People from the Sarna community play traditional drums.
Credit: PTI photo
New Delhi: All tribes in India are “originally” Hindu but some people are trying to create divisions in the tribal society by linking its members with other religions like ‘Sarna’, a senior functionary of RSS-affiliate Akhil Bharatiya Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram said on Monday.
Various groups in Jharkhand and its neighbouring states have been demanding that ‘Sarna ’ be declared as the religion of the tribals as their practices and method of worship are different from Hindus and all other religions in the country.
Supporting the view, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), which rules Jharkhand, has been pitching for the inclusion of a separate “Sarna Code’ for tribals in the census.
“All tribes are originally Hindus. They were Hindus in the past, they are Hindus at present and they will remain Hindus in future,” Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram’s all India publicity and media communications head Pramod Pethkar said at a press conference here when asked about the demands for the inclusion of a separate ‘Sarna Code’ for tribals in the census.
“Some people are engaged in creating division in the tribal society by carrying out such ideological attacks,” he said.
Both tribals and Hindus are worshippers of nature, he said, adding, "India is worshipper of nature".
The Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram is an affiliate of the RSS and it works in tribal areas across the country. It runs various projects for the development of the tribal communities which include schools for children and adult literacy, hostels for students, agriculture development centres and dispensaries.
Asked about the BJP’s claims of demographic changes in parts of Jharkhand, Pethkar said, “This (trend) is not confined to Jharkhand only. This is the scenario across the country. Tribals living in border areas are struggling against such a trend for years”.
On the prevailing situations in Manipur, he said, “Our stand is very clear. We do not support any form of violence”.