The organizers of the Arunachal Literature & Art Festival (ALAF)-The Prelude need real appreciation for showcasing for the first time what the state offers in the realm of art and culture. They rightly called it a prelude since it is only a beginning.  Coming at a time when the different tribal communities of the state are clamouring for preservation of their ethnic culture, lingua franca, traditions, etc. the two-day festival will go a long way in bringing the divergent ethnicities and their cultures under one roof and platform. The festival came at an appropriate time when with the onslaught of the western culture, the younger generation has been slowly moving away from their own roots and traditions.

It may be noted that development of literature and of different art forms in Tribal communities predated the emergence of literature and arts in the so-called mainstream society. But the Tribal literary tradition was mainly oral because they lacked a script. This is where the tribal communities of North East should be focusing. The case was same among Meiteis of Manipur, Bodos, Karbis, Dimasas (all from Assam), etc. But these communities have adopted either Devnagri or Roman as their scripts which made the literature flourish in the written form. Major tribes of Nagaland are also adopting Roman script for their languages notwithstanding the fact that the Nagas have a rich oral tradition. Today many of their local languages are also taught in schools, like the Meiteis, Bodos and Karbis.

This is where Arunachal Pradesh has faltered. It is not that different tribes are not rich in their oral traditions. But a sustained movement was never carried out to research different tribal languages or to develop them properly while giving emphasis on English medium and Hindi learning both alien languages.  We also tend to forget the fact that tribal literature is the literature of a search for identity, of exposing the past and present forms of exploitation by outsiders, and of threats to tribal identity and existence, and resistance.

--