DIBRUGARH, Jan 31: ​​Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu today said that the foremost priority of his government is protection, preservation and promotion of the state’s indigenous culture by ensuring that activities in this sphere cover all tribes and regions.
​Speaking at the valedictory function of the 8th Triennial International Conference and Gathering of Elders by International Centre for Cultural Studies (ICCS) at Dibrugarh this evening, Khandu said cultural traditions and value systems passed down by ancestors are very important because these shape lives of every generation giving the community its identity. 
​“The rich legacy of our traditions and cultures are passed down to us by our families, our communities and our societies. Our elders are indeed the living encyclopaedias of our knowledge systems. I commend the elders of Arunachal, our forefathers for keeping our cultures and traditions alive, and inculcating those values in our youngsters,” he said.
​Khandu expressed confidence that the International Conference and Gathering of Elders on the theme of reviving traditions, ecological knowledge and collaborative governance would be a great success.
​He said that the knowledge sharing, research and study works, and the papers submitted on the theme would give a new dimension to preserving the rich culture and traditions of diverse communities of the world and chalk out a way of reviving lost traditions.
​“I am sure, the manifesto declared today will develop mutual respect and mutual understanding amongst each other and create a harmonious society,” he remarked.
​Informing that Arunachal Pradesh is home to one of the most diverse cultures in the world, Khandu said the state government has allocated funds for construction of Tribal Cultural Centres in all the districts besides constructing three Gurukuls for Galo and Nyishi tribes, two Gurukuls for Adi and Tangsa tribes.
​“The functional Gurukul - Nyubu Nyvgam Yerko - in East Kameng district has captured popular imagination. We are providing financial assistance to all districts for celebration of local festivals, Indigenous Faith Day and Indigenous Youth festivals. To ensure large-scale public involvement in the celebrations of local festivals as per the needs and aspirations of all districts, we have placed thesefunds at the disposal of the respective Deputy Commissioners.
We have also conducted the 7th State Level Indigenous Youth Festival at Namsai. The 1st ever International Tribal FilmFestival 2022 was held at Dirang,” he informed.
He assured that the state government firmly believes in involvement of local communities and people in the protection and preservation of cultural heritage and isproviding corpus funds to Community Based Organizations (CBOs) for strengthening culture and traditions. Every year,the government sponsors the education of 20 students for undergoing studies at the Indian National Fellowship Centre at Pune, he revealed.
​“We have also undertaken documentation of the tangible and intangible of indigenous people including Tangsa, Nocte, Wancho, story of Tai Bida Legend, arts and crafts of TaiKhamti, and Sango Tani, as well as research and documentation of Shamanic Institution of the Idu-Mishmis.
​We have completed documentation of the cultural heritage of Adi, Nyishi, Wancho, Nocte and Tangsa tribes, and are now covering 14 tribes.
​Books on local folk tales for use in classrooms have beendeveloped for 8 tribes - Nyishi, Galo, Tagin, Wanchoo,Tangsa, Idu Mishmi, Taraon Mishmi and Kaman Mishmi,” Khandu said.
He further informed that the Department of Indigenous Affairs was established solely to promote, preserve and nurture our cultural heritage.
“I am happy to mention that resource allocation for this department has been significantly enhanced by ourGovernment. We will continue with high levels of allocation on various projects under this department,” Khandu added.
He appreciated the efforts of ICCS in finding commonalities and bringing all the cultures together and invited it to organize its next conference in Arunachal Pradesh.
Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein also attended the event.
Dattatreya Hosabale, Sarkaryavah, RSS has been a part of ICCS Conferences since 2003 from its first event. Hosabale stated, "This movement of global indigenous ancient traditions is flourishing spreading as far as its dimensions and coverage is concerned. Highlighting on the theme of the conference he said, it has the prominent term 'prosperity', he said, the question is how should prosperity be sustained for a long time. Prosperity should not happen at the cost of exploitation of Mother Earth. 
 The Sarkaryavah emphasised three follow-up action points for the conference. Firstly, indigenous tradition and culture are not meant to be preserved in decorative museums like antiques. Ancient wisdom and belief systems are continuous living traditions on earth. Nevertheless, these should be in the mainstream and not to be marginalised. Secondly, indigenous cultures have been experimented for thousands of years on individual and societal lifestyles, thus it is for sure that these are the only ways to save the Mother Earth. This is required for a better and sustainable humanity. Thus, these time tested wisdom must be passed base on these values to next generation. And thirdly, capacity building is required for each community for fine tuning progress and materialistic development.  
The conference adopted a resolution named 'Dibrugarh Declaration' with a three-point agenda: Reviving Traditions, Ecological Knowledge, and Collaborative Governance. In conclusion, the 8th International Conference and Gathering of Elders provided a platform for diverse cultures to converge, emphasising the importance of preserving ancient traditions, ecological sustainability, and collaborative governance.

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Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
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