Allahabad (AsiaNews) – "Identity is by birth." In a landmark ruling, the Allahabad High Court has established that religious conversion or interfaith marriage does not automatically result in the loss of Scheduled Tribe (ST) status acquired by birth.
In a judgment delivered by Justice Arun Kumar on Monday, the Court stated that “change of religion does not ipso facto terminate Scheduled Tribe status," drawing a clear distinction between a person's personal and changeable choice of faith and their permanent Indigenous lineage.
The original dispute
The ruling stemmed from a land dispute (Nanhki, also known as Naimunnisha, v. State of Uttar Pradesh) involving a petitioner born into the indigenous Bhuiyan tribe who had subsequently married a Muslim man.
Local authorities had cancelled her purchase of protected tribal land, arguing that her conversion had caused her to lose her ST status.
The court clarified that, under the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order of 1950, a change of religion does not automatically result in the loss of that status.
However, it added an important caveat: If the status is challenged, the individual must demonstrate a continuing connection to the customs and social fabric of their community.
Since the petitioner had completely severed those ties decades earlier, her specific land transaction was declared void.
Legal scholars note that the Allahabad ruling aligns with broader Supreme Court of India jurisprudence. It reaffirms that tribal membership is an anthropological reality linked to birth, distinct from personal choices regarding faith or worship.
Praise from the Archbishop of Raipur
Welcoming this legal clarification, Catholic Church leaders and activists highlight the hope represented by the ruling. The latter is sorely needed amid national political campaigns aimed at stripping Christian and Muslim converts of statutory tribal benefits.
Archbishop Victor Henry Thakur of Raipur described the ruling’s fundamental principle, that a change of religion does not terminate tribal status, as essentially correct.
“[A]ccording to me, it is an objective and true observation of the High Court," he told AsiaNews. “Tribal identity doesn’t depend on practice of faith or religion. One is tribal by birth and that cannot be changed, whereas religion can be changed by choice and practice.”
