PASIGHAT, Apr 23: Noted writer and academic Prof Joram Yalam Nabam exhorted the younger generations of Tani tribes to take pride in their cultural and ethnic heritage and shed notions of inferiority that she said are often imposed from outside and gradually internalized by tribal communities themselves.
She was speaking at a special lecture on ‘Tani Darshan’, organized jointly by the Department of Hindi, Arunachal Pradesh University (APU), Pasighat and Jazinja, on Wednesday.
Prof. Yalam, HoD Hindi (Rajiv Gandhi University) and Chairperson Jazinja, is a distinguished writer and cultural voice whose works include Sakshi Hai Peepal, Junglee Phool, Gai-Geka Ki Auratein, Nyishi Janjati Ka Samajbhashik Adhyayan, and Tani Kathayein. A recipient of the Hindi Sahitya Sammelan Samman and the Ayodhya Prasad Khatri Smriti Award — the first writer from Northeast India to receive the latter — she was also recently conferred the Femina Game Changer Northeast 2026 Award for excellence in academics and cultural research.
She anchored her lecture in the worldviews of the Tani tribes of Arunachal Pradesh, speaking on themes including tribal identity, religious explorations, authentic documentation of indigenous folklore, and the need for a balanced approach to contested questions of cultural and religious identity.
Addressing what she described as a growing confusion around tribal identity among the youth, Prof Yalam urged her audience to actively seek out the ancestral wisdom that, she said, remains accessible to those willing to make the effort. She stressed that confidence in one's cultural roots was not only possible but necessary.
Earlier, the event started with a welcome address by Dr Ing Perme, HoD Hindi (APU) and general secretary Jazinja, who outlined the rationale and objectives of the organisation.
The speaker was felicitated by APU Registrar Narmi Darang.
The lecture was followed by an interactive session that drew enthusiastic participation from students and faculty.