Amid raging debate over home minister Amit Shah addressing tribals as Vanvasi, the former Jharkhand chief minister (CM) Champai Soren has reminded that Mahatma Gandhi used to call the tribals (Adivasis) as ‘Girijan.Former Jharkhand chief minister Champai Soren. (HT Photo)“Different communities call the tribals by different names in India. Mahatma Gandhi used to call Adivasis as ‘Girijan’. Similarly, Vanvasi word is connected to the historical perspective of Bhagwan Ram’s vanvas also. Calling by different names does not change the basic identity of any community. The real issue is that the Central Government has kept the tribal communities out of the purview of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) to protect and preserve the tribal traditional self-governance systems, customs and rituals,” Soren has posted in his Facebook page and X account on Saturday.He said that the Christian community has the minority status under Article 30 of the Indian Constitution and their educational institutions run as minority institutions.“If a community considers itself minority how can any member of that community claim and avail reservation and other benefits meant for the scheduled tribes (ST) communities. That is why we are demanding delisting of converted tribals and necessary amendments in the Article 342. We also want to know how christian institutions were built on tribal land despite CNT Act and SPT Act.Sarna and Sanatan coexisted for centuriesResponding to the criticism of his statement on fast increasing number of Churches, the senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader cited century-old mutually peaceful and prosperous coexistence of the Sarna Jahersthans (tribal places of worship) and Sanatan Temples.“Many have questioned why I didn’t mention Temples in my statement about fast increasing number of Churches. I have not mentioned Temples because Adivasis (tribals) and moolvasis (Sanatan samaj) have been living in the villages of Jharkhand together for long. Where tribal faith centers like Sarna Sthal, Jahersthan, Deshauli and Majhi Sthans exist in the villages, there also exist the Temples of the Sanatan Samaj. Both the communities visit the places of worship of both the communities with reverence and also participate in each other’s festivals. But it doesn’t change the anyone’s basic faith, religious identity or lifestyle,” Soren has stated.He said that the tribal society has its own distinct lifestyle, traditions and social systems. He said that from birth, naming ceremony, marriage to death every ritual is held in the presence of tribal social leaders and representatives like Majhi, Pargana, Nayke, Pahan, Manki, Munda and Parha Raja.“Tribal communities worship Marang Buru and Singbonga in their religious places and this is continuing for thousands of years. Inspite of the mutual coexistence of the adivasi and moolvasi samaj for eons, none ever tried or inspired or forced to convert the tribals to their faith by wat of cooperation, help or any other means. People from the Sanatan Samaj never stake claim on the reservation or other Constitutional rights of the tribals by projecting themselves as tribals. Hence, there is no conflict with them. Visiting places of worship of other communities doesn’t change one’s religion but conversion changes lifestyle and religious beliefs. Hence, it’s a fake narrative that the tribals are being made Hindus. It is being spread to justify conversion,” Soren reasoned.Soren said that the Christian missionaries started propagating their faith in Jharkhand from 1845 and there has been large-scale conversion of the tribals during the past 180 years.“This has immensely harmed the tribal traditions, customs, rituals, language, scripts and religious beliefs. Number of worshippers at Sarna Sthals and Jahersthans have reduced, especially in Simdega region due to conversion. Many indigenous communities have lost their basic religious and cultural identity due to conversion in many countries. This is how indigenous people and their culture have been destroyed in Latin America, Kenya, Brazil and Pacific Islands,” reminded Soren.