Recognising Adivasi Identity in the Census
The upcoming 2027 Census lacks clarity on caste enumeration and continues to ignore Adivasi/ST faiths, despite constitutional protections and repeated demands for their recognition as distinct religious communities.
Constitutional Context
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The Fifth and Sixth Schedules, along with Articles 25, 26, 371A, and 371B, provide protections for ST customs, beliefs, and religious practices.
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The current Census only records six religions (Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, Jainism, Buddhism) and places all others under a vague ‘Other Religious Persuasion (ORP)’ category—violating Article 25 by denying proper representation to ST belief systems.
2011 Census Issue
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ST population: 10.43 crore (8.6% of total).
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ORP registrations: only 79 lakh (0.66%)—indicating widespread misidentification due to lack of awareness and the absence of a dedicated column.
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Where ST organisations mobilised awareness (e.g., Sarna in Jharkhand with 49 lakh registrations, Gond faith in Madhya Pradesh with over 10 lakh), ORP numbers rose—proving demand for identity-based enumeration.
Political and Cultural Concerns
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RSS-affiliated groups have intensified campaigns like ghar wapasi, targeting Christian Adivasis, while simultaneously advancing Hinduisation of ST culture.
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Strategies include: building temples in ST areas, promoting Hindu deities, integrating ST groves into Ram Mandir narratives, and shifting tribal education towards Hindu cultural content.
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Eklavya Model Schools and RSS-run schools, often supported by CSR funds, are instrumental in this cultural re-engineering.
Democratic and Cultural Threat
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The "One Nation, One Culture" agenda undermines India’s tribal diversity—homogenising a population of over 700 distinct ST communities.
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The demand for recognition of ST faiths in the Census is a form of resistance against assimilation and erasure.
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In November 2020, Jharkhand Assembly passed a resolution to include ‘Sarna’ as a separate religion in Census 2021—ignored by the Centre.