Contrary to perception, tribals in India have a belief system which is no less profound and spiritual than other religions practised in the country
Former Union Minister for Tribal Affairs, Kishore Chandra Deo, had in the last week of December 2021 said: “Tribals are not born into any religion and are treated as indigenous entities. Therefore, when certain sections of the Scheduled Tribes choose to practice any religion — say, Christianity or Buddhism in the Northeast, or Islam in places like Lakshadweep, or Hindu, Sikh or any other religion — it is never a case of religious conversion because, since the tribals are not born into a religion, there can’t be a case of them converting to a religion.” This, incidentally, is the opinion of an important politician who also belongs to the tribal community; this was said in the context of the Karnataka Anti-Conversion Bill.
LM Shrikant, the Commissioner for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, had pointed out on February 21, 1952, in a note that tribals in India have three common features: a) Tribal origin; b) Primitive way of life and habitation in remote and less accessible areas; and, c) general backwardness in all respects. He discovered after extensive travel all over India how the tribals lived in semi-slavish conditions, amidst abysmal poverty. He also noted the harm caused by the Criminal Tribes Act of 1926. In various reports, no one has ever mentioned that tribals lack a ‘belief system’ or religion.
Now, let us examine whether the tribals have a “religion” as described by Kishore Chandra Deo. The concept of dharma is different from religion, as we all know. Even to assume that tribals have no religion is historically wrong. Here, I have just picked a few examples from the Santal segment of the tribal population. Surely, this is true of other tribal societies, too.
All human beings are born without a ‘belief system’ or religion is true but they embrace the practices, rituals and the overall religio-cultural traits from their parents and the immediate neighbourhood. Like picking up the mother tongue, it happens effortlessly and without any tutoring. One can assert that tribals in India have a belief system which is no less profound and spiritual than other religions/dharma that are practised in India. As Suniti Kumar Chatterjee had pointed out: “All the Austric tribes in India had just a little oral literature, handed down from generation to generation, consisting of their mythological and semi-mythological legends and traditions, and some folk poetry, partly relating to their religious ceremonies (‘The Cultural Heritage of India’; Vol 5, p.670).” Chatterjee had further observed: “In Bengal, there is a sizeable Santal population following its own traditional religion, which is in a way akin to Puranic Hinduism. Being within the orbit of Brahmanism, the Santals have been very largely influenced by Hindu notions (p.671).”
Chatterjee also complimented Ramdas Majhi Tudu for his Kherawal-Vamsa (or Dharam-puthi or ‘The Sacred Book of the Kherawal race’) which contains the traditions of his people “and their religious and social culture” (p.672). He has also referred to Sadhu Ramchand Murmu Thakur, described as a “religious reformer and teacher of the Santal philosophy of religion” (p.673). There is no dearth of examples to show how the tribals were never devoid of religion.
The original ‘belief system’ of humankind has revolved around nature worship — the Sun, the Moon, rivers, mountains, trees and ancestor worship. All these are important ingredients in the tribals’ perception of the Divine. Unfortunately, the conventional view of religion is based on a division of humanity into “believers” and “non-believers” where the conquest of “the other” is the sine qua non. The belief systems manifest in the Sanatan Dharma, paganism, animism and Shintoism across the continents are what the tribals in India consider sacred.
As Iravati Karve had pointed out, the “cultural compromise” that goes on in India was made possible because it was helped by “polytheism and its logical concomitant — an attitude of tolerance towards other gods, other creeds and other customs”. All scholars who have studied India’s tribal society — like Nirmal Bose, Ghurye and Kumar Suresh Singh — have also expressed similar views. James Cowan, writing on the aborigines of Australia, had observed that they “represent the conscience of us all as they recognise and acknowledge at all times the metaphysical origins of the human spirit”.
We end this short essay with an anecdote. This was in 1902 at the Belur Math, where Santal labourers used to come for work. Swami Vivekananda liked their company immensely. Not only did he give them meals, he also took care that it was without salt. It happened because he had been told by them that they don’t take food that has salt in it or has been touched by others. Swamiji observed: “You are Narayans, God manifest. Today, I have offered food to Narayan.” After the Santals had retired for rest after the meal, Swamiji told his disciples that he found the Santals to be a “veritable embodiment of God” (‘The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda’, Vol 7, p.244-245). Perhaps this incident would prove once again how the tribals are to be judged regarding their ‘belief system’ and, that too, by one of the greatest Indians of all times and a true Hindu.
(The writer is an academic and historian. A former Member of ICSSR, he is currently Member, the Indian Council of Historical Research. The views expressed are personal.)
