Deep Mukherjee 
Jaipur: A recent statement by Rajasthan education minister and Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Madan Dilawar, wherein he told reporters that if Bharat Adivasi Party (BAP) MP from Banswara MP Rajkumar Roat doesn’t consider himself a Hindu, he should take a DNA test to verify who his father is, has sparked off a row, with the BAP leader slamming Dilawar and demanding his resignation.
In an interview with The Wire, Roat spoke about Dilawar’s statements, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s controversial speech from Banswara, from where Roat is now the MP, and why he believes Adivasis don’t come under the Hindu fold. Excerpts:
Rajasthan education minister Madan Dilawar has said that if you don’t consider yourself a Hindu, a DNA test should be conducted to know the identity of your father. What are your comments on the issue?
Dilawar’s comments are the biggest insults against tribals in independent India. He has offended the self respect of the entire Adivasi community by hurting their sentiments. A person can have an opinion on whether tribals can be termed as Hindu or not, but his statement, that if tribals are not Hindu, they should conduct DNA test to check the identity of their fathers, is unacceptable.
You have often said that tribals are not Hindu and have a separate identity instead. Can you please elaborate more on the subject?
I am saying that tribals predate any religion. They don’t come under any religion, be it Hindu or Christian. That doesn’t mean that we are against any religion. The tribal culture is different from the culture of Hindu religion. There is huge difference in customs of Hindu religion and us tribals, be it around the birth of a child, death or marriage. Yes, some tribals go to Hindu temples, some follow Christianity – but culturally, historically and as per the constitutional provisions, tribals don’t come under any religion.
Why do you feel the BJP has a problem with this assertion of a separate tribal identity?
Right from the beginning, the BJP’s agenda has been to finish all the separate identities of the different communities of the country, be it tribals [or anyone else], and paint everyone as Hindu. They didn’t even call us Adivasi and instead addressed us as Vanvasi (residents of forest) or Vanbandhu (friends of forest). The BJP only wants Hindutva to establish itself. I feel that the BJP is not a well-wisher of even the Hindu religion. The BJP wants to make Adivasis mental slaves by drowning them in religion so that they remain associated with the BJP. They want to see us only through the Hindutva lens.
After education minister Dilawar’s statements, you have said that as a mark of protest, Adivasis will send their blood samples to the minister…
Of course. We will organise a big programme in Jaipur and send our blood samples to Dilawar. He has challenged the entire Adivasi community with his statement and we will take this up the national level. It’s his freedom of speech to have an opinion on whether Adivasis are Hindu or not. But saying that DNA test will be done to check the identities of our father is akin to abusing us. That is why we will send them blood samples.
Dilawar has since said that his statement was misconstrued…
He can change his statements, which only shows that he is wrong. If he is wrong, the minister should resign.
How would you describe the ideological battle between the BJP and BAP?
We want to establish the tribal identity and BJP wants to end it.
You have won from the Banswara constituency, from where Prime Minister Narendra Modi had delivered his controversial speech with references to mangalsutra and Muslims. What impact did the speech have on the election results?
Modi ji’s statements led to the people knowing the reality even more, that they (BJP) only want to do politics in the name of religion and create conflicts in the name of religion. People understand that nobody will be after their mangalsutras. The public realised that he only wanted to get political dividends by connecting tribals with the Hindu religion. Actually we profited after Modi ji’s speech in Banswara.
The BJP and Sangh parivar-affiliated organisations such as the Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram have a good foothold in Rajasthan’s tribal areas. How does the BAP plan to present an alternative to BJP’s Hindutva politics in the tribal belt?
We will move forward by highlighting the issues directly impacting the tribal community, including those related to reservation policies and gram sabha while allocating land to private companies for mining.