Rahul Gandhi pitches for tribal rights: ‘original owners of country’

Speaking at the launch, Rahul said, “There is the word ‘Adivasi’, which means the original owners of the land. ‘Adivasi’ means a particular wisdom, a particular understanding of the earth we live on, a particular relationship with the planet we live on… The word ‘Adivasi’ also respects and accepts the fact that our tribal brothers and sisters were the original owners of this country. And that also implies that the original owners of this country should be given rights over the land and forests, and should be allowed an imagination to do whatever they want.”

He also said, “As the original owners of the land, you should be able to have your children study engineering, become doctors, become lawyers, start businesses, know computers. But you should also get the rights in the forest, you should get the right to land, you should get the right to forest produce.”

Rahul added that the word ‘vanvaasi’ “denies you were the original owners of India”. “It also restricts you to the jungle. The idea behind the word ‘vanvaasi’ is that you belong in the jungle and you should never leave the jungle. And this is simply not acceptable to us. This word is a distortion of your history, your tradition, and an attack on your relationship to this country. For us, you are ‘Adivasis’ and we can learn from you,” he added.

Shri @RahulGandhi inaugurates the HT Installation at Tribal Specialty Hospital, Nalloornad, Mananthavady, Wayanad, reaffirming his unwavering commitment to always support and assist the people of Wayanad. pic.twitter.com/R7OmbQ55qm

— Congress (@INCIndia) August 13, 2023

“Today, the word environment has become fashionable. For a few hundred years, modern society has been destroying the environment, burning forests and creating pollution. Now suddenly, the word ‘environmental protection’ has come. But look a the wisdom of the ‘Adivasis’, they have been talking about environmental protection for 3,000-5,000 years,” he added.

“We can learn from your history, from your tradition, from your way of life. Not just about the environment, but how to deal with each other, how to respect each other. And of course, your children should have access to the best education, the best hospitals, the best jobs, We are always here to help you, to work with you,” Rahul said.

Later in the day, he is scheduled to lay the foundation stone for a disability management centre at a Kozhikode.

During a rally in Wayanad’s Kalpetta on Saturday, the Congress leader said that Wayanad was like “my family”. He added, “They don’t understand that the more they try to separate me from you, the stronger the relationship would be. The disqualification has made my relationship with Wayanad stronger.”

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Rahul also continued his attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the ongoing violence in Manipur. He said, “You can disqualify me 50 or 100 times, but this relationship (with Wayanad) would only become stronger. BJP aims at destroying families. They want to divide the idea of India. In Manipur, they destroyed families… But we would bring love back to Manipur. You took two months to destroy Manipur, but it may take five years to bring love back to Manipur. We will do this. This is the fight between Congress and BJP.”