While RSS affiliate Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram, which vehemently opposes missionaries, has been working among tribal groups since the early 1950s, the demand for delisting has gained momentum over the past two years due to the Sangh’s aggressive push.

The JSM formed around 2006, with an aim to raise the issue of delisting converted tribals, is headed by national convenor Ganesh Ram Bhagat, a former minister in the Raman Singh-led Chhattisgarh Cabinet. Its co-convenor Raj Kishore Handsa is a full-time worker of the Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram.

The JSM has upped its activities over the past few years with rallies and public meetings in tribal-dominated districts of central and northeast India. The organisation claims to have a pan-India presence, but its activities have been more intense in states like Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Odisha, West Bengal, Assam, Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh.

The organisation’s slogans emphatically reflect its motto and have an underlying essence – “converted tribals are outcasts”. Placards with slogans like “Kul devi tum jaag jao, dharmantarit tum bhag jaao (family deity awaken, those who convert get out)”, pitting the traditional deity against those who have converted, or “Jo Bholenath ka nahin, woh hamari jaat ka nahin (one who is not with Bholenath is not from our community)”, invoking the carefully constructed Hindutva iconography of Lord Shiva being the tribal God are common sights at rallies. The organisation recently ran a campaign against tickets being given to converted tribals in ST-reserved seats ahead of the Assembly elections in Chhattisgarh.

The JSM’s efforts run parallelly with the RSS-linked Dharma Jagran Samiti’s “ghar wapsi (homecoming) rituals” for converted tribals in Chhattisgarh, the Social Justice Forum’s rallying against corporations allegedly funding conversions in Arunachal Pradesh, the VHP’s nationwide campaign against quota for converted tribals, including a campaign to ensure quota benefits are not extended to converted Dalits, and several BJP MPs raising the issue of delisting of tribals in Parliament during Zero Hour.

Testing the waters

Sources within the BJP, which is yet to make its stand clear on the issue, say the delisting campaigns fit with the strategy of “testing the waters” before making any significant policy decision on the issue.

Similar debates were initiated by the Sangh, sources said, over a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) and ‘love jihad”, prior to a few BJP-ruled states enacting laws on them. “Now, UCC is a part of the national discourse, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi having spoken on it,” a source says.

The delisting campaign also is in sync with the Sangh’s idea of pushing ideological projects like the abrogation of Article 370, construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, and disputes over temples in Kashi and Mathura while the BJP is in power.

Sources in the RSS point out that the delisting demand of the Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram is an old one and has been raised through the 1980s and 1990s. Notably, the 2008 riots in Kandhamal of Odisha, which were triggered by the killing of a Hindu monk, were preceded by similar demands.

“The demand was even raised by Congress leaders such as Kartik Oraon. However, it died down subsequently as those in power did not want to call out missionaries. But now a movement is gaining momentum and tribals are realising their rights are being taken away,” a senior RSS leader says.

Bhagat, who recently broke down after being denied a ticket from Jashpur in Chhattisgarh for the Assembly polls by the BJP, says: “Our rally in Ranchi had around 1 lakh people. Of the Rs 100 we get as benefits, Rs 80 are taken away by converted tribals. There are Muslims who marry tribal women and become village pradhans after contesting polls from reserved seats. In addition to this, they also avail benefits meant for minorities,” he claims.

The JSM convenor says the next rally will be held in Delhi, where plans are being made to assemble five lakh people. “We will gherao Parliament and hold a dharna till our demands are met,” he says.

Region to region

However, realising the complexity of the delisting issue, both socially and politically, the Sangh has moderated its stance from region to region. For instance, in the Northeast, where converted tribals are in a majority in several states, the RSS has crafted a support base. The BJP is hardly likely to raise the issue of delisting here.

Similar is the situation in Kerala, where the BJP has the Christian community in its electoral calculations. The party believes it can hope for electoral gains here only if it forges a Hindu-Christian coalition behind it, sidelining the Muslims electorally.

On Christmas day, in his interaction with prominent members of the Christian community, PM Modi said he had a long-standing relationship with them and praised their contribution to education and healthcare sectors. BJP national president J P Nadda visited a church and said the life of Jesus Christ and his sacrifices are a source of inspiration.

Bhagat admits that the situation is different in the Northeast, but is confident that those opposed to delisting will back the demand when a conducive environment is created. “Everyone who lives in Bharat is Hindu after all,” he argues.

But an RSS leader is candid, arguing that delisting ought to be done keeping in mind that different regions have different tribal identities. “Seeing tribal identity as one is a misplaced anthropological construct. The tribals of Maharashtra are different from those in Nagaland. No one is looking at a blanket solution but the issue is genuine,” he says.