Bhubaneswar: A four-day Tribal Writers’ Meet organised by Academy of Tribal Languages and Culture (ATLC) at SCSTRTI concluded with an indelible mark on the cultural landscape of the State here on Thursday.
Addressing the closing ceremony, Commissioner-cum-Secretary of ST, SC Development, M & BCW Department Roopa Roshan Sahoo underscored the importance of documenting tribal languages, identities, and cultures. She assured the tribal community of the department’s unwavering support in creating interventions that will further amplify the production of indigenous knowledge.
Sahoo also proposed organising district and block-level writers’ conclaves in partnership with Special Development Councils (SDCs) to encourage grassroots tribal writers.
More than 80 writers and intellectuals representing diverse tribal communities, including Santal, Munda, Binjhal, Kandha, Saora, Desia, Kolha, Ho, Khadia, Juang, Gadaba, Bhumija, Orang, and Gond, shared their valuable manuscripts and insights. The event illuminated the potential for communities and the state to co-create transformative futures.
Director of ST & Member Secretary, ATLC Indramani Tripathy announced a groundbreaking digitisation initiative, which will not only encompass the manuscripts collected during the event but also those shared by the communities with the Academy in the future.
Inspired by the success of the Odisha Virtual Academy’s Utkal Prasanga model, the digitisation process will make these invaluable manuscripts available to the public domain, revitalizing and safeguarding indigenous languages in the process, he said.
Assistant Director of ATLC Samarendra Bhutia elucidated the ongoing process of digitising manuscripts contributed by writers from various tribal communities emphasizing the department’s commitment to languages and cultures-driven governance and highlighted upcoming interventions aimed at preserving the rich heritage of these communities.
Among others, Coordinator of SAMHATI Dr. Paramananda Patel, Deputy Director of SCSTRTI Santosh Rath, Research Assistant of ATLC Dr. Sanjukta Moharana, Panchali Sahu and Bhagyarathi Panda were present.
