Ranchi- The demand for a separate Sarna religion code for tribals in the national census has intensified in Jharkhand, with the Congress staging a protest outside Raj Bhavan in Ranchi on Monday. The protest was led by Jharkhand Congress in-charge K. Raju, co-in-charge Sirivella Prasad, and state party President Keshav Mahato Kamlesh. After the sit-in, a delegation met Governor Santosh Gangwar and submitted a memorandum urging the Centre to recognise the independent religious identity of tribals by providing a separate column for Sarna followers in the census form.

"Sarna is not just a belief system, it is a way of life rooted in nature worship. The tribal community deserves a distinct religious code to reflect their unique identity," said Raju while addressing party workers. The memorandum pointed out that the census currently allows coding for only six religions -- Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, Buddhism, and Jainism -- and excludes tribal faiths such as Sarna, which are followed by large sections of Adivasis in Jharkhand and other states. Minister Shilpi Neha Tirkey stressed that the Sarna code must be included in the seventh column of the census form.

“Tribal society values equality and the freedom to follow its own faith. Denying them a separate code is an attack on their constitutional rights,” she said. Deepika Pandey Singh, another Congress Minister, highlighted that the Jharkhand Assembly had unanimously passed a resolution demanding the Sarna code and sent it to the Centre, but the Central government has remained silent on the issue. "This deliberate inaction reflects an attempt to erase tribal identity," she said.

State Congress President Kamlesh declared that the party would escalate the agitation. “We will take this fight to Delhi if needed. The demand for the Sarna religion code will not be silenced,” he asserted. Several senior leaders, including Subodh Kant Sahay, Sukhdev Bhagat, Rameshwar Oraon, Rajesh Kachhap, Rajesh Thakur, and other MLAs and workers from across the state also took part in the demonstration. The ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) has also announced a statewide protest on the issue on Tuesday, signalling growing political pressure on the Centre to act. (IANS)