DELISTING: AN ISSUE TO DEAL WITH

TRIBAL COMMUNITIES WANT THE GOVERNMENT TO CONDUCT SURVEYS ACROSS INDIA'S TRIBAL BELTS TO CONFIRM THAT THOSE AVAILING CONSTITUTIONAL BENEFITS RESERVED FOR THE SCHEDULED TRIBES ARE INDEED TRIBALS WHO FOLLOW THEIR AGE-OLD TRADITIONS, AND NOT CONVERTS PRACTICING ANOTHER RELIGION

In the world's largest democracy, issues related to the tribal or the Janjatiya/Vanvasi belt are rarely discussed. It is a fact that the respective Indian governments till 2014 never gave a serious thought to the upliftment of the Vanvasi or Janjatiya community. It is only after 2014 that the central government decided to give this community due credit and to recognise the contribution of its unsung heroes.

Nevertheless, in spite of the recent efforts, the community is still facing a serious threat to its very existence – from the Christian missionaries and radical Islamist elements in the tribal belts of the country. Worried that this trend will finish their cultural identity eventually, tribal communities are now strongly demanding the delisting of the Scheduled Tribes. The rallying point of this movement is a demand for delisting of those tribals from the list of Scheduled Tribes who have converted to Christianity or Islam.

MODUS OPERANDI

In the last decade or so, conversions within the tribal community have seen a marked rise. In this period, experts say, the methods employed by Christian missionaries to convert tribals has taken a paradigm shift. Now they’re using more money power as a conversion tool.