Aadi Mahotsav: Fortnight long Tribal Festival being held in New Delhi
The annual Aadi Mahotsav- National Tribal Festival is being held at INA Dilli Haat in New Delhi. The 15 days mega event which will be held from 16-30 November 2019 will celebrate and cherish the spirit of tribal culture, craft, cuisine and commerce. It will be inaugurated by Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
About Aadi Mahotsav
The festival is being organized by Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs in association with TRIFED (Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India Ltd.). TRIFED has planned to organize 26 such festivals during the current financial year. 8 out of 26 festivals have been already organised at Leh-Ladakh, Noida, Shimla, Ooty, Indore, Pune, Bhubaneswar and Visakhapatnam wherein about 900 tribal artisans participated and realized sales of more than Rs.5 crore.
Theme of fortnight long Tribal Festival is ‘Celebration of the Spirit of Tribal Crafts, Culture and Commerce’, which represents basic ethos of tribal life.
Main attractions of event will be: The tribal textiles manufactured by master tribal craftsmen from Jammu & Kashmir in North to Tamil Nadu in South and from Gujarat in West to Nagaland/Sikkim in East.
Nearly 1000 tribal artisans from 27 states, tribal chefs and cultural troupes are taking part in the Mahotsav. The festival will feature exhibition-cum-sale of tribal handicrafts, art, paintings, fabric, jewellery and others through 200 stalls to showcase the theme. Moreover, in line with national aspiration to go cashless, the tribal merchandise stalls will be accepting payment through major credit/debit cards.
Tribes in India
In India, tribes constitute more than 8% of country’s population which corresponds to over 10 crore Indians. The national objective of inclusive development also includes the development of tribes as an important component and even Indian Constitution enjoins upon Government the responsibility of addressing special needs of tribals.
Concept of organising Aadi Mahotsav in major cities has proved to be a boon for tribal artisans as this eliminates the middle man and provides direct access to large markets, which are otherwise impossible to reach for them.
NOTE: TRIFED is an organisation of Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs. TRIFED organizes “Aadi Mahotsav – National Tribal Festival” to provide direct market access to the tribal master-craftsmen and women in large metros and State capitals.
