The Adivasis of the Chota Nagpur plateau have their own vision of the world, a vision once again under threat by the so-called 바카라civilised바카라 forces of the world
Everywhere I went in Jharkhand, I was greeted with 바카라Johar!바카라 an expression specific to Adivasi identity that means 바카라Respect바카라 or 바카라Salutation바카라 and is part of their religion. In 1956, when the State Reorganisation Commission (SRC) denied the claims of a separate state of Jharkhand, they cited lack of lingual unity. Adivasis were yet to consider religion as a point of convergence.
To search for a new point of unity that might facilitate the claims of a separate state, Nirmal Minz, then the Principal of Ranchi바카라s Gossner College, had said in 1983, in a historic conference entitled 바카라The Search for Unity in Diversity: The Crisis of Identity in Chhota Nagpur,바카라 that the 바카라predominant religion of this region, 바카라Sarna바카라 could be the centre of unification. In reference to the struggles of fierce Adivasi fighters Birsa Munda and Jatra Bhagat, he said that Sarna could be a force in the 바카라struggle of Adivasi people바카라. On the other hand, Van Exern of the Catholic Cooperative Society believed that embracing of such dharma would amount to mere 바카라appeasement바카라 of some spirits and would weaken the 바카라struggle바카라.
Whatever connotation Sarna dharma might have prior to the formation of Jharkhand state, post-2000, it became a struggle against 바카라identity crisis,바카라 as referred to by Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader and Bishunpur MLA, Chamra Linda. Sarna dharma or, more precisely, 바카라Adi Dharam바카라, as noted by the Dr Ram Dayal Munda, was embedded in Adivasi culture since the earliest records. But, since Independence, despite several attempts, they have not been given a separate column in the Census.
The British, in the 1901 and 1911 censuses, identified the Adivasis as 바카라animists바카라 and, in 1921, recorded their presence as a separate 바카라tribal religion바카라. However, it was soon discontinued and as political scientist, Sujit Kumar, in his recent paper in The Economic and Political Weekly, titled 바카라Coding the Indigenous: Jharkhand바카라s Sarna Code Bill and the Possible Fallout,바카라 points out, 바카라Since 1967, there have been multiple attempts to politicise the issue of religion among the tribes by projecting the narrative of unlawful conversion into Christianity.바카라 How is Sarna Dharma philosophically different from the major religious institutions? What are the movements that led to the passing of Sarna Code Bill by the Jharkhand assembly on November 11, 2020? Is Sarna Code a universal panacea for the long-term struggles of Adivasis or is it just a symbolic step in the right direction?
Sarna Dharma: A Distinct Philosophy
While all of the recognised institutionalised religions centre their thoughts on humans, Ranendra Kumar, a serving IAS officer and author of several books on Adivasis, Adi Darshan or Adi Dharma, maintains that the adivasi cosmology does not believe in the 바카라superiority of humans바카라. Speaking to Outlook, Kumar says, 바카라The moment you make someone superior, you create hierarchy. Racism, casteism, gender divisions all are by-products of such presumptive superiority. So, Adi Dharma, in contrast to all other religions, negates the supremacy of humans.바카라 According to their cosmologies, God is not 바카라omnipotent바카라 and soil, water, fire, space and air바카라broadly all natural entities바카라have been in the world since eternity. Here, the God created the world with the help of tortoise, crab and earthworms. Humans are made as equal as the others. 바카라From an ant to dinosaur, a fungus to the largest tree, all have same values in the egalitarian world of Adivasis. There is no caste, no division,바카라 Kumar notes. The first principle of the equality of all the beings separates Sarna from the major human-centric religions. The rejection of the Cartesian idea that only humans are thoughtful beings adds to it an essence of universality.
바카라We have the world wide web or 바카라www바카라 but the natural forests do have a 바카라wood wide web바카라 that connects all the trees and fungi. They even communicate and send nutrients to dried and weak trees, chemicals to pest-infected parts. But we, the 바카라thoughtful beings바카라 still are far from finding such unique mechanisms,바카라 says Kumar.
Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, a chief scientist with the World Health Organisation (WHO) during the second wave of Covid 19, said that unless we start staying symbiotically with the other beings of the world, such parasite transmissions will not stop. Referring to Swaminathan바카라s words, the author of the novel Lords of the Global Village, Ranendra, says, 바카라Among Adivasis, you can바카라t find any imaginary gotra or totem. Their totem is derived from Nature. A person belonging to Lakra totem may believe that his ancestors had been saved by a tiger and hence prefer to be identified by that surname.바카라 Similarly, Xaxa refers to crow whereas Kujur is a forest flower. Adivasis connect to the forest, reflected in their festivals as well. Sohrai, a festival of thanksgiving, shows their gratitude to nature for feeding them. Another major difference between Adi Dharma and other organised religion is its concepts of life and death. 바카라There is no idea of hell or heaven in Sarna Dharma,바카라 says former MP and the founder of Jharkhand Desom Party, Salkhan Murmu. In an interview with Outlook, Murmu notes, 바카라After death, we call the departed soul to stay with us.바카라
This process to call the spirit to stay with the family is called 바카라Ombul Ader바카라. The people who know that even after death, they will have to stay here will take much more care of the world than those making their ways to hell or heaven, Ranendra adds. Emphasizing the significance of ecology, the former MP says that Adivasis don바카라t destroy nature and sell the timber for profit. 바카라We are people who are content with meagre resources,바카라 says Murmu.
Struggle for Recognition
Philosophical and ritual differences notwithstanding, since independence, Sarna Dharma never got a separate column in consecutive censuses. From 1793, when the Britishers imposed the Permanent Settlement Act, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) MLA, Chamra Linda, avers that the culture and practices of Adivasis have been sidelined. 바카라Our population in every state is decreasing gradually. Our cultures are being undermined and not given recognition. If we get the tag of minority religion, we can develop our schools and will be able to save decaying cultural authenticity,바카라 says Linda.
One of the major leaders of Sarna movement, Linda tells Outlook, 바카라In 2001, we started our fight. We told the government that if we are not given our own religious identity, our people will embrace other religions like Hinduism, Christianity or Islam. Consequently, we will be eradicated from the Indian body politic.바카라 In two-three districts, they boycotted the 2001 Census, following which the Registrar General of India came to meet them and allowed them to write Sarna in the seventh column of 바카라Others바카라. That year, as Linda points out, at least 50,000 people filled the seventh column stating Sarna as their religion. In 2009, prior to the next Census of 2011, they again met the Registrar General who promised them that if their numbers crossed those of the Jains and Buddhists, he would facilitate their claim for a separate column. Consequently, after long campaign, Adivasis of Orissa, West Bengal, Jharkhand. Chhattisgarh and Bihar noted their identity and the number touched 50 lakh. 바카라We also met the then Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, in 2013 but nothing much transpired. In 2021, we faced an unprecedented crisis. This time they have proposed to remove the seventh column. We thought we will cross 1 crore and will have sufficient numbers to claim the separate religion. Now, we are compelled to put ourselves in the six existing columns only,바카라 adds Linda. Adivasis will boycott the census on a large scale if the column is not included. Linda also expressed his concerns over the impact of such denial: 바카라The delimitation of seats in 2004 reduced three ST assembly seats. We, on behalf of the Adivasi Chhatra Sangh, protested and it was put on hold for 20 years. Now, we don바카라t know what will happen in 2026 as the numbers of Adivasis in the state is continuously decreasing with the parallel soaring of non-Adivasi populations. Now if we won바카라t be given the identity of religious minority, our traces will be removed.바카라
The movement and struggle for Sarna is far from over. Murmu, currently in Delhi to meet Home Minister, Amit Shah, told Outlook, 바카라We have given an ultimatum to the Government. By November 20, they have to take a decision over the Sarna Code. If not, on November 30 Jharkhand, Orissa, Assam and West Bengal will see severe rail roko abhiyans.바카라
The BJP, however, continues to stick to its old position that Adivasis are Hindus. Talking to Outlook, senior BJP leader and MLA of Bishrampur, Ramachandra Chandravanshi, says, 바카라Adivasis are Hindus. Let them organise their movement the way they want. Nothing is going to happen now. If it materialises, we will see what to do.바카라 Notably, the connection of the Sarna rituals with Hindu practices had been mentioned by anthropologist Alpa Shah in her book In the Shadows of the State. Expanding on what retired Adivasi sociologist, Professor Virginus Xaxa, terms 바카라Hinduisation바카라, Shah writes that the activists identify Sarhul and Phagul celebrations by Hindu term puja and 바카라and, in an effort to domesticate what they consider the jangli practices of their rural counterparts, they offer coconuts, flowers, and water in the urban festivals, instead of the villagers바카라 offerings of alcohol and animal sacrifices바카라. Shah notes that though these efforts may be directed at keeping Hindus 바카라at bay바카라, ironically they feed Hindu nationalist forces who think that, 바카라Jharkhand바카라s tribals are merely fallen high castes whose proper status should be restored by converting them into real Hindus through Sanskritization.바카라
(This appeared in the print edition as "An Ecological Religion")