'Be very careful! The Census operation has begun. The enumerators may insist that you mention your religion as Hindu. Never do that. Mention Sarna as your religion. Sarna is the identity of the Adivasis. We must not lose that.’ Even the most casual observer can hear the campaign’s resonance across Jharkhand.

The longstanding demand of Adivasis in Jharkhand and neighbouring states for a separate Sarna code in the Census has acquired renewed urgency with the Union government’s proposal to abolish the ‘Other Religions and Persuasions’ (ORP) category (Code 7). Many Adivasi organisations view this proposal as an extension of demands advanced by the RSS and allied organisations to ‘delist’ Adivasi Christians from the Scheduled Tribe category.

As an Adivasi activist remarked at a street corner meeting in Dumka in mid-May, the move is “an attack on Adivasis who have increasingly been asserting their distinct identity.” In his view, the government is not only rejecting the demand for recognition of Sarna but also eliminating the limited space for indigenous religious self-identification available under the ORP category.

Coupled with the campaign for delisting, the proposal is widely seen as an attempt to weaken both Adivasi identity and constitutional protections. Consequently, the demand for a separate Sarna code has become a broader assertion of ‘Adivasiyat’, or Adivasi peoplehood. The campaign has found support beyond Jharkhand. A massive rally held on 23 May in Jashpur, Chhattisgarh, against delisting echoed the demand.

In contrast, organisations aligned with the government have intensified efforts to push Adivasis to join the broader Hindu fold. On 24 May, the Janjati Suraksha Manch (JSM) organised a rally in New Delhi under the slogan: ‘Tu main ek rakt, vanvasi-gramvasi-nagarvasi, hum sab Bharatvasi (you and I are one blood, forest-dwellers, villagers, city-dwellers, we are all Indians).’

Also Read: ‘Anti-Adivasi mindset’: Rahul Gandhi attacks BJP-RSS over tribal rights

The use of ‘vanvasi’ — long promoted by Hindu nationalist organisations — instead of Adivasi is significant, as it rejects the indigenous status implied........

© National Herald