Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Sunday wrote to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging the Centre to make provision for the Sarna religion in the census process for tribal people.

He underscored that a Sarna Religious Code is necessary to identify the tribals as different from followers of other religions and for the protection of their constitutional rights.

Despite the absence of a dedicated Sarna category in the 2011 census, around 50 lakh people across 21 states had identified themselves under 'Sarna' in the religion column, Soren said in the letters to the President and the PM.

The chief minister mentioned that he had requested the authorities concerned to keep a provision for a separate Sarna Religious Code for the tribal community in the upcoming census, in view of the emotional attachment of the tribal community towards it.

"I hope that in the second phase of the census, your government is seriously considering my special request, keeping in mind the aspirations of the state, the resolution of the Legislative Assembly, the sentiments of the entire tribal society, and the request made by me on behalf of the state government regarding the form/column related to religion information," Soren wrote.

He emphasised the importance of accurate and “fact-based” data collection for effective policy-making and balanced development.

The CM noted that Jharkhand is fully cooperating with the census process and highlighted the significance of the exercise, which was originally scheduled for 2021 but postponed due to unforeseen circumstances.

Soren pointed out that the Sarna faith, followed by a large section of tribal communities, has distinct traditions, including nature worship, village deities, and unique rituals.

He argued that proper recognition of the Sarna religion in census data would help ensure more targeted welfare policies and constitutional safeguards for tribal communities.

The chief minister also raised concerns that introducing new classification categories could complicate census operations, but stressed that the long-term benefits of accurate socio-religious data outweigh potential challenges.

Earlier in a letter to the Prime Minister, the Jharkhand CM had claimed that the population of tribals in the state has declined to 26 per cent from 38 per cent in the last eight decades.

"Today, the demand for Tribal/Sarna Religious Code is being raised so that this nature-worshipping tribal community can be confident about its identity," he had said.

When the demand for a Uniform Civil Code is being raised by some organisations, "positive initiative on the demand of Tribal/Sarna community is absolutely necessary", Soren had said.

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