Every August 9, to mark World Tribal Day, tribal communities scattered in different parts of Mumbai come together to celebrate their indigenous culture, food, music, dance and heritage. But this time around, members of the community living in Aarey forest say they have been denied permission to hold cultural events.
Vitthal Govind Lad, founder of Kashtakari Shetkari Sanghtana and Jaag Foundation that have been working for the rights of tribal community in Mumbai since 1983, said: “We are law-abiding citizens and the actual Mumbaikars who have always nurtured nature. We have celebrated the same festival for years maintaining peace and harmony for years. It is disappointing that the Tribal Minister is holding a mega event in Nandurbar but tribals in the capital city of Maharashtra are denied permission to celebrate on the same day. We will approach him [Tribal Minister] and ask him if he is aware of the way tribals of Mumbai are treated. We had submitted a letter for permission 15 days in advance. As part of the event, we also plan to take out a rally titled, ‘Adivasi Bachao Yatra’, but police objected and asked us to change the name of the rally. We are not changing it.”
Vanita Thakre, resident and tribal rights activist said, “Over 4,000 tribal people are gathering here at the Aarey forest from across Mumbai, and we have been celebrating it for years. On July 22, we submitted a letter seeking permission from the Aarey police station but there was no response. Two days ahead of the festival, the police called us, made us wait for two hours, misbehaved and insulted us. We showed them as proof police permits from previous years but they refused to accept it and verbally told us that we will not be able to celebrate it. We have decided that we will celebrate our festival peacefully with or without police permission.”
While the tribals in Mumbai said they are facing a difficult time to hold a festival that celebrates their existence, Nandurbar, the tribal-dominated district in Maharashtra has lined up day-long events planned by the Tribal Development Department, which will be attended by Tribal Development Minister Vijaykumar Gavit. “From 11 a.m. at the Police Drill Ground in Nandurbar, we will celebrate World Tribal Day with various cultural events representing the community in Maharashtra. We will also celebrate the day in all 500 residential schools across the State, the project offices and tribal offices,” said Vijay Waghmare, Secretary, Tribal Development Department.
Officials of the Tribal Department said they are unaware of the difficulties tribals face in arranging cultural events in Mumbai but said they will enquire about it, they said.
To raise awareness of the needs of tribal population, every August 9, UNESCO commemorates the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples. The date was adopted in December 1994 by the UN General Assembly, marking the date of the first meeting of a UN Working Group on indigenous populations in Geneva in 1982.
The Hindu spoke to a police officer from the Aarey police station who refused to give the reasons for denying permission to the tribal communities of Aarey to hold their festival.
Published - August 08, 2024 11:53 pm IST
