Gadchiroli Dec. 3 (Special Correspondent) Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee General Secretary Dr. Namdeo Kirsan has strongly opposed the move of delisting of the scheduled tribes by some organizations and said this move is nothing but a Hinduisation of the tribals.
Talking to this correspondent Dr. Kirsan, who is also an academician said that Adiwasis have never been Hindus. They have their own religious practices and deities. They are the worshippers of nature and don’t worship any of the hindu Gods or Goddesses. The Adiwasis are however called by the RSS as Vanvasis so as to make them Hindus. However, their plan will never succeed because the Adiwasis are the aboriginal residents and the Constitution of India has also recognized them as the aboriginal residents, Dr. Kirsan pointed out.
The Constitution has given the liberty of converting the people into any other religion. As per this constitutional provision, some tribals have converted into different religions as per their choice. Merely because of this, one can’t delist the tribals from the list of scheduled tribes. Delisting will snatch away the constitutional rights of the tribals and will put them into difficulties, Dr. Kirsan further said.
Some tribal leaders attached to the BJP and RSS who are working for delisting should understand the seriousness of the issue. The elected representatives of BJP should discharge their constitutional duties and should not work against the interests of the tribals, he advised.
During the 1911 census, Adiwasis of the country were counted as the aboriginals separately and not as the members of any particular religion which shows that the Adiwasis are not the part of any religion, Dr. Kirsan pointed out adding that the Adiwasis are a separate population.
The Adiwasis have kept their culture and traditions alive all these years despite the aggression of several foreign rulers like Dutch, Portuguese, Mughals, Britishers etc. The culture of tribals is still intact and nobody can spoil it, Dr. Kirsan reminded.
By delisting the tribals will lose their constitutional right of reservation that will affect their representation in the parliament, state assemblies and local bodies like Zilla Parishads, Municipal Councils etc, apart from educational and employment related facilities. This will be a great loss of the tribals and they will be dragged away from development, Dr. Kirsan cautioned.
The fifth schedule has been incorporated in the constitution for the tribals because of which no any outside force can intervene in their affairs, still the efforts of delisting are being made which is directly aimed at affecting their progress and keeping them backwards, the Congress leader alleged.
There has been a strong demand from the tribal communities of different parts of the country for the separate code for the tribals in the census to safeguard their rights. The government however is ignoring this. All the Adiwasis should therefore come together and fight against the evil designs of making their Hinduisation, Dr. Kirsan appealed.
