SUMAN K SHRIVASTAVA
Ranchi, Nov. 15: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said there was no corner of the country where the tribals did not fight against the British.
In his 45-minute speech at the Birsa College ground in Khunti after applying tilak with the soil of Birsa Munda’s birthplace at Ulihatu, Modi talked eloquently of their history, heritage, contribution and how to link them to the economy.
The massive public meeting at Birsa College ground in Jharkhand’s Khunti district was organised on the occasion of tribal icon Birsa Munda’s birth anniversary and the third ‘Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas’, to roll out two mega projects-PM Jan Man and Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra besides several other projects worth Rs 52,000 crore. Jharkhand got a gift of Rs 7200 crore out of it.
Modi said the tribal heroes did not get justice after Independence and were left unsung by historians.
He recalled the contribution of tribal heroes like Tilka Manjhi, Sido-Kanhu, Birsa Munda, Chand-Bhairav, Nilambar-Pitamber among others in Jharkhand, Bhil freedom fighter Govind Guru from Rajasthan, Gaidinliu Pamei popularly known as Rani Gaidinliu from Nagaland, Komaram Bheem from Telangana, Gunda Dhur from Chhattisgarh, Tantya Bheel from Madhya Pradesh among others who led revolt against the British rule.
It was the first time a prime minister named all these tribal leaders in a row, acknowledging their great heritage and contribution to the freedom struggle. Others merely made a sweeping statement about the tribal leaders’ role in the freedom struggle.
Then, he talked of the development and showed them the future.
And, Modi chose Khunti, the Munda land, where all the tribals inhabiting Jharkhand have their roots, to unveil his plan to undo the injustice done to them all these years.
Launching the Pradhan Mantri Janjatiye Adivasi Nyay Mahaabhiyan (PM Jan Man), Modi said this mega mission will protect the endangered tribals left to fend for themselves.
These vulnerable tribals, around 28 lakhs in number, stay in scattered, remote and inaccessible habitations, often in forest areas. “So, the officers during the previous regime did not reach out to them keeping them deprived of all the basic facilities. They merely displayed data to show their work for the development of tribals.” “But Modi does not believe in it. He invigorates life and fills every life with new passion,” the prime minister declared to a cheering crowd, most of them being tribals.
PM Jan Man will ensure justice for these tribals, he maintained.
Slamming the votaries of so-called social justice and secularism, the prime minister said that Viksit Bharat Sankalp yatra, launched today is Modi’s guarantee for the development of all and discrimination with none. “It is true secularism and social justice,” he maintained. “And when Modi vows, it is the guarantee of fulfilling a guarantee,” the prime minister maintained, apparently taking a jibe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
Under PM Jan Man, the central government will spend Rs 24,000 crore over the next three years for the holistic development of extremely backward tribals.
The mission is planned to saturate the extremely poor tribal families and habitations with basic facilities such as road and telecom connectivity, electricity, safe housing, clean drinking water and sanitation, improved access to education, health and nutrition and sustainable livelihood opportunities.
Modi said these tribals, ignored by the previous governments, were resigned to their fate. “The government considered itself Mai-baap. When I took over, I changed the thought process. The bureaucracy was also the same, the file was also the same. When the thought changed, the result was obvious,” he added.
Meanwhile, Modi also focussed on women. Referring to the festival of Bhai-duj, Modi said her brother (Modi) gives a guarantee to protect and empower them. “I have a dream to develop two crores lakhpati didis and will fulfil it soon,” he contended.
Referring to President Droupadi Murmu as a symbol of women-led development, Modi said Nari-shakti is one of the four important pillars of the developed Bharat’s grand building. The other pillars are youth, the middle class and the poor, he added.
