Champai Soren backs delisting converted Adivasis from ST list

Former Jharkhand Chief Minister and BJP MLA Champai Soren on Friday said delisting Adivasis who have converted to other religions from the Scheduled Tribe category (ST) was essential to protect tribal identity and traditional practices.

Religious conversion is a major threat to the existence of the Adivasi society, Soren said in a statement.

“If conversions continued, no one would be left in the tribal community to offer prayers at our Jahersthan, Sarna Sthal and Deshawli in the future, and our tradition, culture and existence would be wiped out,” he claimed.

Soren said people from the Adivasi community who choose to adopt another religion were free to follow their faith, but “should not be entitled to reservation benefits and other constitutional rights meant for Scheduled Tribes.”

Delisting them, he claimed, “could save our orthodox systems and existence.” He also alleged that rampant infiltration from Bangladesh posed a serious threat to the tribal community.

According to him, infiltrators were grabbing tribal land and misusing reservation quotas through marriages in some areas.

Strongly pitching for the Special Intensive Review (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state, the BJP leader said it would not only help identify infiltrators, but also make the process of “removal from the electoral system and deportation smoother”.

Meanwhile, BJP Scheduled Tribe Morcha national executive member Ramesh Hansda said municipal elections in the state should be conducted only after the SIR is completed.

The proposed civic polls, which have to be completed by March 31, 2026, will not be impartial if held before SIR is completed, Hansda, a working committee member of the BJP Jharkhand, said. The last revision of the voters’ list in the state was held before the 2024 Assembly polls.