Goemkarponn desk
PANAJI: A delegation of 14 Goan writers, researchers, tribal activists and language experts will attend a two-day national conference in Ranchi, Jharkhand this weekend.
The Fourth Rashtriya Vichar Manthan has been organised by Dr Rammanohar Lohia Research Foundation to commemorate 75 years of the infamous Kharsawan massacre of tribals in 1948, soon after the independence of India.
Within four months of independence, on 1 January 1948, the police had killed around 500 tribals while firing bullets at a huge gathering of around 30,000 tribals, who had gathered at Kharsawan (now in Jharkhand state) to protest against their inclusion in Odisha. Dr Rammanohar Lohia was the first leader to reach there and condemn the massacre while alleging that it was worse than the Jalianwalah Bagh massacre.
The national conference will be inaugurated on Saturday, 16 December 2023 at Birsa Munda Puranchand Manch, Audrey House in Ranchi by Jharkhand Governor C P Radhakrishnan and Harivansh, Deputy Speaker of the Rajya Sabha.
One of the six sessions at the conference is “Tribal Communities of Goa and Jharkhand: Locating Migratory Perspective”. The session would primarily focus on the first settlement on Goan land around 7000 years ago, which consisted of tribals from today’s Jharkhand like Mundas, Asuras, Kharvas etc. Today, they are considered to be Goan tribal communities of Gauda, Kunbi, Velip etc.
Dr Madhu Ghodkirekar, Adv Joao Fernandes and Sandesh Prabhudesai will participate in this session, besides tribal scholars from Jharkhand. Goa’s social activist Prashant Naik will also participate in another session on “Smaller States: Concept of Dr Rammanohar Lohia”, highlighting the benefits of keeping Goa separate through the Opinion Poll.
The Goan delegation also consists of Dr Prakash Parinekar, Ramkrishna Jalmi, Ravindra Velip, Devidas Gaonkar, Anant Agni, Chetan Acharya, Mangaldas Bhat, Sudin Lolayekar, Sharendra Naik and Caetan Carvalho.
After the two-day national meet, the delegation would also have a special meeting with the scholars and researchers belonging to Dr Ram Dayal Munda Tribal Research Institute of Jharkhand and the Department of Tribal & Regional Languages of Ranchi University. It teaches nine tribal languages.
Goan activists and researchers are associated with Dr Rammanohar Lohia Research Foundation of New Delhi, from the time it had organised the Second Rashtriya Vichar Manch in 2021 to observe 75 years of Goa Revolution Day, when Dr Lohia revitalised the liberation struggle of Goa on 18 June 1946. They had also attended the third national meet last year in Guwahati.
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