Adivasis are Hindus: Law Minister cites Protection of Civil Rights Act
The Minister was responding to a question from a BJP MP who asked if the Act defined Hindus, and, if so, whether the definition included tribal people
Union Minister of State (I/C) for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal speaks in Lok Sabha during the Monsoon Session of Parliament, in New Delhi on Friday.
| Photo Credit: ANI
Adivasis have been included as persons professing the Hindu religion in the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955, the government on Friday told the Parliament in response to a question raised by BJP MP Manna Lal Rawat.
In a question to Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, Mr. Rawat had asked if the Act defined Hindus, and, if so, whether this definition included tribal people.
Responding to this in the Lok Sabha, the Law Minister said various central Acts, including the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955, defined ‘Hindus’. He said that in the explanation to Section 3 of the Act, “Persons professing the Buddhist, Sikh or Jaina religion or persons professing the Hindu religion in any of its forms or developments including Virashaivas, Lingayats, Adivasis, followers of Brahmo, Prarthana, Arya Samaj and the Swaminarayan Sampraday shall be deemed to be Hindus.”
The Law Minister said that this explanation defined “Hindus” for the purposes of sections 3 and 4 of the Act.
While Section 3 of the Act lays down the punishment for enforcing religious disabilities on the grounds of “untouchability”, Section 4 of the Act stipulates the punishment for enforcing social disabilities on the grounds of “untouchability”.
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The Minister’s response comes amid the ongoing debate over whether Adivasis, or tribal people, of the country can be categorised as practising Hindus. While the Sangh Parivar and its arms have argued for decades that tribal communities were an intrinsic part of Hindu culture and society by drawing parallels between their worship and that of several Hindu communities, Adivasi movements in Jharkhand, Odisha, Rajasthan and elsewhere have been demanding that their indigenous religion of Sarna be recognised. They have argued that their worship is distinctly different from Hinduism, further objecting to being classified as Hindus.
This debate over the religious classification of India’s Adivasi people took centre stage in the Lok Sabha election campaigning when Congress leader Rahul Gandhi repeatedly criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party for referring to ST communities as ‘Vanvasi’ (forest dwellers) instead of ‘Adivasis’.
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