Overview
- The United Nations designated August 9 as International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples to commemorate its 1982 Working Group on Indigenous Populations and this year adopted the theme “Indigenous peoples & AI: Defending rights, shaping Futures.”
- Events worldwide recognized indigenous contributions to environmental conservation and called for AI initiatives that protect rights and enable communities to shape their own futures.
- Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge issued public messages extending solidarity to tribal populations and pledging sustained support for their rights, dignity and cultural preservation.
- India’s PM-JANMAN scheme, launched in November 2024, continues delivering housing, drinking water, sanitation, education and livelihood programs to 75 Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups identified by the 2011 census.
- In Mumbai’s Aarey Forest, members of 27 tribal villages held marches, music and tree-planting ceremonies to protest eviction notices and press for land recognition under the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act.