DUE TO “moh” (endearment) towards “a few families – who were credited for leading India’s freedom struggle” – the Congress governments in the past ignored the “sacrifices and dedication” of the tribal community, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday.PM Modi was speaking at an event to mark the 150th birth anniversary of tribal icon Bhagwan Birsa Munda at the Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas at Dediapada in Gujarat’s Narmada.The PM said the erstwhile UPA-led government had “sidenlined and forgotten” the Ministry of Tribals Affairs created by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee as the Congress had “neglected tribals” during its 60 years in power.PM Modi invoked tribal freedom fighters from across the country and pointed out that the NDA government, since 2014, had ensured that the future generations would be aware that the tribal freedom fighters had shed their blood for the freedom struggle in India. PM Modi said that he had forged a bond with the relatives of Birsa Munda – two of whom also shared the stage with the Prime Minister in Dediapada on Saturday.PM Modi said, “Although we began the Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas celebrations in 2021, it has been part of India’s consciousness for thousands of years. Whenever the question of India’s honour, self-respect and independence (samman, swabhiman, swara) arose, the tribal community was at the forefront… Our freedom struggle is the biggest example of this. Men and women icons from the tribal community continued to light the torch of the freedom struggle… several leaders made supreme sacrifices, struggled through their lives and did not allow the British to rest… The tribal community has given its blood for every movement of the freedom struggle.”Invoking tribal freedom fighters from across the country as well as Gujarat, PM Modi specifically referred to the Palchitariya massacre in Sabarkantha district, where Motilal Tejawat had led an agitation against the British, and said, “We cannot forget the contribution of the tribal community towards India’s freedom struggle. This should have been done after Independence but due to the endearment (of the Congress) of giving credit to only a few families for the freedom struggle, the sacrifices and dedication (tyag, tapasya aur balidan) of the tribal community was forgotten. And so, there was no one to remember Birsa Munda prior to 2014… Only a few people around his (native) village would ask… We changed that situation because we want our next generation to know that our tribal brothers and sisters have given us such a big gift by giving us freedom.”Claiming that it was after 2014 that the tribal freedom fighters were acknowledged and given their due respect for “gifting India its Independence”, Modi said, “To make this come alive, to allow the next generation to remember, we are creating several tribal museums across the country. Even here in Gujarat, a sprawling tribal museum is taking shape on a 25-acre plot in Rajpipla (in Narmada district). A few days ago, I was in Chhattisgarh to inaugurate the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh Sanghralaya and a museum has also been made in Ranchi prison where Birsa Munda spent a few days… We are also setting up the Shri Govind Guru Chair for Tribal Language Promotion Centre, which will study the dialects of tribal communities such as Bhil, Gamit, Vasava, Garasia, Konkani, Santhal, Rathwa, Nayak, Dabla, Chaudhary, Kokna, Kumbhi, Warli, and Dodia…”Story continues below this adPM Modi also targeted the Congress for leaving tribals “to their fate” after Independence due to “ignorance and lack of will”. Modi said, “The Congress government, which ruled the country for 60 years, had left the tribals to their fate. In tribal areas, issues such as malnutrition, health and safety, lack of education, no sign of connectivity… These shortcomings were the identity of the tribal areas. The Congress governments simply sat idle… But tribal empowerment has been one of the foremost priorities of the BJP government. We worked with the determination that we will end this discrimination against the tribals and bring about development and ebb this gap… Independence happened in 1947 and the tribal community has existed since the times of Lord Ram. But those who ruled the country for 60 years had no idea how big the community is and that there is a need to do anything…”PM Modi accused the Congress of allocating “merely a few thousand rupees” for tribal schemes in 2013 after sidelining the Ministry of Tribal Affairs set up by former PM Vajpayee. Modi said, “When Atal Bihari Vajpayee became the PM for the first time, a separate Ministry was created for tribal developments. But in the ten years of Congress rule after Atalji’s government, the Ministry had been sidelined and forgotten about. Now you can imagine that in 2013, the Congress allocated just a few thousand rupees for development projects of tribals… A few thousand rupees are not enough for work even in one district. After our government came, we considered the needs of the community and increased the budget manifold… Today, we have taken the responsibility of development in the tribal areas– health, safety, and connectivity, we are attempting to move ahead in all sectors.”PM Modi also enlisted several initiatives undertaken in tribal districts across the country, including setting up of schools in Gujarat as well as tribal museums across the country. Modi said, “(In the past) Even in Gujarat, the situation in tribal areas was not good. From Ambaji to Umargam, there was not a single school offering science stream education. In the areas of Dediapada and Sagbara, students did not get a chance to study further. In 2003, as Gujarat Chief Minister then, I started the Kanya Kelavni from Sagbara… Today, there are more than 10,000 schools and in the past two decades, there are over two dozen science, commerce and arts colleges in tribal areas. The BJP government has created several hostels for tribal children as well as two tribal universities. It has brought about change… We have spent Rs 18000 crore on building Eklavya schools as well as for ensuring facilities for women tribal students…”PM Modi added that tribal sportspersons have contributed to winning glory for India at the international level, including one player in the women’s cricket team that recently won the women’s cricket World Cup. The PM also hailed the community for folk paintings and urged the tribal communities to aspire to lead the country. Invoking President Droupadi Murmu, Modi also enlisted other senior tribal leaders, who are leading BJP-ruled states as Chief Ministers.Story continues below this adPM Modi also inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of multiple development projects, including Grih Pravesh of 100,000 houses built under the Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PM-JANMAN) and Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan (DA-JAGUA) as well as 42 Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) dedicated to Tribal students worth around ₹1,900 crore. The PM also inaugurated 228 Multi-Purpose Centres and the Centre of Competence in Assam Medical College, Dibrugarh, as well as the Tribal Research Institute (TRI) building Imphal, Manipur for the preservation of tribal culture and heritage. PM Modi also flagged off 250 buses for 14 tribal districts in Gujarat to improve connectivity in tribal regions and laid the foundation stone for 748 km of new roads to enhance connectivity in tribal areas and 14 Tribal Multi-Marketing Centres (TMMCs) under DA-JAGUA.Earlier in the day, PM Modi also visited the Dev Mogra temple in Sagbara to pay obeisance to the tribal deity and held a roadshow in Dediapada for a distance of around 2.5 km.