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NE will be like J&K if ST tag is removed from Christians, warns lawyer

This was the comment of lawyers and tribal leaders of Assam on the demand for delisting tribals, who have undergone a religious conversion, from the ST status that entitles them to reservation in government jobs and other welfare schemes.

GUWAHATI:

Leaders of BJP-RSS can grab land in Sixth Schedule states, including Meghalaya, if ST (Scheduled Tribe) status is removed from Christian tribals.

This was the comment of lawyers and tribal leaders of Assam on the demand for delisting tribals, who have undergone a religious conversion, from the ST status that entitles them to reservation in government jobs and other welfare schemes.

The Meghalayan was the first to report on February 5 that an RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh)-backed organisation, Janajati Dharma- Sanskriti Suraksha Manch (JDSSM), has demanded the withdrawal of Christians from the ST list.

The JDSSM is also planning to take out a march — “Chalo Dispur” — in which one lakh members will gherao Janata Bhawan on February 12 to pressurise the government to amend Article 342A of the Constitution of India

“It’s a desperate attempt of the Hindutva organisation to halt the conversion process that refuses to die down in the tribal-dominated areas in the country,” said Ram Prasad Sharma, former Lok Sabha MP and lawyer of Gauhati High Court.

“Once the ST tag is removed, the tribals of the entire North East will have to face Jammu and Kashmir-like situation. Their land right will be snatched away by BJP-RSS,” Sharma said.

“It is a communal agenda of BJP-RSS. It will amount to the destruction of the culture, tradition, language and primitive origin of tribals. I condemn this demand of the RSS-affiliate organisation. They should learn to respect the tribals,” Sharma also said.

Echoing a similar opinion, former Assam minister and Karbi leader Holiram Terang said: “The RSS has a diabolical plan to wipe out different ethnic groups and grab their land facilitating caste Hindu big business houses to exploit it for profit making.”

“Denying Christian tribals the legitimate Constitutional status of being Scheduled Tribes is part of this conspiracy. Therefore the demand by RSS-affiliate JDSSM is not only unjustified but inhuman and racist. It smacks of a fascist design,” Terang added.

Reacting to the demand, senior lawyer of Supreme Court and rights activist Arif Jwadder said: “ST status cannot be taken away even if one converts to another religion. Only in SC case, it goes up on conversion.”

“ST remains ST if one becomes Christian or Islam or another religion. They can’t delist Christians from the ST list,” the lawyer added.

United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL) leader and MLA Lawrence Islary apprehended that this demand would further weaken the tribal people in Assam and the North East.

UPPL is an ally of the BJP-led government in Assam. Islary was also general secretary of the influential All Bodo Students Union (ABSU) before joining politics after signing of third Bodo Peace Accord on January 27, 2020.

“How many people are on the ST list in Assam? There are a few. This demand will further weaken the tribal groups. Tribals have to face many challenges in the state,” Islary said.

“There are five criteria for granting ST status to an ethnic group. Religion is not a criterion for recognition. ST status is granted based on ethnicity,” Islary also said.

“Some groups have been raising this demand. But I find no justification for it. There will be a total disorder. Many assembly constituencies will have to be de-reserved. The tribals will lose representation in Parliament and assemblies. They will lose land rights. It is a big conspiracy. They should rethink their demand,” Islary added.

Assam Christian Forum (ACF) secretary Chowaram Daimary said ST status is based on ethnicity as per the Constitution of India and has nothing to do with religion, like being an Indian citizen.

“As for the conversion allegations, it is to be noted that the Bodos traditionally practised Bathouism, which is the worshipping of the supreme God, known as Obonglaoree. Bodos have also been converted to Hinduism, especially Hoom Jaygya apart from the two religions of their own free will as the provisions enshrined in the Constitution,” Daimary said.

“As such, mentioning only two religions is viewed as an effort by vested and instigated groups to create confusion and disharmony among the Bodo people especially when the Bodo Accord is in the process of being implemented,” he added.

The move has come at a time when two Christian-majority states– Meghalaya and Nagaland — are going for assembly elections on February 27.

The organisation is pushing a demand that was first raised by Congress MP Karthik Oraon in the sixties, who had flagged the issue claiming that ST converts were getting a major chunk of reservation benefits. In 1968, a joint parliamentary committee was formed to examine the issue.

“We are not against Christianity. But we want to protect our communities from conversion. We want the protection of our language, culture and custom,” said Bagiram Boro, president, JDSSM, Assam Pranta.

“Religious conversion is continually posing a great threat to the ST people of the country since pre-independence. The conversion of tribals into Christianity and Islam is not a new event but in the last few decades the conversion rate has increased drastically,” Boro said.

“Our Chalo Dispur will be a grand rally in Guwahati of one lakh participants,” he added.

The criteria set out by the Lokur Committee for defining a community as a tribe are: indications of primitive traits, distinctive culture, geographical isolation, shyness of contact with the community at large, and backwardness.

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