Thiruvananthapuram: Distancing the state government from the 'Keraleeyam' controversy, where tribal people were showcased as showpieces, minister for the welfare of SC, ST and backward classes K Radhakrishnan said Adivasis should not be treated as objects as showpieces and asked the Kerala Folklore Academy to examine whether there was any mistake on its part.
“Folklore Academy exhibited the traditional culture of Kerala at the expo called 'Aadimam'. Actually, I didn't visit the expo. I think the expo was organised in an offensive manner. Various departments organised exhibitions at the event. The food expo was a major attraction and numerous people participated in it. The tribal people also got an opportunity to sell their medicine and forest products,” he added.
Following the minister's comment, Kerala Folklore Academy Chairman O S Unnikrishnan came up with an explanation through his Facebook page and asserted that the academy is ready to rectify its mistake.
'Aadimam' museum, an expo featured five Adivasi communities - Oorali, Mavilar, Kani, Mannan and Paliyar. Lifestyle including the habitat of these communities was recreated at the expo. Tribal people were reportedly hired for daily wages and presented in traditional costumes of these communities. They also performed traditional art forms before the visitors. Numerous people criticised the government through social media for using poor people as objects for the event.
