‘We aren’t Hindus and will never be’ : Jharkhand CM Soren
As the process for upcoming census 2021-22 is fast approaching, around 120 to 150 million Adivasis’ decades old popular demand for a separate religious code (Sarna Adivasi Dharma) has gained tremendous momentum, which may put a spoke in the wheel of RSS mission to register Tribals as “Hindus”.
Tribal state Jharkhand is in the forefront in this struggle for restoring separate religious identity of tribal communities spanning over 19 States of the country. Even the Jharkhand assembly in November last year had unanimously adopted a resolution demanding a Sarna Tribal Religious Code for tribal people in the Census.
The state Chief Minister and working president of ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Hemant Soren, who has been consistently advocating a separate religious code for the tribe, asserted in unequivocal terms: “Adivasis were never Hindus and they never will be Hindus and that there should be no confusion about this and the community has always been nature worshippers, and that this is the reason why they are counted as ‘indigenous’ people… where will the Adivasis go, whether he will write Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Muslim, Christian [in the census]… I came to know that these people [central government] have removed the ‘Others’ column. It seems they have to adjust to this only”.
Soren underlined this while responding to a question whether Tribals were Hindus, after delivering a virtual lecture at the 18th Annual India Conference at Harvard University recently.
Prior to this, speaking at the sixth meeting of the Governing Council of NITI Aayog, Soren reiterated that “Adivasi society is a society whose civilization, culture and systems are completely different. The demand has been in existence for years to establish a place for Tribals in the census. We have sent a proposal related to the demand for a Sarna Adivasi Dharma code duly passed by our Assembly. We believe that the Government of India will consider it sympathetically. Separate columns should be arranged for them in the census as well.”
Soren’s remarks drew a sharp reaction from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which accused him of “speaking the language of the Vatican”.
The BJP and RSS accused the CM of playing into the hands of Vatican. RSS people also tried to drag Muslims and Christians into the controversy, alleging that it is “a conspiracy to weaken Hindu Samaj”.
However, the separate identity demand is not confined to Jharkhand only; Adivasis across the country have been struggling for their separate identity since Independence. Tribal representatives from around 19 States held a silent protest at Jantar Mantar in the national capital last year. A host of tribal organisations also filed petitions in Madhya Pradesh High Court and other courts pleading for separate religious code.
As per the 2011 Census, Adivasis account for about 9.92 per cent of the country’s population of 120 million. In Jharkhand, Adivasis make up nearly nine million people out of the total population of 35 million crores.
Under the British rule, there was a separate ‘Tribal Religion’ code that Adivasis could write themselves under. It was included in the 1951-52 census but it was abolished in the 1961-62 census.
“You see, Jains and Buddhists are less in number in comparison with the tribal population but they have separate religious codes. The government wants to put Tribals in the category of Hindus, Muslims and Christians, which isn’t right and logical because of Adivasis’ distinct identity,” Salkhan Murmu, Jharkhand president and convener of the Adivasi Senghal Abhiyan, told Radiance Viewsweekly. Murmu also sent a petition to the President Ramnath Kovind in this regard.
In the 1951 census, the ninth column for religion was headed ‘Tribal’ but this was later removed. After 1951, in addition to Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Christian, Jain and Buddhist, there was a column titled ‘Others,’ which was removed in 2011. The definition left out Muslims and Christians, bringing all others within the ambit of the Hindu fold.
“The elimination of the ‘Others’ option from the religious code is causing a lot of problems,” said Balaghat’s Chandresh Marawi, who works in a multinational company.
“When the census was conducted in 2011, there was no option for ‘Others’ in the religious code. I raised an objection, but was asked to choose Hinduism,” Marawi said.
It is to mention that for the Census 2011, the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes also recommended the addition of this code.
Tribal rights activist and researcher Neetisha Xalxo pointed out that from 1872 to 1941 there was a column called “Adivasi religion”, and Adivasis were identified as the third-largest population of the country, but during the 1951 Census it was changed and since then, members of these communities have to be enumerated as Hindu/Christian or Others.
