Tribal youths from areas under Naxalite domination from Jharkhand and Odisha are all set to explore the ‘Silicon valley of India.’
The Tribal Youth Exchange Programme (TYEP), will promote cultural, social and intellectual exchange between the tribal youth and the developed cities of the nation, said M N Nataraj, Regional Director of Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS), Southern States, Bangalore.
The week long programme aims to develop emotional linkages among tribal youths with their peer groups in other part of the country and enhance their self-esteem.
NYKS, along with the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Ministry of Home Affairs and Department of Youth Empowerment and Sports, Government of Karnataka is organizing the 15th edition of TYEP from Dec. 15 to 21. “Two hundred tribal youths from nine districts of Jharkhand and Odisha are participating in the programme,” said Nataraj.
India has the second-largest tribal population in the world, constituting 8.9 percent of the total population according to the 2011 census. Navya Dubey of Nirma University, in one of her articles, mentions how tribal populations have traditionally been stigmatized with innumerable sufferings, underdevelopment and poverty.
The programme hopes to familiarise young individuals with technological and industrial advancements, foster skill development, provide education and employment opportunities, raise awareness of various developmental and welfare schemes. Ranjani, District Youth Officer, NYKS of Gadag district, said,” They are given classes on government flagship programmes for financial and social inclusion, through this they learn at least what schemes are available for them.”
Dr. S. Jyothis, head of Post Graduate Diploma in Tribal Development Management(PGDTDM) at National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRDP), said that the sudden exposure to the mainstream world can have a cultural shock on these population.
He further said that the selection to such programmes must be made keeping in mind the educational background of the people, so that they can absorb the different world that has been opened up before them. “The exposure matters provided that they are educated enough to absorb it,” he said.
However, Nagalakshmi, District Youth Officer of Bangalore Urban said that the participants of the programme have shown considerable improvement over the years. “They have the courage to improve themselves, mingle with the new world and come out,” she said.
Various competitions are being conducted to create a competition spirit among themselves, and lead to self-development, said Ranjani.
