Interview/ Rajkumar Roat, BAP founding member and MP
RAJKUMAR ROAT MADE many heads turned when he arrived at the inaugural session of the Lok Sabha on a camel. “I wanted to convey that animals have a very important place in tribal culture,” says the new MP from Banswara. Roat, 32, grew up in the village of Sansarpur in the Dungarpur district of Rajasthan. THE WEEK met him in his village house on a hill. Excerpts from an interview:
Q: How did your party achieve electoral success so quickly?
A/ We have addressed the real problems of the people. Funds for tribal schemes are lost due to corruption. Officials have taken away land from tribal people illegally. This is an area where the majority of the population is tribal. Reservations are given on the basis of constitutional provisions. But the announcements are such that 10 per cent people have benefited from 50 per cent reservation. The Congress and BJP have given us only small schemes for grains, houses, toilets or pensions. People have expressed their anger.
Q/ There was talk about the Hinduisation of tribal identity.
A/ The tribal people have their own religious system and rituals. The tribal Devi and Devta are different from the Hindu Devi and Devta. There are tribal people who follow Hinduism. But in the last ten years, fanaticism has increased, politics is being done in the name of Hindu religion and people are being brainwashed and made to fight against other communities. In this background, we tell the tribal people that the Adivasis are neither Hindus, nor Christians, nor Jains, nor Buddhists. They have their own identity, their own religion. This irks the national parties and they make various allegations against us.
Q/ The RSS runs schools in this area.
A/ Christian missionaries have worked here and the RSS also runs schools here. In RSS schools, children are inculcated with extreme Hindu views and anti-Muslim and anti-Christian ideas are taught. Maybe not today, but in 20 years, this will lead to a situation like in Manipur. They are all Adivasis, but some have embraced the Christian faith and some have embraced the Hindu religion. The gap will widen and the situation in Manipur may repeat itself and Adivasi will kill Adivasi in the name of religion.
Q/ On the issue of religion, the Education Minister of Rajasthan said your DNA needs to be checked.
A/ It is our misfortune that we have an education minister like this. His statement reveals his attitude: he wanted to test the DNA of Adivasis to find out who their ancestors were. Now he has apologised in Parliament and said that he himself is an Adivasi.
