“Brahminism is responsible”
Speaking to The Wire, researcher and founder editor of Adivasi Resurgence, Aakash Poyam said in the census conducted by the British, tribals were classified as ‘Animists’. “But when the time came for the census in 1941, anthropologist Verrier Elwin, who was the advisor to the government of India, conducted a study on Bastar’s Madia tribals. He suggested that since they were closer to Shaivism, which is a part of Hinduism, they should be considered Hindus.”
Since then, tribes who were not Christians began to be counted as Hindus. “As a result, tribal communities had to suffer a lot historically. The Gondwana Mahasabha started demanding the Koya Punem religion for Adivasis even before 1950. There were demands for Gondi religion too, but it did not get recognition,” he said.
Despite constituting a major chunk of the country’s population, and following different religious practices, why have tribes been deprived of a separate religious identity? Aakash holds the Brahmanical ideology responsible for it.
“After independence, all those who came to power were followers of the Brahmanical ideology. That’s why they viewed tribals from that perspective. The RSS calls the adivasis ‘vanvasis’, or forest-dwellers, a label we do not approve. With this kind of hatred and discrimination, the government will not recognise the demands. 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,” says Aakash.
All tribal communities follow the same philosophy
Quoting an instance, Aakash says he asked his grandfather how he came to be a Hindu. “He told me, it is because it was written on his caste certificate. Hindu is written under religion and Gond under caste. He has been identified as Hindu since independence,” he says.
Due to the repetition over the past 60-70 years, the current generations automatically identify themselves as Hindus. “But when you look at their customs and traditions, they have no connection with the Hindu religion,” the researcher says.
According to Aakash, an option should be provided to identify all tribal communities. Whether it is Koya Punem, Adi, Sarna, or any other, they all believe in aboriginal philosophy.