Janjatiya Khel Mahotsav

• Recently the first Janjatiya Khel Mahotsav was organized at the Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences, Bhubaneswar.

ABOUT

• It was a coordinated effort between the Ministry of Culture, the Odisha Government, and KIIT University.
• It witnessed the assemblage of 5,000 tribal athletes and 1,000 officials from 26 states.

INDIGENOUS SPORTS

• ‘Sports’ being a state subject, the responsibility to promote indigenous sports in the country and conduct special training programmes for the development and promotion of traditional sports rests primarily with the respective State/Union Territory Governments. The Union Government supplements their efforts.
• Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports runs a Central Sector Scheme, namely, the ‘Khelo India – National Programme for Development of Sports’ Scheme (Khelo India Scheme), of which one of the Components, namely, ‘Promotion of rural and indigenous/tribal games’, is specifically dedicated to the development and promotion of rural and indigenous/tribal games in the country.
• Indigenous games of Mallakhamb, Kalaripayattu, Gatka, Thang-Ta, Yogasana and Silambam have been identified for promotion under this Component.
• Further, the Ministry has also made documentaries of various indigenous games in order to showcase and promote/revive them, namely, Gatka, Roll Ball, Tug of War, Kalaripayattu, Thang-Ta, Kho-Kho, Mallakhamb, Shooting Ball, Sqay, Kabaddi, Gilli Danda, Sikkim Archery, Dhoop Khel and Cowrie Khel, Paika Akhada and Chhau and Akhada Kushti, Hekko, Mizoram Games, Silabam, Lagori and Langadi.