Tribal languages and Museums in the cultural capital of Karnataka in Mysuru today.

Speaking in the inaugural, Durgadas said that Tribal community is an integral part of our ancient history and played a crucial role during national integration and freedom struggle. He emphasised that it should be our national resolve to honour tribal identity and heritage, history and languages.

The minister spoke of the vital role played by Tribals during Lord Shri Ram’s 14 years long expedition to Lanka. How Shabari met Lord Shri Ram and her devotion. During Mahabharata, Bhima married Tribes woman Hidimba. The minister also spoke about tribal warrior Kunya Bhil who helped Maharana Pratap. The tribal community played a pivotal role during our freedom struggle and countless tribal warriors sacrificed their lives for the nation.

The minister said that after our Independence no serious thought was given for the welfare of the tribal community and no efforts were made to teach tribal history. He stressed that a national resolve is essential to honor our tribal identity and heritage while connecting future generations to their roots.

The minister hoped that the three days conference would dwell upon aspects to preserve our tribal languages, and secondly, the glorious history of our tribal freedom fighters.