For this “injustice”, founder editor of Adivasi Resurgence, Aakash Poyam blamed the successive governments after Independence, which according to him, were followers of the Brahmanical ideology. That’s why they viewed Tribals from that perspective.
The RSS dubs the Adivasis ‘vanvasis’, or forest-dwellers, a label we do not approve of. Labelling Tribals as Hindus swells the Hindu population and increases their vote bank. On the other hand, many Tribals have also started identifying themselves as Hindus because that’s what they have been told repeatedly since 1950,” Poyam told Radiance.
According to the Constitution of India and government reports, Adivasis have cultures and traditions different from other religions.
Former Tribal Advisory Council (TAC) member Ratan Tirkey said Adivasis have been demanding a separate religious identity ever since Independence, for they do not recognise Hinduism as their religion yet they are forced to choose that option because there is no longer a separate column for them under the religion section of the Census form.
He feared this could reduce the Adivasi population by 73 per cent.
In 2016, the Modi government decided to do away with ‘others’ column that the Scheduled Tribes can be recorded under any of the six religions recognised by the census. Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) MLA Deepak Birua questioned this decision, saying Tribals have a religion of their own.
While the RSS is on a mission to ensure that Adivasis put down their religion as ‘Hindu’ in the upcoming census so that the population numbers of Hindus increases.
Seva Bharati, an RSS-affiliated organisation, has been trying to establish Hindu rites and rituals in tribal-dominated areas under the banners of Vanvasi Kalyan Kendra and Vanbandhu Parishad. Since the 1980s, RSS has been advocating that all those living in India are Hindus.
Tirkey also pointed out that the RSS is of the view that the percentage of Hindus in the total population of the country has come down due to the Tribals stating their religion as ‘other’ in the census.
Dr Karma Oraon, a prominent academic, activist and ideologue, warned the Sangh Parivar against playing with the religious sentiments of the Adivasis and refrain from the propaganda that ‘Sarna Dharma’ and Hindu ‘Sanathan Dharma’ are one and the same.
The Sangh Parivar, he said, has been trying very hard to claim that all non-Christian Adivasis are Hindus while re-converting the Christian Adivasis. The latest attempt to collect soil from the ‘Sarna sthal’ and take them to Ayodhya, he alleged, is part of the same exercise. Tribals vehemently opposed the collection of soil from their sacred place.
This has perturbed the Sangh Parivar which is trying to meet tribal people and persuading them to shun this demand. However, they are unnecessary finger-pointing towards Muslims and Christians. As of now, no Muslim organisation and leaders have supported or opposed the tribals’ demand.
Jamaat-e-Islami Hind leader Malik Moatasim Khan said in principle, we support tribal communities’ demand as ours is a multi-racial, multi-religious, multi-lingual country and every community has a fundamental right to identify itself as per its own beliefs and customs.
Since Independence they are striving for their separate religious identity, Muslims and Christian have nothing to do with their identity and movement, Khan said. Why is RSS unnerved by this demand if they (Tribals) want to be identified with their religion as Sarna? he asked.
In the southern state of Karnataka, Lingayats have been also demanding a religious identity separate from the Hindu religion. Lingayat religious leaders pointed out that during the British rule, Lingayat religion was recognised as a separate religion. They claimed their population is around 70 millions spreading over in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Maharashtra. In 2018, the Karnataka government led by Congress passed a resolution declaring Lingayats as a minority community.
Adivasis have been on the ground protesting for a separate identity and the Jharkhand Assembly has passed a resolution in this regard. The ball is now in the Centre’s court. Many feel that it is unlikely the BJP government will relent since it will do damage to the party’s ‘Hindu Rashtra’ move. Tribal activists fear that the Modi government under its ideological mentor (RSS) will not accept the demand. However, 32 tribal groups of Jharkhand announced that they would boycott the Census if their longstanding demand for the inclusion of “Sarna” as a specific option in the column for religion is not accepted.
In addition to this, Adivasis also want that their forms be filled with pens and not in pencils because Census enumerators often forcibly change their religion to Hinduism.