Jaipur: In the wake of protests being launched over his controversial statement on whether tribals are Hindus, Rajasthan education minister Madan Dilawar on Monday clarified that tribals mean those residing here since time immemorial and all people living in India are thus tribals and Hindus.
Earlier in an interview, Banswara MP Rajkumar Roat said that tribals followed different rituals, cultures and traditions and thereby are distinct from Hindus. Reacting to Roat's statement, Dilawar said that he should get his DNA tested if he has doubts over being a Hindu.
The statement triggered widespread protests among the tribals. Roat joined in along with his supporters as he marched towards the minister's residence to offer their blood samples for testing. Police stopped him and the area was condoned off. They also raised slogans against Dilawar condemning his statement on tribals.
They later handed over their blood samples to police and demanded an apology from Dilawar for allegedly insulting the tribal society.
Clarifying his statement, Dilawar said, "We are all tribals. Tribal means people living on this earth since time immemorial. Our ancestors have been living here since time immemorial. In India, everyone is Hindustani, meaning Hindu, no matter what their method of worship may be. Therefore, tribals are also Hindus, we are all Hindus and will remain Hindus."
On Roat and his supporters sending blood samples for testing, the minister said that anyone can send their samples to the laboratory. He said that nobody came to his house for this purpose.
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