An RSS affiliate organisation named Janjati Suraksha Manch took out a massive rally in Rajasthan’s Udaipur seeking the de-listing of tribals, who converted to non-Hindu religions, from the reserved Scheduled Tribes (ST) category.
The rally was held at the Maharana Bhupal stadium on Sunday evening under the title “Delisting Hunkar Maharally”. Five processions arrived at the stadium from different parts of the city. The tribal community sang traditional songs and slogans.
Addressing the gathering, speakers at the event alleged that those who converted to other religions are an obstacle to children of the tribal community to access reservation benefits.
The members argued that converted tribals benefitting from the ST reservation is a violation of Section 366 (25) of the Indian Constitution.
According to Section 366 (25) means such tribes or tribal communities or parts of or groups within such tribes or tribal communities as are deemed under Article 342 to be Scheduled Tribes for the purposes of this Constitution.
However, the district in charge of the Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP) Sukhsampat Bagdi Meena described the event as a political plot to weaken the growing influence of tribal populations in the Mewar and Vagad regions.
On May 28, a similar rally was held in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad. According to report by The Hindu in March the organisation had announced holding rallies across Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Chhattisgarh over the next six months demanding the de-listing of converted tribal members.
Janjati Suraksha Manch’s PRO Sharad Chavan said the rallies will spread awareness among the tribal community. “A person who gets converted into Christianity or Islam and lives his life according to that religion, that person has no right to remain in the Scheduled Tribe category,” he was quoted by The Hindu.
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