The traditional wisdom is an integral part of tribal cultural heritage. Ministry of Tribal Affairs is committed to preserve, protect and promote the rich tribal heritage including art & artefacts, handicraft, sports, tribal medicines, traditional medicinal practices etc.  Government supports Tribal Research Institutes (TRIs) established in State, to work as a body of knowledge & research more or less as a think tank for tribal development and to work towards preservation and dissemination of distinctiveness / uniqueness of tribal culture and their traditional knowledge. Funds are provided to TRIs under the Scheme ‘Support to TRI’ for various activities including construction of museum, library, language primers, research works, seminar/workshop, publication of books, development of documentaries, organisation of tribal festivals etc.

Funds are also provided to private institutions for carrying out research work on various tribal issues under the Scheme ‘Tribal Festival, Research Information and Mass Education’. National level tribal festival / carnival is organized by the Ministry to showcase glimpses of rich cultural heritage of tribal people across the country through unique forms of folk dances, songs, cuisine, exhibition and demonstration of traditional skill in painting, art and craft, medicinal practices etc. Ministry of Tribal Affairs, in association with Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India Ltd.(TRIFED), organized a National Tribal Festival i.e ‘Aadi Mahotsav’ from 16th November, 2017 to 30th November, 2017. Almost 800 Artisans and Artists from 27 States participated in the Mahotsav and sold their products and displayed their crafts and skill.

The Ministry has developed a central digital tribal repository capturing the diverse socio-cultural charateristics of the entire spectrum of Scheduled Tribes. The repository contains digital photos, videos and literature related to tribal rituals, festivals, cloths, ornaments, music, dance forms, arts and crafts. The repository is available to the people across the world through a digital platform.

Even though there is no formal proposal to integrate traditional wisdom with educational methods with the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, this is being followed in tribal institutions of learning through emphasis on traditional cultural heritage.  Ministry of Tribal Affairs has asked the State Governments to develop bilingual primers containing text both in regional and local tribal languages through Tribal Research Institutes (TRIs), which would help to integrate traditional wisdom with educational methods to empower tribal students.  Further, advisories have been issued to the States for synchronizing school vacations with local tribal festival and harvest seasons.

This information was given by Minister of State for Tribal Affairs Shri Jaswantsinh Bhabhor in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.

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NB/AP