India, June 6 -- India's tribal communities have often lived at the margins of public conversation, even though they remain deeply connected to the soul of Indian civilisation. The Janjati Sanskritik Samagam held at Delhi's Red Fort on May 24 sought to change that reality. More than a government-sponsored cultural gathering, it became a powerful reminder that tribal identity is not separate from India's national identity - it is one of its oldest and strongest foundations.

For many who arrived in Delhi from remote forests and hilly regions, this was their first visit to the national capital. They did not come merely as beneficiaries of welfare schemes or participants in a cultural programme. They came carrying centuries of memory, tradit...