Does 'International Day of World's Indigenous Peoples' Have Any Relevance in India ?

World community observes 9 August every year as the ‘International Day of World’s Indigenous Peoples’ to promote and protect the rights of the world’s indigenous population. On this day, the original inhabitants or aboriginals in the various parts of the world gather together to remember the atrocities and subjugations they suffered in the hands of domineering people coming from different lands. Such solidarity among them has built up a solid pressure on the world community to recognize their rights taking their distinct culture and way of life into account.  

A subsidiary body within the structure of United Nations called the Working Group on Indigenous Populations (WGIP) established in 1982 met for the first time in Geneva in the same year. Following the deliberations and recommendations of this body, the UN General Assembly on 23 December 1994 decided that each year 9^th August should be observed as the International Day of World’s Indigenous People.

The UN General Assembly in its resolution 48/163 of 1993 proclaimed that the world community will observe the first International Decade of World’s Indigenous Peoples from 1995-2004. The main objectives of this decade were to strengthen international cooperation for the solution of problems faced by indigenous people in such areas as human rights, the environment, development, education, and health. As per the resolution A/RES/59/174 adopted by the General Assembly on 22 December 2004, a Second International Decade commenced on 1 January 2005 and concluded in December 2014. The focused areas of this decade were promoting non-discrimination and inclusion, full and effective participation, adopting culturally appropriate development policies, etc.   

India does recognize and support the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples but strongly maintains that in India, all Indians are indigenous. It’s of the opinion that the very concept of ‘Indigenous Peoples’ is misfit in Indian context and rightly so. Hence it’s important to understand the description in relation to the concept.

The International Labour Organization’s convention on ‘Indigenous Peoples’ of 1957 in its Article 1(a) characterizes them as less advanced on their socio-economic conditions in comparison to other sections of the national community. Further in Article 1(b), it says that they are the descendants of the original inhabitants before the conquest or colonization of the country or a geographical region and that their social, economic, and cultural institutions are distinct from people coming from outside.

From the above description of the concept of indigenousness, it’s quite clear that in India prior to Islamic aggressions and the subsequent conquests in medieval times or British colonization in the modern era, there is no history suggesting aggressions or conquests. Moreover, there are innumerable examples of harmonious coexistence and cultural exchange between and among people living in towns, villages, forests, and hills.  The the colonial ill-intentioned invention of Aryan Invasion theory stands debunked from many quarters of historians and archeologists today.

The Vedas, Puranas, Upanishads, Ramayana, and Mahabharata are replete with anecdotes that portray the intermingling of these cultures. Acharya Vinoba Bhave held Rigveda as the text of the janjatis. Many scholars believe that the ‘panchjanas’ mentioned in the Rigveda consisted of a person each from the brahmanas, kshatriyas, vaishyas, shudras and nishads- a tribal community and commanded equal status. The references of the the sabaras or the saoras could be traced to Aittareya Brahman. Many romantic and friendly descriptions of the tribals can be found in ancient Sanskrit literature like Panchatantra, Kathasarit Sagar, Vishnu Purarn etc.

Shabari offering fruits to Bhagwan Shri Ram

Shabari, who offered fruits to Rama, has become in Verrier Elwin’s words, “a symbol of the contributions that tribes can and will make to the life of India.” The tribal community had a very important and honorable place in the Ramayana. Vali and Sugriva have been mentioned of as the most glorious kings of the tribal society in the Ramayana. Most of the then known tribals have been described to have participated in the Mahabharata and its innumerable episodes. 

Eklavya's supreme sacrifice for his Master

Eklavya, a Bhil, has been described as an ideal disciple and embodiment of sacrifice. The Mahabharata has ample descriptions of tribal kingdoms and warriors fighting both to the sides of Pandavas and Kauravas. Bhima’s son Ghatotkacha who performs prodigies of valor in the war is born of his tribal wife Hindimba; Arjuna marries Uloopi, a Naga princess.

Bhagwan Birsa Munda

There are many evidences in the medieval and modern history of Bharat when people of the tribal communities fought shoulder to shoulder with Maharana Pratap, Chatrapti Shivaji Maharaj and Tatya Tope in defense of Dharama and Rashtra. Furthermore, in many parts of India, they rose up against the British and joined the India’s struggle for independence. To name some of the heroes of uprisings against British are Bhagwan Birsa Munda from Jharkhand, Umaji Naik from Maharashtra, Tantya Bheel from Madhya Pradesh, Alluri Sitaram Raju from Andhra Pradesh, and Rani Gaidinliu from Nagaland, Matmur Jamoh from Arunchal Pradesh, Pa Togan Sangma from Garo Hills, Meghalaya.

The above examples suggest that tribal people in India have the same notions of common friends and foes as that of the other people. Many tribal communities that have been talked of in the ancient and medieval times don’t exist today as a result of acculturation. Many Rajput kings in the Middle Ages migrated to inaccessible forest areas to evade the tyranny of Islamic rulers and became tribals, for example, Rani Durgavati a Chandela Rajput princess married a Gond King Dalpat Shah of Gadha Mandla and fought against Moghals. Therefore, Dr. Ghurye, a renowned sociologists observers, “Though for the sake of convenience they may be designated as the tribal classes of Hindu society suggesting thereby the social fact that they have retained much more of the tribal creeds and organizations than many of the other castes of the society yet in reality they are backward Hindus”.

Therefore, while we recognize the atrocities, subjugations, and in some cases ethnic cleansing suffered by indigenous populations in the Americas, Australia, and many other parts of the world, we don’t share anything in common with such history on our land. The practice of borrowing from other cultures and imposing that in our social milieu is counterproductive. Such artificially created sense of fissure and discord between communities needs to be rejected lock, stock, and barrel. 

The “Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas” being observed each year on 15th November since 2021 is, in fact, a day of celebration to commemorate Janjati people’s contributions in maintaining Bharat’s social fabric alive. Their courage, bravery and sacrifices are immense in keeping the Bharatiya values intact.