The Jharkhand government convened a special Assembly session to pass a resolution to recognise Sarna religion and include it as a separate code in the Census of 2021.

The Sarna Religion

• The followers of Sarna faith believe pray to nature.
• The holy grail of the faith is “Jal (water), Jungle (forest), Zameen (land)” and its followers pray to the trees and hills while believing in protecting the forest areas.
• Jharkhand has 32 tribal groups of which eight are from Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups.
• While many follow Hindu religion, some have converted to Christianity — this has become one of the planks of demanding a separate code “to save religious identity”— as various tribal organisations put it.

A sacred grove is any grove of trees that are of special religious importance to a particular culture. Can you link this concept with the traditional practice of Sarna Tribals?

Why need Sarna Code?

• It is believed that 50 lakhs tribal in the entire country put their religion as ‘Sarna’ in the 2011 census, although it was not a code.
• The resolution will seek a special column for followers of the Sarna religion in the Census, 2021. At present, they are not classified as a separate entity.

Politics around the code

• Many of the tribals who follow this faith have later converted to Christianity—the state has more than 4% Christians most of whom are tribals.
• Some who still follow the Sarna faith believe the converted tribals are taking the benefits of reservation as a minority as well as the benefits are given to Schedule Tribes.
• They also believe that benefits should be given specifically to them and not those who have converted.

What sense does a separate code make?

• The protection of their language and history is an important aspect of tribals.
• Between 1871 and 1951, the tribals had a different code. However, it was changed around 1961-62.
• Experts argue that when today the entire world is focusing on reducing pollution and protecting the environment, it is prudent that Sarna becomes a religious code as the soul of this religion is to protect nature and the environment.

Back2Basics: Census of India

• The decennial Census of India has been conducted 15 times, as of 2011.
• While it has been undertaken every 10 years, beginning in 1872 under British Viceroy Lord Mayo, the first complete census was taken in 1881.
• Post-1949, it has been conducted by the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India under the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India.
• All the censuses since 1951 were conducted under the 1948 Census of India Act.
• The last census was held in 2011, whilst the next will be held in 2021.

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