Bhubaneswar: Keen to work exclusively on a mission for tribal language and culture, Minister of ST & SC Development, Minorities & Backward Classes Welfare Department, School and Mass Education and Social Security & Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Shri Nityananda Gond, has directed establishment of a new Academic Centre and Language Laboratory for the city-based Academy of Tribal Languages and Culture (ATLC) under the 100 Days’ Plan of the ST, SC Development, M&BCW Department, following the Minister’s taking over the charge, recently.
Accordingly, a new Academic Centre and Language Laboratory for ATLC will be developed very soon at Gothapatana on the city outskirts, near the proposed Adivasi Bhawan, where a multipurpose centre for meetings, conferences, shows and exhibitions of tribal art, culture and development has already been planned.
For the connoisseurs of tribal subjects and publications concerning Odisha’s 64 tribes and 13 particularly vulnerable tribal groups (PVTGs) spanning across their folktales, culture and traditions, riddles, biographies, cuisines, dictionaries, songs, folk songs, novels, proficiency modules and supplementary readers for multi-lingual education and empowerment, ATLC is perhaps the only one-stop destination in the heart of the Temple City to explore. One of its bestsellers, “Tribal Atlas of Odisha” is a beautiful compendium of the tribal wealth of Odisha.
ATLC, a premier autonomous institution under the ST, SC Development M&BCW Department, was previously known as the Academy of Tribal Dialects and Culture (ATDC). Though established in 1979, later in 2007-2008, it was rechristened as ATLC and operated from the Adivasi Exhibition Ground, Unit-I, Bhubaneswar.
Research and publications apart, ATLC is engaged in multi-dimensional year-long activities. It also involves guidance and consultancy services to scholars, filmmakers, writers, non-government organizations (NGOs), and government institutions interested in tribal communities and their cultures. In a nutshell, ATLC is possibly doing everything to explore the best-kept secrets of tribal culture and traditions in the State.
The academy has been organising language training programmes in various tribal sub-plan (TSP) areas to impart language skills to field workers and teachers, enhancing their working knowledge of tribal languages. Currently, these programmes are organised by “Samhati,” under the aegis of Scheduled Caste Scheduled Tribe Research and Training Institute (SCSTRTI).
ATLC also organises the Annual Adivasi Mela and it has become a popular event of cultural exchanges at the State Capital. To encourage tribal children in SSD Department schools, ATLC also organizes State-level students’ festival “Sargiful” and also sponsors tribal cultural troupes for various national, state, and district-level festivals.
