Jharkhand to send proposal for separate tribal religious code for census

Jharkhand’s Tribes Advisory Council (TAC) chaired by chief minister Hemant Soren on Monday decided the state government will send a proposal to the Centre for a separate religious code for tribals in the census. A Soren-led delegation will also meet the Prime Minister later.

“It is established fact that tribals have distinct religious and customary practices. ...it was decided at the meeting that we would forward the proposal for Sarna religious code in the census through the governor,” said Champai Soren, a minister, and TAC vice-chairman.

The decision came a day after an all-party delegation led by Soren met Union home minister Amit Shah over the census.

The Jharkhand Assembly in November last year passed a unanimous resolution seeking the Sarna tribal religious code in the 2021 census.

The TAC also decided to form a sub-committee led by legislator Stephen Marandi to look into the issues related to tribal land and review the status of tribals lying in jails for long periods.

It also recommended notifying rules for the issuance of one-time caste certificates to the members of the scheduled tribes for life.

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