Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Friday said the State Government is willing to address the demand of a separate Sarna Code in the State for the tribal population here. The CM addressing media persons at Dumka on Friday said that he has apprised the Governor on the issue and has requested her to call a special Assembly session soon on the matter.
“Today and earlier also on several occasions, social organisations and people’s representatives have brought up a very important issue of the State pertaining to Sarna Code. The upcoming Census 2021 is set to take place and for that columns have been made for people of different communities. But, the tribal people of the country there is no separate column to fill,” he said.
“Earlier the tribal people have been given a separate space in the Census but gradually it was removed. The tribals, today, are worried as to which place they will find in the Census. Today also social organisations, students of colleges in Dumka have demanded separate space in the Census 2021,” the CM said.
Soren added, “I have talked to the Governor on the issue over phone and within a couple of days we are sending a proposal to the Governor for a special session on the issue. We have decided that before the State Foundation Day (November 15) a proposal will be sent to the Government of India after convening a special session of the State Assembly. So that in the coming days when Census takes place the tribal groups also get space like other communities,” he said.
Notably, several political, social and tribal oragnisations have been raising the issue of a separate Sarna Code in the State for tribal population in the State. In the last one month itself several organisations had called rallies and met the Governor and CM for the purpose.
The activists say that in 1871 the then British government had made provision for separate religion code for tribals, but in 1951 this was removed from census. According to tribal leaders in 2011, National Commission for Scheduled Tribes had recommended to the Centre to add Sarna code in the Census. But the recommendation was not implemented. Despite that a large number of tribals across the country had opted for Sarna as their religion in the ‘other religion’ category of the census. As per 2011 census report, 42.35 lakh tribals of Jharkhand had mentioned Sarna as their religion.
