June 30, 2014
WB Govt observes Hool Utsav to commemorate Santhal Rebellion
The newly formed Department of TribalDevelopment, West Bengal Government will observe Hool Dibas today. This daymarks the anniversary of Santhal Rebellion and honours the contribution oftribal martyrs Sidhu, Kanhu, Chand and Bhairav. The Santhal Hool (rebellion)against the British Raj in 1855, two years before Sepoy Mutiny of 1857, is nowconsidered to be India`s first freedom movement.
Government of West Bengal startedcelebrating Hool Dibas since 2011, after Trinamool led Ma, Mati, ManushGovernment came to power. Chief Minister Ms. Mamata Banerjee will be present atthe celebration at Khudiram Anushilan Kendro. She will distribute governmentgrants and loans to the tribal people under SwamiVivakananda Swanirvar Karma Sangstan scheme.
The Department of Tribal Development hasalso arranged the distribution of land pattas,cycles to girl students and musical instruments like dhamsa-madol to the tribal people. The department, which is underthe direct supervision of the Chief Minister, has taken up programmes for skilldevelopment of the unemployed tribal youths. The department will also help themin getting government grants and loans to raise capital for any venture theymay undertake. The craftworks and handicrafts created by the tribal people willalso be sent to markets on the initiatives of this department.
Excerpts from the Chief Minister`s speech:
I welcome all my brothers and sisters whohave come here today on the occasion of Hool Dibas. Today is a historic day.Sidhu Kanhu led a rebellion of the tribal people against the British. The tribalsdid not have any resource. They fought against the Briitish with only bows andarrows. We bow our heads to them.
Even before Sepoy Mutiny, Sidhu and Kanhuled an armed rebellion in the year 1855. We observe Hool Dibas to remembertheir sacrifice. Being able to honour tribal people today on the occasion ofHool Dibas, I feel blessed. We must keep our cultures and traditions alive.Pioneers make sacrifices to bring changes.
Black and white are two sides of the samecoin. Summer is followed by rains. Sadness is complemented by happiness. Wemust be patient. We must accept life as it is, in totality. It is because anentire generation makes a sacrifice, that some people can live in the lap ofluxury.
We must concentrate on becoming good humanbeings. Character-building should be our priority. We must not distinguishbetween people. Five fingers of the hand are not equal. We must acknowledgethis fact. We must work towards the upliftment of the backward classes.
Jealousy is the biggest enemy of human kind.There is no alternative to development, determination, devotion. I always tryto finish my work before the time. It gives me a sense of satisfaction.
We had held counselling sessions for 600students in 20 districts. 509 of them attained success in JEE. We started IAScoaching centre. 2 of our students became successful in IAS examination. Wehave extended reservation to OBCs without affecting General seats. We increasedour infrastructure for that.
West Bengal had only 38 colleges till 2011.In three years we have set up 33 colleges and 8 new universities. We havestarted a women`s university in Diamond Harbour. We have named a universityafter Kazi Nazrul Islam. The MCI had cancelled 1000 medical seats in Bengal. Wesucceeded in restoring 400 of them. We will get back the rest. We are in theprocess of setting up 131 ITIs and 75 polytechnic colleges.
Bengal secured the first rank in skilldevelopment competition held nationally. We have distributed cycles to girls sothat can go to schools easily. We are setting up 500 marketing hubs where onelakh people can set up shops. Work for 50 of them is complete already. We willset up one Tribal Bhavan in every district.
Our Adivasi brothers and sisters inJangalmahal get rice at Rs 2 per kilo. The Centre has not been able toimplement food security yet. But 3.2 crore people in Bengal get rice at Rs 2per kilo. The more you nurture your brains, the sharper it become. If Adivasiscan fight against British using only bows and arrows, we can also tide over alldifficulties in today`s modern world.
