Ranchi: With the first phase of Census 2027 underway in the state from Friday, chief minister Hemant Soren has written to President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and governor Santosh Gangwar seeking inclusion of ‘Sarna’ code in the religion column to help tribal communities retain their distinct identity.The second phase of Census is expected to begin from Feb next year when population enumeration will be undertaken. Reiterating Jharkhand’s long-pending demand, Soren said the state government had passed a resolution in the assembly in favor of the issue and sent it to the Centre.“The identity of any community is defined by its social, religious, economic, and cultural characteristics, which in turn also influence all dimensions related to the development of that community. Prior to India’s Independence, the Census process recorded the religious distinctions, customs, and identities being followed by various communities; however, in independent India, the tradition of recording the religion of the tribal community was not maintained,” Hemant’s letter to PM Narendra Modi read.He added that state govt is extending full cooperation for the Census 2027. With self-enumeration underway till May 15, Soren said that he too played a small role by completing his part.“I’ve been informed that in the first phase, in addition to other facts, it will also be recorded whether the person holding the household is a member of a scheduled caste or scheduled tribe. The compilation of individual data pertaining to each citizen will be carried out in the second phase. Keeping in view the background of the Sarna religion and the emotional attachment of the tribal community towards it, I urge you to make provision for a separate tribal/Sarna religion code for the tribal community. in the upcoming Census,” the CM wrote.He added, “It may be possible that categorizing it into different dimensions may impact the Census work and could lead to delays; however, it is also worth considering that if the dimensions related to a community and their associated data are not compiled properly, it could have an adverse and far-reaching negative impact on the formulation of policies for that particular community.”He cited that despite the absence of a separate Sarna code in Census 2011, 50 lakh people across 21 states voluntarily recorded ‘Sarna’ in the religion column.
