What is 'Sarna'? Tribals demand a separate religion

In the capital city of Jharkhand, Ranchi, tribals gathered for the recognition of the ‘Sarna Dharma Code’. The tribals demanded to make their religion part of the latest nationwide census.

According to some claims, ‘Sarna’ is the oldest/ancient religion with the ideals to protect and worship nature. The Sarna religion shares the belief of many nature-worshipping religions across the world. 

More than 50 lakh indigenous people are fighting to recognize their religion, and these protests are led by Ex-Member of Parliament Salkhan Murmu.

Murmu is taking the protests to remote areas in the parts of Jharkhand to raise awareness about the issue.

The former lawmaker believes that the fight is important to protect the culture and identity of the tribals.

He says this is the link to the history of the numerous communities, and if this link breaks they will lose their history. 

Recently elected President of India Droupadi Murmu, the tribal woman, belongs to the Sarna religion.

Hence, her election has given the protestors hope that their religion can be officially recognized by the Indian government.

Currently, India has six official religions and the ‘others’ category. 

The community is spread across five states i.e. Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Orissa, and West Bengal, with the majority of the devotees residing in Jharkhand.

A brief

In 2011, the government was asked to include the Sarna religion as part of the census. In the same year’s census, more than 50 lakh people stated Sarna as their religion instead of Hinduism. Interestingly, in the 2011 census, almost 80 lakh people filled their religion column as ‘other’.

According to Associated Press (AP), in the census during British Rule, the indigenous people could select categories like “Animists,” “Aboriginal,” and “Tribes”, as religion. That was done away from in 1951, independent India’s first census. According to Dainik Bhaskar, they started coming to the fold of Scheduled tribes (ST).

In 2020, the Jharkhand Assembly passed the ‘Sarna Tribal Religion Code’ resolution, but the resolution was the Federal government’s approval for implementation.

Sarnas vs Hindus

• No temple or scriptures
• No heaven or hell
• Worship nature, no images of god or goddess.
• No varna or caste system
• No concept of re-birth or re-incarnation

Read more: Clinging to ancient faith, India tribes seek religion status 

Conclusion

In the case of the Sarna religion, the conflict is about cultural appropriation. The beliefs and rituals of a certain tribal community are appropriate as ‘Hindus’, while the community insists on being separate from the tag/label. 

The tribal community wishes to cling to their cultural identity while the younger generations find the urban norms more tempting. Not just this, the mass conversions by Christain missionaries also threaten the already vulnerable religious identity.

The fight for recognition continues, with hopes for reconciliation or self-determination.

Also, Read

• Tribal revolutionary Tilka Manjhi whose valor story is part of tribal culture
• Tribal community in Jammu Kashmir discriminated since independence
• The Naked Truth of Bastar; Tribal Heart Land of India

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