Telangana Governor and BJP leaders participate in tribal festival Medaram Jathara in Telangana

Mulugu (Telangana) [India], February 23 (ANI): Arjun Munda, the Union Minister of Tribal Affairs on Friday arrived at Mulugu in Telangana to participate in the on-going tribal festival, Sammakka-Sarakka Medaram Jathara.

Sammakka Saralamma Jathara or Medaram Jathara is a tribal festival honoring the goddesses celebrated in Telangana. It is a state festival of the Government of Telangana.

After seeking blessing from Ma Sammakka Saralamma, Munda while interacting with ANI said, “At this Medaram Jathara today, I got the opportunity to pray and meet the people who are here in lakhs. This is one of the biggest festivals of tribals in the country. Ma Sammakka Saralamma is worshipped here. She is Vandevi… This celebration is for deities who live in the forest and people who worship them are tribals…”

Meanwhile, Telangana Governor Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan, who also participated in the tribal festival, looked happy with the arrangements and said, “Good arrangements have been done here. I pray to Ma Sammakka Sarakka for her blessings.”

Another BJP leader, Eatala Rajender, said, “People from Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh visit here. In the coming days, this festival needs to be developed to take it to the national level.”

Earlier on Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also extended greetings, marking the commencement of the tribal festival.

“Greetings on the start of the Sammakka-Sarakka Medaram Jathara, one of the largest tribal festivals, and a vibrant manifestation of the enduring spirit of our cultural heritage,” the Prime Minister had said in a post on X.

The festival commemorates the fight of a mother and daughter, Sammakka and Saralamma, with the reigning rulers against an unjust law. It is believed that after the Kumbh Mela, the Medaram Jathara attracts the largest number of devotees in the country.

Sammakka Saralamma Jathara is the time for the largest tribal religious congregation in the world, held every two years (biennually), with approximately ten million people converging on the place, over a period of four days.