President Droupadi Murmu interacts with tribal Siddi community at Sasan-Gir

Junagadh (Guj), Oct 10 (PTI) President Droupadi Murmu on Friday interacted with members of the Siddi community, a tribal group with African roots, in Gujarat’s Junagadh district.

Speaking at the event at Sasan village in Gir Wildlife Sanctuary, Murmu urged them to provide education to their children for their bright future and take benefit of government schemes to achieve progress.

On the second day of her Gujarat visit, the President reached Sasan-Gir in the afternoon and enjoyed a lion safari inside the Gir National Park, the only surviving abode of Asiatic lions.

Later in the evening, she interacted with some Siddi community members at ‘Sinh Sadan’ at Sasan-Gir, the headquarter of the national park.

The Siddi community is an Indo-African group,

descended from East Africans brought to the subcontinent as slaves, soldiers and sailors, and now recognized as a Scheduled Tribe. In Gujarat, majority of them are settled in villages close to the national park.

Hasina Makwana, a Siddi woman working as an eco-tourism guide at Devalia Park, told Murmu that she and her husband are earning enough to take care of their needs.

“I receive Rs 12,000 per month, which helps meet expenses and provide education to my two children. My husband is a member of a Siddi dance group which entertains tourists. As a guide, I provide information about animals and the entire ecosystem to tourists,” she said.

Ashraf Usman, a government teacher, informed Murmu about the origins of the Siddi community and how their lives improved over the years with government intervention and schemes.

In her speech, Murmu lauded the Siddi community for preserving their culture.

“I am told that about 25 tribal communities reside in Gujarat and they are 15 per cent of the state’s population. I am happy to see that these communities are living their lives in harmony with nature,” she said.

“Along with development, conservation of our culture and tradition is also important. Siddi and all other such tribal communities are pure and pious, because they are still untouched by outside glamour,” the President added.

She, however, also urged the tribals to move forward with time and adopt new things.

“Our country progressed a lot after Independence, but adivasis are still in the same place. They moved forward one or two steps. Though there is little influence of outside culture, their inner beauty is still intact. People should always try to preserve their culture,” she said.

“Though we are tribals, you have to move forward with time and adopt new things, such as providing education to children and taking up jobs. I congratulate the government for starting self-help groups for tribal artisans. Once you provide them the knowledge, they adopt it,” Murmu said.

She also expressed happiness that through government schemes, tribal communities are getting benefits such as housing, roads, drinking water and the Internet.

Murmu said the central government launched the ‘Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan’ on the 150th birth anniversary of tribal icon and freedom fighter Bhagwan Birsa Munda last year for the development of tribal areas.

“I urge you all to obtain information about welfare schemes meant for you, and also share it with others so that everyone benefits from these schemes. Instead of waiting for the government’s help, we must take the initiative and move forward so that we can contribute to the country’s development,” the President said.

On Saturday, Murmu will perform aarti at the Dwarkadhish temple in Dwarka and attend the 71st convocation of Gujarat Vidyapith in Ahmedabad. PTI COR PJT PD KRK