President Murmu invites Toto tribe members for special meet in New Delhi

Alipurduar: On June 12, a group of ten representatives from the Toto tribe will travel to New Delhi to honour an invitation by the President of India, Draupadi Murmu for a special meeting. The delegation will include students also. An atmosphere of joy has engulfed Totopara, the lone habitation of Toto tribe, located at the foot of the Tading Hills in Madarihat, Alipurduar.

The Toto tribe, among the world’s smallest tribal communities, came to the limelight in January this year. Dhaniram Toto, a writer, was honored with the Padma Shri award for his contributions to Toto language and literature.

However it is still not clear as to what is the agenda of the meeting. Even the district administration of Alipurduar has no information regarding the agendas to be discussed. The list of Toto delegation was compiled by the District Magistrate’s office following instructions from the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

District Magistrate Surendra Kumar Meena stated, “I don’t have detailed information about the meeting. I have simply followed the instructions of Rashtrapati Bhavan.”

Bakul Toto, Secretary of Toto Kalyan Samiti (who is not part of the delegations), said, “This is a matter of great pride for us. However, the reason for the invitation of the President is not known. It is great that the President of the country has thought of us. It’s a great opportunity for our people to present our longstanding issues regarding communication, land rights, access to clean water, healthcare services, and education during the meeting.”

Abina Toto, a college student from Totopara, will be attending the meeting with the President. Talking to the Millennium Post, She said, “Despite belonging to a primitive community, we do not receive any special employment benefits. Even though we are educated, the number of unemployed Toto boys and girls is increasing by the day. If given the opportunity, I will put forward these issues before the President.”

The Toto tribe is an isolated tribal group living only in Totopara. They had nearly gone extinct in the 1950s. The total population of Totos as per the 1951 census was 321. However with special measures to safeguard the Totos, the 2001 census count showed an increase in Toto population to 1184