AHMEDABAD: On August 9, Gujarat ministers and BJP leaders will don tribal attire to mark Adivasi Dadivas, with all 27 tribal constituencies in the Gujarat Assembly joining in the festivities. The Gujarat Chief Minister and other ministers are expected to participate alongside tribal communities. However, amidst these celebrations, recent data released in the Lok Sabha reveals that the Centre has not allocated any funds over the past four years to the “Support to Tribal Research Institute (TRIs)” scheme, which was designed to promote tribal culture.On July 29 in the Lok Sabha, MP Rajkumar Roat asked a written question to the Ministry of Culture regarding the government’s efforts to safeguard and promote tribal culture across the country. He requested a detailed account of expenditures on these initiatives over the past five years, broken down by state, year and scheme. Additionally, Roat posed two supplementary questions on the topic.In response, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism stated, “The Government of India has initiated several measures to preserve and protect tribal culture including Bhil Community, traditions, and customs. The Ministry of Tribal Affairs oversees programs such as ‘Support to Tribal Research Institutes’ and ‘Tribal Research, Information, Education, Communication, and Events,’ which support activities aimed at conserving and promoting tribal culture, including archives, artifacts, customs and traditions.”In response to the Lok Sabha query, the government detailed its efforts under the “Support to Tribal Research Institutes (TRIs)” scheme over the past five years. The data revealed that Gujarat received ₹17.19 crore (1719.06 Lakh) in 2019-20, but no further allocations were made for the state in 2020-21, 2021-22, 2022-23 or 2023-24. Meanwhile, funding under this scheme has continued for other states and union territories including Andhra Pradesh, Mizoram, Jammu and Kashmir and Odisha.
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