Wayanad Leads the Way: First District in the Country to Provides Essential Documents to All Tribes in India

  Kerala's Wayanad becomes the first district in the nation to offer basic services and documentation including Aadhaar cards, ration cards, birth and death certificates, election ID cards, bank accounts, and health insurance to members of all tribes. In addition to essential basic documents, the camps also offer other services including income certificates, ownership certificates, age certificates, and applications for new pensions.   As part of the Akshaya Big Campaign for Document Digitization (ABCD) campaign, the Wayanad district administration achieved the outstanding feat by offering 1,42,563 services to as many as 64,670 tribal people. In addition, the ABCD campaign provided digital lockers to 22,888 people, 31,252 Aadhar cards, 11,300 birth certificates, 15,796 households with ration cards, and 22,488 voters' identity cards.  The campaign was introduced in November 2021, in Thondarnadu grama panchayat. District Collector A Geetha IAS stated that the procedure started with a survey by special tribal promoter officers to identify citizens lacking basic documentation, followed by the scheduling of special camps with the involvement of all concerned departments. The effort aims to provide all Scheduled Tribes community members with access to essential documents, which are digitalized and preserved in special DigiLocker accounts created for them.  Wayanad MP, Rahul Gandhi praised the district administration for the accomplishment. In a tweet, he applauded the collective efforts of the District admin, local bodies & people’s representatives for this initiative. 

A Peek Into Some Popular Tribal Foods of India

The tribal people are a crucial component of Indian culture. These native tribes have a very distinct sense of who they are, with their own language, religion, festivals, cuisine, and dancing. It is difficult to estimate the number of tribes in India, although they undoubtedly span the country's whole shoreline and extend from East to West. Although we may not know much about their culture and tradition, many for sure must be inquisitive to know about their cuisine. Here are a few popular dishes of the tribals and without a doubt, they sound and look exotic! Dhuska Dhuska is a popular deep-fried snack relished all over Jharkhand. It is a savoury snack made of rice flour, urad dal and chana dal. Some may even add potatoes to it. This fried food is best enjoyed with green chutney. Chapda Chutney Chapda Chutney is enjoyed by the people of Chattisgarh. It is made by crushing red ants and their eggs. The taste is enhanced by the addition of garlic, coriander, chillies and tomatoes along with a pinch of salt and sugar. Thapdi Roti Dark in colour, Thapdi Roti is made from nachni or ragi flour. Also called Madua ki Roti, it is also popular in the Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh region. Maahni Made from the mand, or starch of rice flour, along with some jaggery and conventional spices, this spicy curry is from the state of Himachal Pradesh. Maahni is best enjoyed with rajma and steamed basmati rice. Teliya Maach Fish, onion, tomato, mustard oil, spring onions, and a medley of whole and ground spices are the main ingredients in this delectable Bengali dish with a spicy flavour. Teliya Mach is best enjoyed with steamed rice.