A social science textbook published by the NCERT has highlighted the cultural influence that Hindus and tribals have had on each other and described Lord Jagannath as "originally a tribal deity", raising questions about the government criteria that identify tribals based on their distinctive cultures.

The textbook — Exploring Society: India and Beyond — was released by the National Council for Educational Research and Training on Friday for students of Class VI. The chapter titled "India’s Cultural Roots" contains details about various "schools of thought" such as Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism and the contribution of folk and tribal traditions to Indian culture.

“There has been a constant interaction between folk and tribal traditions, and the leading schools of thought such as those we mentioned in this chapter. Deities, concepts, legends and rituals have been freely exchanged in both directions,” it states.

“For instance, according to tradition, Jagannath, worshipped at Puri (Odisha), was originally a tribal deity; this is also the case with various forms of the mother-goddess worshipped across India. Some tribes, on the other hand, adopted Hindu deities long ago, and possess their own versions of the Mahabharata and the Ramayana — this has been well documented from India’s northeastern states, all the way to Tamil Nadu,” it adds.

However, a retired official of the tribal affairs ministry said that tribals were identified on the basis of their distinct cultures.

“There are some criteria followed by the government for identifying the tribals. They are indications of primitive traits, distinctive culture, geographical isolation, shyness of contact with the community at large, and backwardness. If the tribal had been freely exchanging rituals with others, they could not have maintained distinctiveness. This assertion about the exchange of culture needs to be reexamined,” he said.

According to the book, tribal and Hindu belief systems have many similar concepts. For instance, elements of nature such as mountains, rivers, trees, animals and even stones are regarded as sacred from a conviction that there is consciousness behind all of them.

“But despite this multiplicity of deities, as with Hinduism, many tribal groups have a concept of a higher divinity or supreme being,” it says.

An email was sent to NCERT director Dinesh P. Saklani to understand his perspective on the discrepancy between the NCERT’s content and the government’s criteria on tribal identity. His response is awaited.