Constitution uses ‘Scheduled Tribe’, says NCST chairman, tribal vs forest dweller debate useless

New Delhi. National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) Chairman Harsh Chauhan has said that the Constitution uses the term “Scheduled Tribes” for tribal people and there is no question of using the terms “tribals” and “forest dwellers” for the community. Debate is futile.

At a rally in Madhya Pradesh, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said the term ‘vanvasi’ used for tribals was “derogatory”. Gandhi asked the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to apologize for using the term for tribes.

The former Congress president had said, “A few days ago I heard a speech by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in which he used the word ‘vanvasi’ for ‘tribals’. It means that the tribals are not the first owners of this land and they live only in the forests.” Asked for his opinion on the controversy, the NCST chairman said, “This is a political debate. It doesn’t mean anything else.

There is neither the word ‘tribal’ nor the word ‘forest dweller’ in the constitution. The term ‘Scheduled Tribes’ has been used for tribal people.” He said that the Constituent Assembly used the term ‘Scheduled Tribes’ in the Constitution after a lot of thought and debate. However, Chouhan also said that the term ‘vanvasi’ is more appropriate for the tribal people.

He said, “The word ‘Vanvasi’ was being used earlier than ‘Adivasi’. The British rulers started using the term ‘Adivasi’ for the indigenous communities. The term ‘vanvasi’ has been in use for a long time, even before the ‘Ramayana period’.’ He said that in the context of India the term adivasi does not distinguish tribal communities from others, because ‘each individual claims that he is a native.

Chouhan said, “If everyone has been living in India since the beginning, how can you differentiate between them.” When the forests will gradually end in Raj, then there will be no place left for the tribal community in the country.