Politics Of Dispossession: When Adivasis Reclaim Their God

We are the Adivasis, 
Whose God is not divine, 
Nor beyond our kin, 
But our own ancestors, 
Who were to them devils and evils. 

These words of renowned poet and philosopher Rm. Shanmugam Chettiar reflect on the idea of spirituality where the God is not transcendent, rather, it is ontologically rooted in the glory of the ancestors — the pristine presence of nature. On January 5, the Central government scrapped the earlier notification of turning Parashnath Hills at Giridih into an eco-tourism site in face of countrywide protests by Jains who consider it as their sacred space known as Sammed Shikharji as 20 of their 24 Tirthankars achieved mokhsha at this hill top. Following the government action, the Adivasis came in full force to reclaim this holy site that they consider Marang Buru or their God.  

This fight over the sacred space of Parashnath is nothing new as the competitive claims between Jains and Adivasis have been going on for centuries. However, what sparked the new movement and enthusiasm among the Adivasis is the spread of Jains’ Parikramsthal. One of the leaders of the current movement, Lobin Hembrom, a Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) MLA from Borio assembly constituency, tells Outlook, “The issue started with the expansion of Parikramsthal where only the pilgrims have the ritualistic access. As per the new notification it encapsulates several Adivasi villages that created an uproar among Adivasis.”  

The former MP and Adivasi leader Salkhan Murmu while speaking to Outlook notes that there are at least 120 Adivasi villages surrounding the Parashnath Hills. 

“We Adivasis call it Marang Buru that means ‘God’. The recent notification of the government released on January 5 that categorically prioritises the rights of Jains over the Adivasis is the last thing that we can accept,” says Murmu.

Hembrom, who was one of the first MLAs to visit the place and had expressed discontent over the decision of the government, also adds, “Earlier, they removed the board of Jug Jaher Than and now that of Dishabh Majhi Than that provoked Adivasis. These are the holy places where the Adivasi priests worship every month and to desecrate these by removing its board is the last thing that the Adivasis can accept.” 

Though the board of Majhi Than was later reinstalled by Adivasis, the agitation with the time, garnered much momentum.  

Salkhan Murmu tells Outlook that he began his protest march on January 17 from Jamshedpur for safeguarding Marang Buru. He says, “Our struggle is against the government’s notification that privileges the claims of Jains over the Adivasis. The contest over this space has been going on since British period. However, the Privy Council in 1911 gave their verdict in favour of Santhals against the Jains.”  

PC Roy Choudhary’s Bihar District Gazetteer: Hazaribagh notably reveals the contested histories of Parashnath. Firstly, when the British wanted to establish a sanatorium for their troops on the hills, Jains protested as they considered it as their holy space, for 20 of their 24 Tirthankars achieved Nirvana here. However, according to the local sources, the gazetteer notes, that only nine of their 24 Tirthankars actually achieved Mokhsha here and for each one of them there is a shrine on the hill top.  

Whatever the matter might be, the British couldn’t proceed with their plans due to the objection from the Jain community who even wanted to buy parts of the hills from “Encumbered Estates Department, which was at the time in charge of the estate of the Tikait of Palganj” within which Parashnath was located. There are other references as well that say that the British didn’t proceed with the plans due to the “confined space” and lack of water.  

The same gazetteer also points out that for Santhals it was Marang Buru or the hill deity. The Santhals of Hazaribagh, Manbhum, Bankura and Santal Parganas ritually used to gather here in every full moon of Baisakh (the first month of summer according to Bengali calendar) to celebrate a religious hunt. This is known as Law Beer Basi, a ritual where along with hunting, Adivasis also organise three days’ trial that deals with the disputes within the communities and villages that are resolved in presence of the Pradhans or the village heads.  

This custom was challenged by Jain Swetambers to the Judicial Commission that consequently dismissed it. PC Chowdhury in the gazetteer adds, “An appeal, preferred against his order, has been rejected by the High Court. The case went up to the Privy Council and it was held that the Santals have the customary right of hunting on the Parasnath Hill.” 

Thus, historically, the claims of Adivasis on the Parasnath hills got legitmised over the Jains. The recent dispute, however, evokes the same concerns of Santhals. The letter of objection that the Jains had sent protesting against the decision of the Central government to turn it to an ecological site mentions that their sanctity of the place would be affected as tourism would spread the use of alcohol and non-vegetarian foods. This concern of Jains again echoes their eternal fight with the Adivasis in the region who not only conduct the ritual hunting, but also sacrifice animals as part of their religious celebration.  

On being asked whether Adivasis were selling meat in the nearby areas that could be disrupted due to such expansion of Jains’ Parikramsthal, Hembrom says, “Look, you can’t find Adivasis selling meat in this area. Rather, Adivasis as Dolis take them to the Jain mandir for pilgrimage. They have been peacefully cohabitating and we want to get back that status quo.”  

However, Murmu, the national president of Adivasi Sengel Abhiyan that has been vocal on Adivasi issues from Sarna dharma to Khatiyan, is of different opinion. 

“On January 10, we started our movement and unless Adivasis are prioritised in the holy hills of Parashnath, this movement will go on,” he says. The yatra that is gradually resonating among Adivasis will culminate in February with a large public meeting and will ask the government to give Adivasis privilege over the space.  

Interestingly, the claims of Adivasis over the religious space of the organised religions has been there for long. Abhilash Thadathil, a scholar of Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram, in his paper titled Adivasi Claims Over Sabarimala Highlight the Importance of Counter-narratives of Tradition published in Economic and Political Weekly (EPW) shows how Adivasis have been claiming their rights over Sabarimala temple in Kerala and how the upper castes have been denying them their claims due to the fear that it might unsettle the Brahminical patriarchy embedded in the structure.  

In words of Thadathil: “Both, the government and the Travancore Devaswom Board that controls the temple, are reluctant to accept the facts simply because doing so would essentially reaffirm Adivasi land dispossession and cultural alienation, and unsettle the popular casteist version of narratives of Sabarimala and its history.”  

The claims of traditional rights in the mould of spiritual practice are actually empowering for Adivasis. Philip Mader, a Research Fellow at UK-based Institute of Developmental Studies, in one of his chapters in a forthcoming book, rightly points out how the revival of culture provides the Adivasis with “dignity and honour”.  

Scholars have over the years struggled with the ideas of Adivasis, indigeneity and its politics. Is it all about the romanticisation of Adivasis that drive the indigenous politics or does it have historical roots that make ‘Adivasi’ an assertive political term? Vasundhara Jairath in her paper titled Situating Claim-making: Land and Adivasi Assertion in Jharkhand in Sociological Bulletin finds out the materialistic and historic roots of the Adivasi claims over their Jal, Jungle and Jameen.  

As the Adivasis continue their protests and claim their rights over Marang Buru, they also bring up the question of dispossession and displacement. It reflects the imbibed displeasure of Adivasis against all the external powers that came and took over their lands for different purposes.  

The beautiful Prashnath Hills that have been the place of contestation throughout, however, stand still amidst the competitive claiming and, in words of Dr. Hooker, who climbed the hills in February, 1848, with the sunrise, appears, “against the clear grey the form of a beautiful broad cone, with a rugged peak of a deeper grey than the sky”.