Dr. Maguni Charan Behera
mcbehera1959@gmail.com
The Bhatra tribe are Hindus, yet they exist outside the varna system. However, in a recent incident, the caste system has been held responsible for a social boycott. Two daughters of Duryadhan Maji of Kangra village, located in Tentulikhunti Block of Nabarangapur district, married outside the Bhatra community. Consequently, Mr. Maji’s family was ostracised. Upon his death, no one—including his eldest son—came forward to carry his funeral pyre. Instead, the two daughters who had married outside the community, the youngest son, and Mr. Maji’s sister carried the body and performed the funeral rites.
This incident was reported by OTV Khabar and Kanak News on 24 February 2026. However, the reporters and the youngest son attributed the situation to the oppressive caste system. This raises an important question: Is Bhatra a caste? Most tribal communities practice endogamy, and endogamy is also a defining feature of caste-based communities. Does this similarity transform a tribal community into a caste? If Bhatra is considered a caste, then to which varna does it belong? Furthermore, if Bhatra is a caste, why is it classified as a Scheduled Tribe?
This reflects an incomplete understanding of social categories, organisation, customs, and practices among news reporters. Such partial knowledge generates confusion and shapes public perception in a misleading direction. In popular understanding, if a Scheduled Tribe is regarded as a caste, then the designation “tribe” should be abolished and replaced with “Scheduled Community” instead of “Scheduled Tribe.”
Field studies indicate that many Scheduled Tribe communities use the suffix jati, while others increasingly use the term samudaya, meaning community. However, the abbreviation of Scheduled Community (SC) may create confusion with Scheduled Caste (SC). Therefore, the abbreviation “S. Com” has been suggested for constitutional purposes to identify communities currently listed as Scheduled Tribes. This change would contribute to decolonising the nomenclature and transforming perspectives shaped by colonial stereotypes associated with the term “tribe.” Moreover, the term itself carries an alien connotation.
The confusion arising from listing a community as a Scheduled Tribe (ST) could thus be eliminated. According to Article 342 of the Constitution of India, a tribal community, or a segment thereof, shall be specified as a Scheduled Tribe. However, current practices include the listing of caste-based communities as Scheduled Tribes. If the category is redefined as Scheduled Communities, the contradictions between constitutional provisions and politico-administrative decisions that emerge in the process of listing communities as Scheduled Tribes would be resolved. In addition, the tribe–caste dichotomy that divides society—and which presently exists as rival groupings across marginalised and non-marginalised categories at different levels of perception—could also be reduced.
