Gadchiroli/Nagpur: Hope has returned to India’s erstwhile Maoist heartland where tribal families once despaired at the prospect of armed groups snatching children from their mothers, abducting daughters from their homes and preventing people from even voting, PM Narendra Modi told a gathering in Gadchiroli Sunday as he basked in the “countless blessings” showered on his govt for “defeating Maoism and Naxalism”.Addressing the Janjatiya Gaurav Divas event through video-conferencing on the 151st birth anniversary of Birsa Munda, PM Modi said the size of the turnout was testimony to people’s appreciation of the govt’s effort to end Maoist depredations in 125 districts across the country.“As far as my eyes can see, there are people everywhere…The sister who now feels safe is blessing us. The child whose childhood was once snatched away is today joining us as a young person. He is receiving opportunities for education and employment.”
Re-classified bamboo to help tribals, says Modi
PM Modi said, “In Chhattisgarh, areas like Bastar, where people were once afraid to go, I celebrated Diwali with our security forces.” He said 170-odd tribal projects were inaugurated and more than 70 – together worth nearly Rs 3,000 crore – had been launched across states. Citing a World Bank report, he said nearly 50 crore people had escaped extreme poverty. “I consider this one of the greatest achievements of the country since Independence.“PM said a British-era rule classifying bamboo as a tree and jailed tribals who cut it had finally been removed. “We re-classified bamboo as a variety of grass and ensured our tribal brothers and sisters have a right over it.”
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He mentioned this during an online interaction with three tribals from Maharashtra, Gujarat and Telangana, blaming previous govts for the law surviving so long.”After Independence, this mistake should have been corrected. But some people in those govts neither had an understanding of tribal society nor concern for it, and they kept that law running for years,” he said.Vazirbhai Kotwalia, a bamboo artisan from Bharuch district, told Modi training had raised his monthly income from Rs 8,000 to Rs 25,000. Sabavat Anvesh of Telangana, now studying at IIT-Kanpur, told PM he looked forward to giving back to society after the opportunities he received. “I aspire to work on air pollution so that everyone can breathe clean air.”Modi urged India’s tribal people to commemorate Nov 15 every year on a bigger scale than before.