Kamal Nayan Chaubey's Adivasi or Vanvasi unpacks the Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram's influence on tribal politics

Indian Express

01-06-2025

Kamal Nayan Chaubey, in his new book Adivasi or Vanvasi, explores how the tribal politics of the country has changed since the inception of the Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram (VKA). Through his ethnographic work, he unpacks the complex questions of identity and emphasises the importance of reading the ground as it is, without being swayed away by theoretical presumptions. In this conversation, Chaubey explains this transition and unravels the limits of VKA's politics. Edited excerpts:
What are the major differences between Adivasi and Vanvasi? Are these differences a result of different political assertions?
Adivasi means original inhabitant of the land, whereas Vanvasi means inhabitant of the forests. Many anthropologists have underlined that not all communities claiming to be Adivasis are the original inhabitants. In some areas, non-tribals have been the original settlers, with tribals joining them later. However, eventually, many tribal communities started to use the term Adivasi to assert their unique identity and claim rights over forest land and its resources. On the other hand, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the VKA emphatically rejected the idea. For them, they are Hindus living in the forest areas, and hence, Vanvasis. They claim that all Sanatanis are original inhabitants of the country.
Why do you think that there has been a consistent silence over the activities of the VKA in literature?
There has been ideological bias against the VKA. When a few scholars focused on it, they presented it as a static organisation working for the idea of Hindu majoritarianism. Such a fixed understanding compelled researchers to overlook the changing nature of VKA's works. Even scholars sympathetic to the RSS overlooked the VKA as they considered it nothing more than an RSS wing.
You write that lately VKA has taken a Left turn. What do you mean?
In its early days — the VKA was formed in 1952 — the organisation focused on two things: countering Christian influence among tribals and spreading Hindu values. However, from 1970 onwards, many Left-oriented organisations started raising the issue of forest and land rights. They opposed displacement and emphasised their rights to live an autonomous life. It was in the 1990s that the VKA even felt the need to echo the Left. In 2015, it released a 'vision document' and supported all major demands raised by Left-oriented tribal organisations. It indicates the willingness of the VKA to adopt progressive ideas coming from opposing ideological camps.
What is the VKA's view on the Uniform Civil Code (UCC)?
The UCC has been one of the core agenda of the RSS and the BJP. However, in recent years, the VKA leadership has asserted that tribal communities should be excluded from the UCC. It emphasised the cultural and customary diversities among various tribal communities. Its criticisms played a crucial role in the BJP government's decision to exclude tribals in the UCC in Uttarakhand. Many leaders, including Union Home Minister Amit Shah, have made it clear that tribals will be exempted from the UCC even in other parts of the country. It underlines the pragmatic nature of the VKA. Though it talks about the Hindu identity of tribals, it opposes any form of cultural encroachment.
Why does VKA need to create 'aggressive organs' for implementing agendas like ghar wapsi or delisting?
The VKA prefers to focus on service work to keep its image intact. They never raise contentious issues like reconversion. To work on these issues, there are some 'aggressive organs'. They are not formally connected to the VKA. But their leadership carries its lineage. For example, the Janjati Surksha Manch was formed in 2006 to raise the issue of 'delisting' of those tribals from the ST list who converted to Christianity or Islam. Despite not being a direct wing of the VKA, it shared the same leadership. Many such organisations work on the ghar wapsi campaign.
You are using the Gramscian idea of hegemony to unpack VKA's politics. Why?
(Antonio) Gramsci divided intellectuals into two parts: Traditional and organic. The former, whereas, always tries to protect the existing system, the latter questions the prevalent hegemony and seeks changes in favour of the marginalised communities. As organic intellectuals, the VKA sometimes takes a stand for the tribals, but as traditional intellectuals, they never question the hegemonic neoliberal state and its developmental model.
Did the VKA strengthen the BJP's presence in the tribal regions?
The VKA, through its service works, has increased the BJP's presence in many tribal areas where its presence was earlier negligible. The Northeastern states are an important example. The BJP's vote share has increased across the tribal belts in the country. However, political contestation with other organisations also shapes its political future, as witnessed in Jharkhand, where the party lost all the tribal seats in the latest Assembly elections.