A rally by a Hindutva group demanding the “delisting” or removal of tribal people who have adopted Christianity from the Scheduled Tribes list has Tripura on the boil this Christmas.
While the rally, originally scheduled for December 25, has now been postponed by a day, it marks the emergence of the Janjati Suraksha Manch as a force in Tripura.
The outfit is backed by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the ideological parent of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. It has a single-point agenda: it wants tribal communities who have adopted Christianity to not be considered eligible for the benefits of affirmative action that the Constitution grants to Scheduled Tribes.
Observers of the state say that the emergence of the Manch seemed to be aimed at countering the continued rise of the Tipra Motha, a tribal-centric party led by erstwhile royal scion, Pradyot Kishore Manikya Debbarma.
The Tipra Motha’s primary plank is “thansa” or unity of the state’s tribal communities. It has helped the party consolidate tribal voters across religious beliefs in recent elections in the state.
“They want to divide the vote bank of Tipra Motha in the tribal areas, where there are 20 MLA seats and where Motha did exceptionally well in the last election,” said an Agartala-based political scientist, who asked not to be identified by name.
This story was originally published in scroll.in. Read the full story here .