National Tribal Dance Festival begins in Raipur

Raipur: Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Tuesday said the wrong concept of development has become a threat to nature and the rights of tribals.

Speaking at the inaugural function of the three-day 'National Tribal Dance Festival' and Rajyotsav (statehood) 2022 celebration at the Government Science College ground in Raipur, Baghel said the festival is aimed at protecting the age-old traditions and rights of tribals and promoting it across the world.

Chhattisgarh came into existence on November 1, 2000 after the bifurcation of Madhya Pradesh.

The Chhattisgarh Sarva Adivasi Samaj (CSAS), an umbrella organisation of 42 tribal communities of the state, had announced a boycott of the dance festival accusing the government of failing to protect their reservation rights.

The CM said 1,500 tribal artists from India and 10 other countries - Mozambique, Mongolia, Tongo, Russia, Indonesia, Maldives, Serbia, New Zealand, Rwanda and Egypt - will participate in the third edition of the national tribal dance fest.

He welcomed all the participants to the festival and extended his greetings to the people of Chhattisgarh on the statehood day.

“The changing times have brought a transformation to people's lifestyle. Today, our thinking of development has been divided into two ways. In one way of thinking, our primitive values persist even today, while the other way which calls itself modern has become an enemy of our nature,” Baghel said.

The wrong concept of development has become a threat to nature. Besides, it has also posed a threat to the rights of tribals over their "jal jungle zameen" (water, forest and land), he added.

The tribal dance festival is aimed at protecting the age-old traditions and rights of tribals and promoting it across the world, Baghel said.

"If we preserve our traditional values, then solidarity and unity will also prevail. Even that thinking of development will also remain, which is necessary to save the humanity," he said.