21st July , 2025
In continuation of its mission to promote culturally rooted, inclusive, and community-driven development, the Society for Empowerment organized a National Online Policy Dialogue on “Traditional Healer Practices Among Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs): Facts & Possibilities” on 18th July 2025.
The dialogue served as a significant step toward recognizing and integrating traditional healing systems as vital components of health, identity, and sustainability in tribal communities. It aligns with the Government of India’s larger vision of bringing tribal knowledge systems into the mainstream, safeguarding intangible cultural heritage, and promoting holistic development among PVTGs.
The dialogue was inaugurated by Prof. S. Narayan, a renowned scholar in tribal policy. The event featured deliberations from a distinguished panel of field experts and senior scholars, including:
• Dr. A. K. Pandey, Retired IAS and senior researcher on tribal development
• Mr. Gopikrishan Soni, expert in tribal ecological systems
• Dr. Basant Kumar Mohanta, eminent anthropologist
• Dr. Rupendra Kavi, Deputy Director, Tribal Research Institute, Government of Chhattisgarh – who served as the moderator and keynote speaker. In his keynote address, Dr. Kavi emphasized that traditional healers are not only community-based health practitioners but also custodians of cultural values, ecological knowledge, and spiritual well-being. He highlighted the urgent need for systematic documentation, formal recognition, and policy-level integration of these practices within national health and wellness programs.
The dialogue featured ethnographic insights from Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, and Bihar, demonstrating how healing traditions are deeply embedded in the social and ecological life of PVTG communities.
In Chhattisgarh, which is home to PVTGs such as Baiga, Birhor, Bhunjia, and Abhujmaria:
• Artistic traditions like Dhokra metal casting, Ghotul murals, and tribal jewellery reflect both identity and spiritual symbolism.
• Rituals involving local deities such as Khudiya Rani and Goriya Deo express the sacred connection between health, nature, and spirituality.
In Jharkhand, tribes like Asur, Korwa, Birhor, and Munda:
• Maintain rich oral traditions through music, dance, and seasonal folklore, which preserve ecological and medicinal knowledge.
• Indigenous instruments and healing ceremonies function as emotional and environmental diagnostics, and serve as intergenerational learning platforms.
These cultural expressions are not only aesthetically significant but are integral to preventive and community-based healthcare systems in tribal belts.
The discussions strongly resonated with several of the Government of India’s flagship tribal welfare initiatives, notably:
• PM-JANMAN (Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan) – aiming for the integrated development of PVTGs, including healthcare, housing, education, and cultural dignity
• Aadi Karmayogi Abhiyan – focusing on the empowerment of 2 million tribal grassroots leaders by equipping them with governance tools aligned with traditional knowledge
• TRIFED and Tribal Research Institutes (TRIs) – supporting tribal enterprise, ethnographic research, and documentation of folk traditions
Speakers lauded the Government’s renewed thrust on tribal museums, digital inclusion, and decentralized health systems, while emphasizing the need to formally integrate traditional healers and indigenous wellness practices within these frameworks.
Challenges Identified and Recommendations Offered
Participants highlighted several systemic gaps and emerging threats to the continuity of traditional healing systems:
• Marginalization of traditional healers in mainstream health programs
• Rapid erosion of indigenous knowledge due to displacement, modernization, and lack of documentation
• Limited commercial and policy recognition of tribal medicinal products and wellness practices.
In response, the following strategic recommendations were proposed:
- Establishment of a National Archive of Tribal Healing Practices in partnership with UNESCO India, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, and academic institutions
- Creation of Healing & Cultural Clusters in PVTG-dominated districts to promote community-based knowledge exchange
- GI-tagging and branding of unique tribal artefacts such as Bastar Dhokra craft and Baiga tattoo traditions
- Launch of Tribal Heritage Fellowships for traditional healers, oral historians, and folk artists
- Inclusion of tribal symbols and ethics related to healing and ecology in school curricula and public health education programs.
The dialogue concluded with a unified consensus that preserving traditional healing systems is not a nostalgic pursuit, but a strategic necessity for sustainable, inclusive development. These systems offer a wealth of low-cost, community-validated solutions to health, mental well-being, and ecological balance.
