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Ahmedabad, Nov 15 (IANS) As Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Gujarat to celebrate Adivasi Gaurav Diwas (also known as Tribal Pride Day), people of the state celebrated and said he has provided the tribal communities not only compassion but also respect, opportunity and a path to self-reliance.
His long association with Janjatiya families began long before he became Prime Minister and even before his entry into higher office, Modi Archive tells X, adding that his journey began in the small tribal villages of Gujarat rather than in the political corridors.
As a young campaigner, Narendra Modi spent years among tribal families in Sabarkantha, Baroda and Dangs, living with the families, eating with them and observing their struggles closely.
During the severe drought of the 1980s, he helped ensure the delivery of food and water to aid-deprived tribal villages, urging volunteers to replace lavish celebrations with meaningful gestures such as supporting the education of a tribal child.
His address at the Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram program in Silvassa, where he drew from around 50 books on tribal heritage, particularly impressed the then President Zail Singh.
Later, as state general secretary of the BJP, he mentored emerging tribal leaders and released Gujarat’s first Adivasi Haq Patra in 1995, which focused on housing, health care and respect for indigenous communities.
These early experiences shaped his belief that tribal families needed more than compassion, inspiring him to work towards ensuring dignity and self-reliance for each tribal family.
Narendra Modi’s dedication towards tribal welfare became well known as soon as he became the Chief Minister. After the devastating Kutch earthquake of 2001, he decided to spend his first Diwali in Chaubari, a tribal village badly affected by the disaster, which shows where his focus lies.
He later applied the lessons of his campaigning years in governance through the Vanbandhu Kalyan Yojana and the Chief Minister’s 10-Point Program in 2007, one of India’s earliest mission-mode development models, which aimed to uplift tribal communities by expanding access to education, health care, irrigation and electricity in remote areas with real-time monitoring.
Acknowledging the obstacles faced by tribal children in attaining higher education, he recalled that “from Umargam to Ambaji, there was not a single science school for class 12th.” His administration created the first such institutions, expanded vocational training, and created hostels and teacher training programs.
By the early 2000s, tribal schools in Gujarat were incorporating lessons on sustainability, from biogas plants to water harvesting and solar energy. Speaking in Dahod, the then chief minister said, “We gave importance to education because we care about tribal communities, their youth and their future,” adding that tribal students were going abroad to study and some had become pilots.
For Narendra Modi, true empowerment means linking livelihood opportunities with ownership. His government promoted bamboo-based livelihood projects for Kotwalia artisans, supported integrated dairy expansion and introduced mechanized farming that reduced the workload of tribal farmers.
He strengthened the implementation of the Forest Rights Act of 2006 and personally handed over land allotment letters in five districts of South Gujarat, including Vansda, giving families the right to cultivate forest land.
He pledged that tribals would no longer fall prey to middlemen, adding that the state had offered land, water and electricity to farmers. Speaking at the event, he said, “Tribals have been struggling for years to get ownership rights of forest land. The state government collected evidence through latest technology and ordered re-evaluation of the rejected applications. The state government approved 22,000 applications which were rejected.”
During his Gujarat years, he emphasized that connectivity was the foundation of dignity. His administration began extensive road-building work, ensuring all-weather road access even in villages with less than 250 inhabitants.
Along with roads, they integrated remote tribal areas with economic centers by expanding irrigation, power supply and drinking water infrastructure in tribal areas.
Modi Archive said he also gave priority to healthcare at the beginning of his tenure. Initiatives such as the Doodh Sanjeevani Yojana in 2006–07 supplied fortified milk to school children, while the Chiranjeevi Yojana of 2005 supported safe motherhood, regular check-ups and critical surgeries.
Gujarat had launched early campaigns to tackle sickle cell anemia and leptospirosis several years before it became part of the national health agenda. This initial foundation later matured into the National Sickle Cell Anemia Elimination Mission in 2023, which has already screened more than six crore people.
PM Modi had said, “If today’s generation becomes healthy, it guarantees the health of their children.”
In 2011, Gujarat achieved a milestone when Ganpat Vasava, an MLA from a tribal family, became the Speaker of the state assembly. Narendra Modi called it “a rare and unprecedented event” and praised the MPs for setting “a high tradition in parliamentary democracy”. His concept of tribal empowerment extends beyond welfare to representation, dignity, leadership and cultural pride.
In 2003, he inaugurated the Tribal Martyrs’ Memorial at Palachitriya in Sabarkantha to honor the 1,200 forest dwellers who fought the British Army in 1922. Revisiting the site in 2012, he described it as “a living tribute to the indomitable spirit of those who refused to bow to tyranny.”
As Prime Minister, he expanded this legacy through Tribal Freedom Fighters Museums and Tribal Pride Days, ensuring that the stories of India’s early freedom fighters reach future generations.
He was also instrumental in elevating Draupadi Murmu as the first tribal President of India and described it as a milestone for true social representation.
What began as a series of experiments in school reform, water access, nutrition programmes, bamboo livelihoods and microcredit initiatives in Gujarat has evolved into a national model for inclusive growth.
Today the country’s flagship programs for tribal progress, including PM-Janman, Dharti Aaba Abhiyan, Sickle Cell Mission, Van Dhan and Eklavya Schools, follow the same template of targeted, measurable and dignity-driven governance.
As the nation celebrates the Year of Tribal Pride and the 150th birth anniversary of Birsa Munda, the legacy of courage and self-respect perpetuated by tribal symbols remains central.
For many, Narendra Modi’s policies reflect a leader who did not need political calculations to connect with tribal communities but believed they deserved the same respect as every Indian.
His political journey – from being a campaigner in the tribal settlements of Gujarat to rebuilding life after the earthquake and ultimately protecting the faith of millions of tribal families – has defined his approach to governance across India.
–IANS
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