Between Cross and Cosmos: Tribal Identity and the Contest over Conversion in Colonial India

 

As India commemorates its freedom fighters and reflects on the layered legacies of its colonial past, it is crucial to recognize the spiritual and cultural dimensions of tribal resistance. While most anti-colonial narratives focus on land, taxation, and political suppression, many tribal communities were also engaged in a fierce struggle to preserve their ancestral faiths from the incursions of British rule and Christian missionary activity.

This article explores how tribal leaders, particularly Bhagwan Birsa Munda, waged not just political or economic revolts but also spiritual wars of resistance against cultural erasure during the colonial era. Their faith was not merely a private belief system, but a living, breathing manifestation of identity, autonomy, and resistance.

Colonialism, Conversion, and the Civilizing Mission

The British colonial administration in India often treated tribal communities as "primitive" and "uncivilized". With the passage of the Charter Act of 1813, Christian missionary groups were formally allowed to operate across India. These evangelical missions, backed by colonial policies, entered tribal areas promising education and healthcare, but with conversion as their ultimate aim.

"Conversion was not simply about religious belief but a project to reorder society according to colonial-Christian norms." Gauri Viswanathan (1998)

Missionaries, viewing tribal traditions as satanic or pagan, actively worked to dismantle local religious systems. This collaboration between the colonial state and evangelical missions was a calculated project to assimilate tribal communities into the British imperial order, socially, economically, and spiritually.

The Ulgulan of Bhagwan Birsa Munda: A Sacred Rebellion

Among the many acts of resistance, Bhagwan Birsa Munda's Ulgulan (The Great Tumult) stands out as a defining moment of spiritual and cultural defiance. Originally educated in mission schools, Bhagwan Birsa Munda came to reject both the colonial system and missionary religion. He founded the Birsait faith, calling for a return to traditional customs, the worship of Singbonga (supreme deity), and the rejection of Christian teachings.

His movement blended tribal cosmology with Hindu concepts such as dharma, satya, and paap, creating a powerful, syncretic spiritual resistance to both Christian and colonial encroachments.

"Birsa’s religious vision was a critique of both the missionary and colonial projects; it promised not just spiritual salvation, but political emancipation." Ranajit Guha (1983)

Birsa’s legacy illustrates how faith was not a passive realm but a deeply political and identity-affirming force.

Education as a Tool of Assimilation

Missionaries also used Western-style education to facilitate conversion. Schools in tribal areas emphasized English, Christian morals, and vocational training aimed at integrating tribal youth into the colonial economy.

As historian Sen (2010) observed,

"Education was not liberatory for tribal communities under colonialism; it was a means of assimilation and pacification."

This created social cleavages within tribal society, elevating converts over non-converts, sidelining traditional leaders, and fragmenting tribal unity.

Wider Landscape of Resistance

Though Bhagwan Birsa Munda’s movement is the most celebrated, several other tribal revolts reflected a similar resistance to cultural and religious colonization:

Santhal Rebellion (1855–56): Primarily known as an agrarian revolt, it was also a stand against missionary intrusion.

Tana Bhagat Movement: Oraons in Jharkhand rejected Christianity and revived tribal traditions as a form of religious nationalism.

Heraka Movement: Led by Rani Gaidinliu, it sought to purify and protect Naga faiths from missionary influence in the North-East.

In these movements, land, religion, and community were deeply intertwined, making the battle against conversion a battle for identity and existence.

Conversion as Cultural Displacement

The act of conversion often led to total cultural transformation—not just religious belief, but language, dress, food habits, and rituals. Converts were sometimes viewed as outsiders by their own communities. In the words of Jomo Kenyatta:

"When the missionaries came to Africa, they had the Bible and we had the land. They said, 'Let us pray.' We closed our eyes. When we opened them, we had the Bible and they had the land."

Hardiman (1998) echoed this in the Indian context:

"To convert was to become alien in one’s own land."

Many tribal communities responded by reviving festivals, oral traditions, and ecological rituals—reclaiming cultural space as an act of resistance.

Contemporary Resonance: Legacy of the Struggle

In 2021, the Indian government declared 15 November, Bhagwan Birsa Munda’s birth anniversary, as Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas—a symbolic recognition of tribal contributions to India’s anti-colonial legacy.

Yet, missionary activity and religious conversion remain contentious. In the North-East, large-scale conversions have altered indigenous identities. In Central India, groups like the Janjati Suraksha Manch demand that constitutional protections for Scheduled Tribes be limited to those who maintain their original tribal faiths.

This ongoing debate reflects the unfinished legacy of colonial religious interventions. Tribal communities today also seek the full implementation of PESA (1996) and the Forest Rights Act (2006), which guarantee community rights over land and natural resources.

Conclusion: Faith as a Force of Freedom

The tribal resistance during British rule was not merely about land or taxation—it was an epistemic resistance, a defense of worldview, spirituality, and memory. Movements led by Bhagwan Birsa Munda, Rani Gaidinliu, and the Santhals were not just political—they were religious revolts against cultural annihilation.

These revolts remind us that faith can be a political act, a means to assert dignity, self-rule, and heritage. Recognizing these dimensions helps us reframe India’s freedom struggle to include the spiritual voices of the forest, the hills, and the tribal hearths—voices that refused to be erased.

“To understand the tribal question is to understand India’s soul.”

Let us not relegate these stories to the footnotes of history. They deserve to be at the very center of our national consciousness.