By Matters India Reporter
Patna, Aug 10, 2020: A webinar organized by a Jesuit a college and tribal organization in Patna, Bihar, has urged young people of India’s indigenous communities to seek an entrepreneurial career.
“It is better to be a job creator than being an employment seeker,” Patrick Barla, a former officer of the Reserve Bank of India, told the August 8 webinar on ‘Covid 19 and Resilience of Indigenous People’ held on the occasion of International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples.
The webinar was organized by Adivasi Sanskriti Ewam Samajik Kalyan Sangh and St Xavier’s College of Management and Technology.
According to Barla, the current pandemic offers several opportunities that Adivasi people should utilize to become self-reliant.
Surekha Marandi, former executive director RBI who initiated the discussion, said pandemic has brought stress on maintaining social distancing and sanitizing hands as prevention. “The tribal society has been following social distancing and hygiene since ages. We need to carry forward these customs,” added the Santal tribal woman.
Marandi said for Adivasis, their land was inalienable. “We need to remain alert on our land rights. Failure to protect lands will lead to large scale migration of Adivasis,” she warned.
Another panelist, Nelan Prakash Topno, said self-reliant Adivasis were least affected by Covid 19 while tribals, who had migrated to other places to work, were the worst hit. Topno, who retired as regional director, RBI, Patna, said education was the only weapon to fight the pandemic of such unprecedented proportions.
In his opening remarks, St Xavier’s principal, Jesuit Father Tomy Nishaant recalled the contributions of Adivasi people to society. The world, he said, should learn the principle of community living from tribal people, he added.
The tribals had the genes to fight all epidemics, the Jesuit said and added, “We now need to think about combating other diseases that that had gripped society.”