Tribal groups seek removal of converted Muslims, Christians from Scheduled Tribe list at Delhi conclave

Maalaya Jigdung asserted that the mobilisation will help build wider national support for a constitutional amendment under Article 342.

New Delhi: Lakhs of members from various tribal communities from across the nation gathered at Delhi's Red Fort grounds on Sunday and called for the de-listing of converted tribals from the Scheduled Tribe category.

The 'Janajati Sanskritik Samagam', organised by the RSS affiliate Janajati Suraksha Manch and allied groups, was held in the backdrop of the 150th birth anniversary year of tribal icon Birsa Munda at Red Fort grounds.

"This cultural programme is aimed at giving a major push to our long-pending demand for de-listing converted tribals from the Scheduled Tribe category. This issue goes back to the time of tribal leader Kartik Oraon ji, who raised it before the then prime minister Indira Gandhi in the late 1960s," Maalaya Jigdung of the Janjati Suraksha Manch, Assam prant, said.

Jigdung asserted that the mobilisation will help build wider national support for a constitutional amendment under Article 342.

Organisers claimed that nearly 1.5 lakh people from over 500 tribal communities across the country participated in the event.

"This has been one of our oldest demands and the core objective behind the formation of the Janjati Suraksha Manch. Through this programme, we have showcased tribal cultural identity while also strengthening our movement for de-listing," Jigdung told PTI.

The event began with cultural processions from five locations in the national capital -- Rajghat Chowk, Ramlila Maidan, Ajmeri Gate Chowk, Qudsia Bagh near Kashmiri Gate and Shyamgiri Temple near Shastri Park Bus Depot. The rallies, covering around 2.5 to 3.5 kilometres, converged at the Red Fort grounds.

Participants dressed in traditional attire carried tribal flags, beat drums and performed folk dances as they marched through Delhi's streets.

Groups from Assam, Tripura, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Andaman and Nicobar and several other states took part in the event, which organisers described as the "largest tribal cultural mobilisation of its kind".

Kartik Oraon, a prominent tribal leader from Bihar and former Congress MP, had submitted memoranda signed by hundreds of MPs in 1967 and 1970 seeking the removal of Scheduled Tribe benefits for tribals who had converted to Christianity or Islam.

Balaram Phangcho, organising secretary of the North East Janajati Dharm Sanskriti Suraksha Manch from Assam's Karbi Anglong district, said around 2,000 to 2,500 people had travelled from his district alone.

"This kind of programme is being organised for the first time. We have to protect the very existence of tribal communities. Those who have converted, especially to Islam or Christianity, should be removed from the Scheduled Tribe category. De-listing should be done through an amendment under Article 342," he said.

Phangcho mentioned that people had travelled from remote villages because they believed the issue is linked to the survival of tribal identity and traditions.

Stressing the link between identity and culture, he said, "My identity is my culture -- if my culture does not survive, neither will I." Shanti Bikas Chakma from Tripura said the gathering will help protect tribal religion, culture and traditions.

"This is the first time we are seeing such a programme organised at this scale. People from so many tribal communities have come together with one message," Chakma said.

Chakma also thanked the Delhi government and volunteers for arrangements related to accommodation, food and transport for participants arriving in special trains and buses from different states.

Janajati Suraksha Manch was formed in 2006 to campaign for the removal of ST benefits for tribals who had converted to other religions.