Act of Faith
On 15 March, at the sixth protest gathering of the National Adivasi Indigenous Religion Coordination Committee, Adivasis from across the country came together at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar to demand a separate column for “tribal religion” in the census. They also appealed for the inclusion of Adivasi languages in the eighth schedule of the Constitution. A month earlier, speaking at a conference organised by Harvard University, Jharkhand’s chief minister Hemant Soren said that “Adivasis were never Hindus, neither they will ever be.” He added, “Adivasis are nature worshipers, their culture, religious rituals, and lifestyle is entirely different than Hindus.” Soren’s comments, which became a point of criticism for right-wing leaders,
