The Union government’s recent initiative to bring out a translation tool for tribal languages also offers a translated collection of folk tales of the Bhil tribe in Madhya Pradesh. The collection, in Hindi, features stories of inter-caste love, caste discrimination, guru pujan and the celebration of theatre.
In the compilation, titled Anuvad, a recurring theme in several stories appears to be a narrative where casteism is defeated through arguments such as “caste was never a part of Sanatan Dharma”, or “there is no caste in Manusmriti, it was introduced”, and that caste differences should be set aside because “all Hindus are the same”.
The e-booklet will be made available on the Ministry of Tribal Affairs’ Adi Vaani website and the app. Other stories talk about farmer distress, faith healers, and worshippers of Lokmata Ahilya Devi, the Narmada River, and Sant Singaji.
A story about inter-caste love titled ‘Jaativaad Khatam Karo’ (End casteism), speaks of Basant and Palasi, who live in a beautiful village, where the only problem is that of casteism. While Basant’s caste location is not revealed in the story, it says Palasi is Dalit and Basant is of a “higher” caste. Basant, an attendance marker at a factory, falls for Palasi, a worker, but the villagers object to this. The villagers, led by the village “Pandit”, stop Basant one day to confront him about the adharm (sacrilege) he is committing.
Basant stands his ground, enraging the Pandit, who forces Basant to argue with him in a public square. In this dialogue, the Pandit argues that caste is part of Hindu religious texts, while Basant argues that caste was never part of the Manusmriti but that it was inserted in made-up shloks (verses)later in the form of a “conspiracy”. He goes on to argue that inter-caste relations are not wrong “because all Hindus are the same”, further positing that “casteism” goes against the “Varna system”, which is based on karma and not on birth.
The Pandit listens to Basant, changes his mind, and declares him “innocent”, calling him a “protector of faith”.
Another story is about a fierce night-long street play competition where a “Vanvasi” audience is won over by the protagonist’s theatre group, which starts playing the roles of “Vanvasis” on stage, speaking their language and dancing their dances.
These tales have been collected from oral storytelling traditions of the Bhil community in regions of Madhya Pradesh, with some of them referring to the Nimar region of the State. The stories do not mention the year in which they take place, but some of them have vague clues indicating that they are taking place in a modern world, with the mention of cars and roads, and characters who are police officers and district officials.
Officials told The Hindu that such folk tales from Gondi, Santali, and Mundari communities have also been translated and will be made available soon.
In a story titled ‘Guru Pujan’, Samandar, a hard-working schoolteacher in a village is preparing for Guru Purnima festivities. As preparations are under way, the crowd is stunned into silence by a visibly drunk policeman, who is beating a child. When stopped, he threatens violence and cases against the teachers, children and guests, and vandalises the idol that was supposed to be worshipped.
Samandar works up the courage to confront the policeman, stands his ground, and ensures that he runs away. When the students see their teacher defending their lives, they say they will now worship him as their guru. At this point, Samandar posits that they should instead worship “the guru of gurus” — the “bhaagwat flag” — a religious flag, typically yellow or saffron in colour. He says, “This flag represents our culture and civilisation. It is a vehicle for our nation. Our Sanatan culture is reflected in this. This is our guru.”
According to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s V. Bhagaiah, the RSS considers the “bhagwa dhwaj” (saffron flag) its guru. Author Arun Anand, who has studied the RSS, further writes that this concept originated when RSS members wished to consider founder K.B. Hedgewar as their guru, but Mr. Hedgewar had purportedly suggested they worship the saffron flag as their guru instead.
In ‘Mandal Vala’, a story is told from the point of view of Tukaram, a Dalit dhol player known for his mesmerising beats. The story unfolds into a conflict between the Dalits and Thakurs of a village over water. The village has only one handpump, which has been claimed by the Thakurs, who discriminate against the Dalits. When Tukaram leads his people to use the handpump, clashes erupt, and then the local police station in-charge appears at the scene.
The policeman confronts the village mukhiya (chief), known only as “Patel”, who had been siding with the Thakurs. He asks him if he knew anything about “Indian culture”, and then proceeds to argue that “Sanatan Dharma never had caste. It was made up later and was a mistake.” He explains that “caste is the evil in our society. It must be removed.” He adds that foreign invaders took advantage of casteism to “enslave us” and if casteism is not removed, “we will be enslaved again”. The mukhiya and the Thakurs listen and change their minds, hug Tukaram, and allow Dalits to use the handpump.
Other stories that have been translated in this batch are about the perceived “supernatural possession” of a local man but told from the perspective of a young sceptic determined to find the truth about the “possession”. Another story speaks of Jhabba, a farmer in distress because of the changing weather, who is on a mission to dig a well even as his family’s enemy, Pemla, tries to “put a curse” on his efforts.
While Pemla pays a tantrik (magician) to ensure Jhabba never hits water, his mother, who worships the nearby Narmada river and pays obeisance to a statue of Lokmata Ahilya Devi, prays that he does. Pemla’s efforts fail, and Jhabba manages to dig the well and hit water.
Published – September 08, 2025 10:16 pm IST
