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* Festive colour in Ho community * Festive colour touches tribals OUR CORRESPONDENT Tribals perform at Maghe Milan Samaroh at Gopal Maidan. Telegraph picture *Jamshedpur, March 5: *It was festival time for Ho community and they enjoyed themselves to the hilt at Maghe Milan Samaroh. Tribal people from across the state, including youths, assembled at Gopal Maidan to be a part of the fun and frolic. Organised by the Adivasi Ho Samaj Mahabha's Jamshedpur unit, this is an annual get-together of Ho-speaking tribals. "We have organised a football match today. There is no connection between a football match and a tribal celebration but we have introduced such events to attract youngsters to these get-togethers. They generally avoid cultural meets," said Dobro Buruli, one of the guests present at the venue. Through these festivals the community wants to pass on the tradition and culture to the younger generation. "We try to bring the youths to these events and then tell them about our tradition, language and culture, which they are not aware of as they are stay away from their roots in big cities. This is the only way through which our tradition can be kept alive," he said. Several events, including music and dance competition, sports meet and literary contest, were lined up today. There were several makeshift stalls, which sold books and music in Ho language. "The history of Ho is as old as Santhali. This festival is an occasion to commemorate the endeavours of Loko Bodra, who founded the Warang Chiki script and gave us a separate identity. We pay tribute to Loko Bodra through this festival and are using this platform to spread knowledge about Ho community," said an organiser. Apart from arranging festival like this, Buruli and several others have tried to introduce the language in the curriculum of the schools. They also plan to print more books in Ho. telegraphindia.com/1080306/jsp/jharkhand/story_8986296.jsp Tribals soak in Maghe Milan spirit <http://www.tatanagar.com/index2.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=1290> <http://www.tatanagar.com/index2.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1290&pop=1&page=0&Itemid=2> [image: E-mail]<http://www.tatanagar.com/index2.php?option=com_content&task=emailform&id=1290&itemid=2> *Jamshedpur, Feb. 17:* From tribal drummers to group dancers, the rivers' meet (at the confluence of the Subernarekha and Kharkai) at Sonari resembled a village fair as tribals from near- by areas congregated to celebrate Maghe festival this evening. Organised by Sanyunkt Basti Samiti and a local NGO, Adarsh Seva Sansthan, Maghe is the annual festival of tribals in the area. "Several decades ago, the tribals left their homes and came to cities in search of livelihood. Therefore, Maghe Milan serves as an annual reunion for trib- als to meet and celebrate the occasion with traditional fervour," said Usha Mahto, an executive of Adarsh Seva Sansthan. Adarsh Seva Sansthan had also organised a tribal dan- ce competition on the occasion. But more than the traditional fervour what made today's event different was the fact that through the contest Adarsh Seva Sansthan tried to reach out to the slum dwellers. "All through the year we organise several programmes in the nearby settlements. Such events provide us a chance of reaching out to the masses and pass the message across," added Mahto. Large banners and posters on issues such as child health, child rights and women were put up across the venue. About 10 groups of tribal dancers participated in the event. "Maghe is the time for getting together and meeting near and dear ones. It is one of the most popular festivals of the tribal communities," said Digambar Hansda, a leading Santhali language scholar. Though started as a traditional festival, the event was later shrouded in several controversies raised by the tribals of the area. The participants, under the aegis of Adarsh Seva Sansthan, later submitted a memorandum to the state land reforms and revenue minister, Dulal Bhuiyan. Some of the demands included in the memorandum were permanent residences for tribals, the launch of rehabilitation policy for slum dwellers, making provision for basic infrastructure in slum areas of Jamshedpur and including the rehabilitation of slum dwellers in the city's expansion plan. tatanagar.com/content/view/1290/2 <http://thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=2&theme=&usrsess=1&id=192668> *Johar Adivasi => Adivasi.wordpress.com <http://www.Adivasi.wordpress.com> * . -- Jharkhand News [EMAIL PROTECTED] Jharkhand Online Network www.jharkhand.org.in/news
