Janjatiya Gaurav Pakhwada 2026 Marks Birsa Munda Anniversary

The Ministry of Tribal Affairs is observing Janjatiya Gaurav Pakhwada across the country from 1 to 15 November 2026. The fortnight closes on Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas on 15 November, the birth anniversary of Dharti Aaba Bhagwan Birsa Munda. The ministry describes the Pakhwada as a time-bound drive rather than a commemoration alone, meant to push its flagship programmes to tribal families at the last mile and spread awareness of schemes and entitlements.

How the day began

The Government of India designated 15 November as Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas in 2021 to honour the contribution of tribal heroes to the freedom struggle. The main observance has moved between places over the years: Ranchi in 2021, Khunti in 2022 and 2023, Jamui in 2024 and Dediapada in 2025. The 150th birth anniversary of Bhagwan Birsa Munda was observed as Janjatiya Gaurav Varsh in 2024-25, with more than 28 national-level events and over 2 lakh activities drawing more than 3.8 crore participants. The day has also given momentum to PM-JANMAN and the Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan.

Events through the fortnight

• On 12 November about 200 students of Eklavya Model Residential Schools interact with the President at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
• The National Tribal Literary Festival runs on 12 and 13 November at Silver Oak, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi, bringing together tribal writers, poets and scholars to work on tribal languages and oral traditions.
• A national workshop at IIT Delhi takes up Adi Vaani as a tribal living heritage and a national tribal language repository.
• The Rani Durgavati Adivasi Mahila Sammelan on 14 November gathers 500 tribal women entrepreneurs from 30 States and Union Territories.
• A conclave trained about 1,500 traditional healers from 9 States and UTs at Hyderabad on 1 and 2 November, under a plan to certify 1 lakh healers.
• Scholarship Access Camps are running in 73 districts, and about 1.54 lakh Adi Karmayogi Volunteers across 76,963 villages are being trained.

Projects and digital platforms

On Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas, more than 300 projects for tribal communities will be taken up across states, of which 228 are ready for inauguration and 74 for foundation stone laying. They include a new Tribal Research Institute building at Itanagar in Arunachal Pradesh and the Ropuiliani Tribal Freedom Fighter Museum at Kelsih in Mizoram. Two national digital platforms will be launched. The Jan-HIT portal, or Janjatiya Health Intelligence and Technology portal, built with ICMR, is India's first platform for tribe-disaggregated health data and covers 20 States. The National FRA Digital Platform will carry the whole forest rights claim process under the Forest Rights Act, 2006, from Gram Sabha submission to digitally signed titles, on a single system. States and Union Territories have planned more than 160 activities through their Tribal Research Institutes in 19 States and UTs.