At the root of this problem is a major constitutional anomaly. 5 min read May 29, 2026 02:57 PM IST First published on: May 29, 2026 at 02:57 PM IST Last Sunday, lakhs of tribal people from more than 500 different tribes descended on the national capital. Their demand was for “de-listing”, a constitutional process by which the tribals who converted to Christianity or Islam would be denied ST status and the benefits that accrue thereof. The organisers demanded an amendment to Article 342 of the Constitution to that effect. This sensitive issue has been a topic of tribal discourse for more than six decades. In the 1960s, a tribal Congress MP, Kartik Oraon, raised the issue for the first time. Oraon’s contention was that those who adopted Christianity or Islam automatically cease to be tribal because they no longer follow tribal customs and traditions. Oraon demanded exclusion of converted tribals from the Scheduled Tribes list.…