Rahul Gandhi targets BJP, RSS over ‘Vanvasis’ term in Vadodara

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi criticised the BJP and RSS over the use of the term ‘Vanvasis’ for tribals and reiterated his demand for a caste census. He also attacked the government over the India-US interim trade deal

Vadodara: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday targeted the BJP and the RSS over the use of the term ‘Vanvasis’ for tribals and claimed they have coined the word to deny them original ownership of water, forest and land, which have belonged to them for centuries.

Addressing the ‘Adivasi Adhikar Samvidhan Sammelan’ in Vadodara, Gandhi reiterated his demand for a caste census, which he said is vital for tribals to get their share in power and wealth of the country.

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“Adivasi refers to the original owners of India. Had you visited this land 1,000, 2,000, or even 5,000 years ago, you would have found that every single inch of land was in the hands of Adivasis,” the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha told the gathering.

“Now, in the 21st century, a new term has emerged, a term coined by the RSS and the BJP, ‘Vanvasi’ (forest dweller). The term ‘Vanvasi’ implies that you were not the original owners of this land. The term ‘Adivasi’, on the other hand, signifies that this country belonged to you, that its water, forests and land were rightfully yours,” he insisted.

To call Adivasis Vanvasis is an attack on the Constitution and revered tribal leader Birsa Munda, Gandhi maintained.

“The use of the term ‘Vanvasi’ suggests you were not the original owners, that the original owners were someone else and that water, forests and land did not belong to you; rather, you merely happen to reside within forests,” the Congress MP stated.

Gandhi said that in the India-US interim trade deal, for the first time, the country’s farm sector has been opened by the government to American products, something no Prime Minister had done in the past.