India, Oct. 15 -- The ministry of tribal affairs on Wednesday convened the first meeting of the Working Group on Tribal Languages to draw up a roadmap for documenting, digitally preserving and promoting India's indigenous languages, with experts calling for a national repository that puts tribal communities at the centre of preservation efforts.

Chaired by Ranjana Chopra, secretary, ministry of tribal affairs (MoTA), the meeting brought together 18 eminent linguists, academics, researchers and community language practitioners. Among those who participated were Padma Shri awardee Chamu Krishna Shastry, chairman of Bhasha Samiti, and K Sreenivasa Rao, former secretary of the Sahitya Akademi.

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