By C. M. Paul
Kharagpur, April 9, 2026: A leadership meeting of the Adivasi Forum under the Bongiyo Christian Pariseba (BCP) Bengal Christian Council has focused on resisting what leaders described as efforts to undermine the constitutional rights of India’s tribal communities and on charting strategies for collective action.
The April 9 gathering convened in West Bengal’s Kharagpur town, drew representatives from five districts: West Midnapore, Jhargram, Bankura, Purulia and Burdwan.
BCP founder and state secretary Herod Mullick, who moderated the session, traced the historical roots of the “de-listing” debate. He recalled how Kartik Oraon raised the issue in the 1960s, which has resurfaced through organizations such as Janajati Suraksha Manch and its nationwide “Garjan Rallies.”
“At this critical juncture between 2024 and 2026, resource constraints are being exploited to fracture tribal unity,” Mullick said. “We must remain vigilant and united.”
Advocate Aditya Tewari countered the de-listing campaign with legal and anthropological arguments. “Tribal identity is ethnic, not religious,” he said.
“Conversion does not erase ethnicity. Article 342 of the Constitution does not impose religious barriers for Scheduled Tribes. Our identity is rooted in geography, culture and community, not in religion.”
State coordinator Victor Behera added: “Adivasi identity is nature-given, while religion is a matter of personal choice. Just as the [River] Ganga’s water retains its identity even when it turns saline at the estuary, so too does tribal identity remain intact despite modern education or new worldviews.”
The forum announced initiatives running through December 2026, including digital awareness campaigns via WhatsApp and the “Samay Katha Bole” YouTube channel, cultural revival programs such as Santali dance and music competitions, promotion of mother tongue use at home, and integration of tribal instruments and attire in church worship.
Strengthening solidarity with non-Christian Adivasis in the struggle for jal-jangal-jamin-jivan (water, forest, land, life) was emphasized as a priority.
Following the success of the Kharagpur meeting, similar assemblies are planned in Malda, Balurghat, Siliguri and Jalpaiguri. The gathering concluded with a unanimous declaration affirming the inseparability of tribal identity from ethnicity and culture.