SHILLONG: The state government has moved the Tribal Affairs ministry to set up a tribal research institute at Chidekgre, near Babadam, Garo Hills at a cost of Rs 48 crores and the work will start within two months.
Chief Minister Conrad Sangma disclosed this while speaking at the two-day national seminar on “The Changing Dynamics of Tribal Society in India with Special Reference to North Eastern Region,” organised by the department of Sociology and the internal quality assurance cell of Shillong College here on Tuesday. He said there must be data and archives on Meghalaya.
He said the idea of such an institute was sown in his mind by his father, late PA Sangma, during one of their evening discussions.
Stating that it is important to bear in mind the identity aspect of the indigenous community, he recalled that when he had visited the GHADC in search of a library to read about Garo culture he found that it didn’t have one and nor was there a museum.
“District councils are the custodians of identity and culture. We don’t have enough research and data”, Sangma said stressing on the need with reference to pre-independence and post-independence times.
He said that the institute will be centralised, not only for Garo Hills but the entire North East.
Delivering the keynote address, former professor of Delhi School of Economics and Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, Virginius Xaxa said that the best word to describe ‘tribal’ in today’s world is ‘indigenous people’.
He said that change in the North East was unprecedented during colonial period and it has never been the same as the tribes are located in different administrative set up.
Stating that the three key players of social transformation are state, market and ideology of Christianity, he pointed out at the phenomenon where indigenous people leave their homes in search of better opportunities as market has become important.
