Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Wednesday wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking recognition of Sarna religious code for tribals. In the three-page letter, Mr. Soren stressed that the population of tribals in the State has declined from 38%to 26% in the last eight decades.
He also said that decline in the population would have an adverse effect on the policies of tribal development under the Fifth and Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.
Mr. Soren has urged the Prime Minister to pass the Tribal/Sarna dharma code in the interest of the tribals. People of tribal society were worshipers of ancient traditions and nature and considered worshiping trees, mountains and protecting forests as their religion.
He said that according to the 2011 Census, there were around 12 crore tribals in the country out of which Jharkhand had more than one crore tribals.
“A large population of Jharkhand follows Sarna religion. The living scriptures of this oldest Sarna religion are water, forest, land and nature. The culture, worship method, ideals and beliefs of Sarna religion are different from all the prevalent religions. The concern of protecting the traditional religious existence of tribals based on nature is certainly a serious question. The demand for Tribal/Sarna religious code is being raised so that this nature-worshipping tribal community can be confident about its identity,“ Mr. Soren said.
The Chief Minister pointed out that not only Jharkhand but the tribal community of the entire country had been struggling for the last several years to protect their religious existence and demanding the inclusion of nature worshiping tribals/Sarna religion followers in the census.
Uniform Civil Code
“When the demand for Uniform Civil Code is being raised by some organisations, positive initiative on this demand of the Tribal/Sarna community is absolutely necessary for their protection. You are aware that there are many such groups in the tribal community which are on the verge of extinction and if they are not protected on the principle of social justice, then their existence along with their language, culture will also come to an end,“ Mr. Soren said.
“There is a continuous decline in the percentage of their population, as a result of which it is natural to have an adverse effect on the policies of tribal development under the Fifth and Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. In view of the circumstances, a separate tribal / Sarna code is necessary to identify the Sarna or nature worshiping tribals as distinct from Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Christian, Jain followers and to protect their constitutional rights,“ he said.
Assembly resolution
Earlier, the Jharkhand Assembly had unanimously passed a resolution for the inclusion of ‘Sarna’ as a separate religion in the census. However, this resolution is currently pending for decision at the Central government level.
Mr. Soren reminded that there was a provision of a separate code for them in the census column of 1951, but due to certain reasons, this arrangement was abolished in the subsequent decades. He stressed that Sarna code was very necessary for the proper development of the tribal community.
“I am proud to be a tribal and being a tribal Chief Minister, I humbly request you in the interest of the tribals not only of Jharkhand but of the entire country that you agree to the long-awaited demand of the tribals for Sarna religious code. Please take a positive decision as soon as possible. Today the whole world is worried about the increasing pollution and protection of the environment, in such a time, recognition of the religion whose soul is protection of nature and environment will spread the message of love for nature not only in India but in the entire world,“ Mr. Soren said.
