Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai on Sunday said that Adivasis have been “the biggest Hindus” since ancient times, leading to a sharp reaction from his predecessor Bhupesh Baghel, The Hindu reported.

At a religious event in Raipur, Sai said that in Adivasi-dominated areas of Chhattisgarh, worshipping symbols in the form of Hindu deities Shiva and Parvati was a part of local culture.

“...We the Adivasis are the biggest Hindus who not from today but since ancient times are worshipping [symbols] in the form of Mahadev and Parvati,” the BJP leader said. “In the Gond-majority areas, they call [them] Gauri-Gaura, they are also Shiva-Parvati.”

In response, Sai’s predecessor and Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel asked him to read the Constitution. Baghel said that Adivasis will stop getting reservation benefits if they identify themselves as Hindus on official documents.

“Adivasis have been given a separate status as per the Constitution,” Baghel said. “If that status is abolished, then the reservation for them will also end. So he [Sai] should first decide this, read the Constitution and only then give a statement.”

Adivasis make up 30.62% of Chhattisgarh population according to the 2011 census. Since the 1950s, the Gond or Koitur Adivasis in the state have demanded the recognition of their faith Koya Punem.

In other parts of the country as well, several Adivasi leaders have maintained that their communities do not fall within the Hindu fold, as claimed by the Sangh Parivar, of which the BJP is a part.

After independence, until the 2011 census, besides the six religions of Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism, there was a seventh column for “Others” with different religious beliefs. However, in 2011, this option was removed and many Adivasis complained that they were forced to record themselves as Hindus, against their wishes.

Adivasi communities are formally recognised under the Constitution as Scheduled Tribes, one of the two constitutionally-protected social categories, the other being Scheduled Castes. Although the Constitution only recognises those professing Hinduism, Sikhism or Buddhism to be members of Scheduled Castes, there has never been any similar condition for members of Scheduled Tribes to belong to a specific religion.

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