Adivasi Women, Religious and Cultural Liberation: A Religion Question in East Central India

Adivasi Women and politics plays a significant role in the East-Central belt in India. In the larger context, it is being observed that adivasi women’s role in political movement and knowledge promotion (creation and dissemination) is gradually being alluded to adivasi discourse. Adivasi woman and her relations with the customary state and with the social institutions of her community were interpreted through scattered historical references. The Jharkhand State Assembly held a special session on 11th November 2020 and passed a resolution asking the Indian government for a separate religion code for the tribal population in the upcoming Census 2021. The resolution named it ‘Sarna Adivasi Dharam’, a separate religious code for the tribals. With the Census due since 2021, the inclusion of a separate column on religion for the Scheduled Tribes (STs) has gained momentum in the past few years by the different adivasi groups in the Indian states of Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal demanding for a separate enumeration and enlisting. Such a move by the states is to protect the interests of tribal communities and to recognize the uniqueness of their religious practices. There have been protests and maharallies in various parts of East-central India demanding for the Sarna Code. Womens’ participation in the politico-religious movements have always been in the forefront though their recognition remains to the wait. This study has tried to look on the adivasi womens’ location in reviving culture, identity and religion in the contemporary adivasi politics of waiting through their experiences and narratives. The methods used for data collections were observational, in-depth interviews with the local women activists, leaders and youth participants in the protests and rallies for the Sarna Code.