Lakhs of tribals gather at Red Fort to demand removal of converted Muslims, Christians from ST list

Approximately 1.5 lakh tribal people gathered at the Red Fort grounds in New Delhi, demanding that tribals who have converted to Islam or Christianity be rem...

What Happened

Approximately 1.5 lakh tribal people gathered at the Red Fort grounds in New Delhi, demanding that tribals who have converted to Islam or Christianity be removed from the Scheduled Tribe (ST) category.
The rally was organised by the Janajati Suraksha Manch, an organisation advocating for the constitutional and cultural rights of tribal communities.
Participants demanded a constitutional amendment under Article 342 to de-list converted tribals from the ST schedule, arguing that conversion severs the cultural and community ties that justify ST reservation.
The demand is a long-standing one in tribal political discourse, rooted in the contention that the benefits of ST reservation were intended for communities with specific socio-cultural characteristics, not for any individual based on birth ancestry alone.

Static Topic Bridges

Article 342 — Scheduled Tribes: Presidential Notification and Parliamentary Amendment

Article 342 of the Constitution governs the specification of Scheduled Tribes and their modification. It establishes a two-step process: initial specification by the President, and any subsequent change only by Parliament.

Article 342(1): The President may, by public notification and after consulting the Governor of the state concerned, specify the tribes or tribal communities (or parts of, or groups within, them) that shall be deemed Scheduled Tribes in relation to a particular state or Union Territory.
Article 342(2): Parliament alone has the power to include in or exclude from the list of Scheduled Tribes any tribe or community specified in the Presidential notification. No subsequent Presidential notification can alter the list.
The Supreme Court held in State of Maharashtra v. Milind (2001) that once a community is notified as a Scheduled Tribe under Article 342, it is binding on all authorities; only Parliament can change it.
The process is therefore: Presidential notification → Parliamentary legislation for any change.

Connection to this news: The demand for de-listing of converted tribals is, in constitutional terms, a demand for Parliamentary legislation under Article 342(2) — not a Presidential notification — since only Parliament can exclude a group once listed.

ST Classification — Criteria and Philosophy

The Constitution does not define "Scheduled Tribe" but the criteria used by the Lokur Committee (1965) — the standard reference for ST classification — are widely accepted as the working definition.

Lokur Committee (1965) criteria for ST status: (1) indications of primitive traits; (2) distinctive culture; (3) geographical isolation; (4) shyness of contact with the community at large; (5) backwardness.
These criteria are socio-cultural and anthropological — they are not linked to religion. A tribal person's religious identity is not formally a criterion for inclusion or exclusion.
The Constitution under Article 341 (Scheduled Castes) explicitly excludes non-Hindus and non-Sikhs from SC status (added by Presidential Order, 1950) — but Article 342 contains no such religious exclusion for STs.
This is the core legal asymmetry: SC status is religion-linked by Presidential Order; ST status is not.

Connection to this news: The rally's demand is based on a perceived incongruity — that SC reservation is already religion-gated but ST reservation is not — and calls for extending similar religious conditionality to ST lists.

Fifth Schedule and Tribal Identity

The Fifth Schedule of the Constitution (under Article 244(1)) provides special governance for areas with predominantly tribal populations in ten non-NE states. The Schedule's provisions for land protection, Tribes Advisory Councils, and self-governance are premised on a distinct tribal identity rooted in community, culture, and geographic attachment.

The PESA Act, 1996 defines a Gram Sabha as the assembly of voters within a village and recognises tribal customary law as a basis for self-governance in Scheduled Areas.
The Forest Rights Act, 2006 (FRA) recognises individual forest rights (up to 4 hectares) and community forest resource rights for Scheduled Tribe forest dwellers — rights tied to habitation and dependence on forests, not religious identity.
Critics of the de-listing demand note that tribal identity in Indian law is defined by community membership and cultural practice; the demand to introduce a religious criterion would require reconceiving the entire framework.

Connection to this news: The legal architecture of tribal rights — from the Fifth Schedule to PESA to the FRA — does not use religion as a criterion; introducing one through a de-listing amendment would have cascading effects across this framework.

Reservation and the Religion Question — Judicial and Legislative History

The relationship between conversion and reservation has been actively litigated and legislated for Scheduled Castes but remains contested for Scheduled Tribes.

For Scheduled Castes: The Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 originally restricted SC status to Hindus; extended to Sikhs in 1956 and to Buddhists in 1990. Christians and Muslims of SC origin remain excluded from SC reservation — this exclusion has been challenged in the Supreme Court (a Constitution Bench reference is pending as of 2024).
For Scheduled Tribes: No similar religious restriction exists. The Mandal Commission (1980) also did not recommend a religious criterion for ST reservations.
Multiple commissions and courts have noted that ST communities' entitlement to reservation derives from socio-economic backwardness and cultural isolation — characteristics that conversion may or may not affect depending on the individual's circumstances.
The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) is the constitutional body (under Article 338A, inserted by 89th Amendment, 2003) mandated to investigate complaints related to ST rights.

Connection to this news: The rally's demand, while politically significant, would require Parliament to pass legislation under Article 342(2) — a step that would also invite constitutional scrutiny on whether religious conditionality in ST lists violates Articles 14 (equality) and 15 (non-discrimination on grounds of religion).

Key Facts & Data

Article 342(1): President specifies STs by public notification in consultation with the Governor.
Article 342(2): Only Parliament can include or exclude groups from the ST list after the initial notification.
Supreme Court in State of Maharashtra v. Milind (2001): Presidential ST notification is binding; only Parliament can alter it.
Lokur Committee (1965): Established the five working criteria for ST identification — primitive traits, distinctive culture, geographical isolation, shyness of contact, backwardness.
Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950: Restricts SC status to Hindus, extended to Sikhs (1956) and Buddhists (1990). No such restriction exists for STs.
Article 338A (inserted by 89th Constitutional Amendment, 2003): Establishes the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes.
Forest Rights Act, 2006: Recognises individual rights up to 4 hectares; community forest resource rights — neither tied to religious identity.
Rally size: approximately 1.5 lakh people; organiser: Janajati Suraksha Manch.
Demand: Constitutional amendment under Article 342 to de-list converted tribals from ST schedules.