Raipur, Oct 31 : Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has said that the upliftment of the tribes and allaying the fear of Maoists is the prime focus of his government.
Baghel spoke exclusively to IANS on Saturday. He said the tribal welfare was of paramount importance to him as in some districts like Bastar the tribal population is more than 70 per cent and in most constituencies, they number around 10 to 20 per cent.
Baghel said due to ignorance, the tribal culture was dying and no one was doing anything about this. He said his government is making all efforts to showcase the culture of the people who live with nature.
“The tribal culture is our first culture … it is an ancient culture. Their culture was getting erased. These people live near nature and know nature well. They live and dance with nature. The need is to preserve and conserve this, and at the same time we also want the world to know about their culture and lifestyle,” he said.
Baghel said he is from central Chhattisgarh and knows about the tribal culture. “I have lived with them and since childhood I know the culture of the people and their lifestyle. Bastar has been our weakness, but in each town there is a tribal population,” he said.
“These are our people and important for us in the state. Due to the Maoist problem, these people got alienated from their roots and we have to allay their fears,” Baghel said while responding to a question.
The ‘National Tribal Dance Festival’ and ‘Rajyotsava 2021’ began in Raipur on Thursday in which more than a 1,000 artists from 27 states, six union territories and seven countries –Nigeria, Uzbekistan, Sri Lanka, Uganda, Swaziland, Maldives, Palestine and Syria — are participating.
The Chief Minister said, “The programme was a grand success and it will take the tribal culture of the state to the international level.” (IANS)