Not a Demon, but Our Own

The Asurs in Jharkhand, who hold Raavan and Mahishasur in high regard, have been protesting against burning their effigies.

COME Vijayadashami, an air of sadness hangs over the Asur settlements located on the Netarhat hills in Jharkhand. It's the symbolic killing of their "ancestor" Raavan and their "king" Mahishasur on Dussehra every year that bothers them.

Though Hindu mythology presents Mahishasur and Raavan as demons, for the Adivasis, especially the Asurs-classified as a primitive tribe-they are revered personages. The Asurs believe that Mahishasurportrayed as an evil demon who was slayed by Goddess Durga-belongs to their community. They are convinced that he had knowledge of all three worlds and that he protected his people from the beasts.

"Stop branding our ancestors as villains," says Vimal Asur, who belongs to the marginalised Asur tribe and has been raising this demand from time to time. "Both Raavan and Mahishasur were extremely knowledgeable," he adds.

In his village, Raavan dahan does not take place. As the Asurs do with Mahishasur, many other Adivasi communities claim Raavan as their ancestor and oppose his burning on Vijayadashami.

Among these dissenters, Dishom Guru Shibu Soren is particularly significant, because he opposed the burning of Raavan effigies while occupying the Office of the Chief Minister. Soren calls Raavan his kulaguru (spiritual teacher of the family or clan). He repudiated the tradition that had the Chief Minister of Jharkhand setting light to the effigy of Raavan on Vijayadashami.