Bhubaneswar, November 15: The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Research and Training Institute (SCSTRTI) on Saturday observed the Janajatiya Gaurav Varsh Pakhwada here to commemorate the birth anniversary of tribal freedom fighter Birsa Munda.

India celebrates Janjatiya Gaurav Divas (Tribal Pride Day) on November 15 every year to commemorate the birth anniversary of the tribal freedom fighter and anti-colonialist Birsa Munda, born in 1874.

The year 2024-25 is being celebrated as Janjatiya Gaurav Varsh to commemorate 150 years of his birth. As part of the countrywide, yearlong celebrations, the fortnight November 1-15 is being celebrated in a special way to honour the sacrifices and struggles of Birsa Munda and other Indian tribal leaders in India’s anti-colonial struggle and to celebrate the rich diversity of the country’s tribal cultures and heritage.

As part of the celebrations, a tree plantation drive was organised at SCSTRTI while winners of the State-level drawing competition featuring tribal students from various districts were also felicitated.

The event was graced by Laxman Kumar Mallik, ST, Director; Sudhakar Sabara, Director, SCSTRTI, Prof. Vijaya Upadhyaya, Santali language Scholar and eminent educationist and academicians Prof. Manmath Kundu, Prof. Ajay Kumar Tripathy, and Santosh Kumar Rath, Deputy Director, SCSTRTI among others.

Since 2021, Birsa Munda’s birth anniversary is celebrated nationwide as Janjatiya Gaurav Divas.

In addition, employees of SCSTRTI, including peons, security guards, gardeners, electricians, and others were honoured with Seva Sammana as part of the Janajatiya Gaurav Varsh celebrations in recognition of their dedicated daily service to the institution.