A conglomerate of various tribal rights outfits in Jharkhand has threatened violent protests if the Government fails to pass a bill for separate Sarna code during the ongoing Monsoon session of the Assembly, slated to end on Tuesday.
The convener of National Adivasi Indigenous Religion Coordination Committee India (NAIRCCI), Arbind Oraon on Monday said that the government should not take the tribal community’s demand lightly as the peaceful protests may not take much time to turn violent if the Government continues to be apathetic towards the demands of the tribal community.
“So far, our protests have been peaceful and we also maintained social distancing on the streets. This should no way be seen as our weakness. We will take to the streets and resort to violent protests if the government does not pass a bill for Sarna code during the ongoing Monsoon session,” said Oraon.
Including a Sarna code in the religious census was one of the promises made by the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) during the 2019 Assembly polls in which the party toppled a former BJP Government and came to power.
“In March, we met the Chief minister and he assured us that the government will pass a Bill for inclusion of Sarna code in the religious census. However, Covid-19 pandemic diverted the attention of the Government, and we also remained quiet as the situation demanded immediate attention,” said Oraon.
On Monday, tribal youths formed a human chain on both sides of the road near Shehjanand Chowk in Ranchi and held placards carrying slogans like, “No Sarna Code, No Vote” and “Garv Se Kaho Hum Sarna hai (take pride in calling yourself Sarna)” when Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s convoy crossed the road while Soren was on his way to the State Assembly.
Mandar MLA Bandhu Tirkey also raised the matter of Sarna code during the zero hour of the assembly on Monday, and asked the government to send a draft to the centre seeking addition of Sarna code in the 2021 census.
Sarna code has been a long-pending demand of the tribal community in Jharkhand. Several hundred members of the tribal community from Jharkhand staged a protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on February 18 demanding a separate Sarna Code in the 2021 census. Bablu Munda, president of Kendriya Sarna Samiti, a tribal rights group that actively participated in the protests, said that the tribal community in Jharkhand has been pressing for a Sarna Code since decades, but no Government has ever bothered to pay heed to their demands. “After several years of no interest shown by any Government, former Chief Minister Raghubar Das had assured that he will speak to the Centre about our demands. But his Government was toppled before he could take any initiative regarding our issues,” Munda said.
Sarna followers are nature worshippers who do not consider themselves Hindus and have been fighting for a separate religious identity in India for decades. Lakhs of tribesmen who were born in Sarna-following families got converted to Christianity over the past century after the advent of the missionaries, claim tribal gurus.
These tribesmen have also been at loggerheads with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) over being tagged as Hindus by the saffron outfit. In 2014, thousands of Sarna followers handed over a memorandum to then Union minister P Chidambaram and demanded recognition of Sarna as a separate religion. The crusaders back then had also staged protests at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, but their pleas went unheeded. In 2015, about 30,000 tribesmen held a nationwide campaign for the same.