The JMM, which leads a Congress-RJD alliance government in tribal-dominated Jharkhand, wants President Droupadi Murmu to make an announcement on the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples about the enumeration of tribal religion Sarna in the next census.

The International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples is observed on August 9.

Hours after Murmu was sworn in as the first tribal woman and the youngest President of the country on Monday, JMM central general secretary and party spokesperson Supriyo Bhattacharya termed it a historic moment.

“It is a historic moment to see a tribal being administered the oath as President of the country. We hope that Droupadi ji as the custodian of the Scheduled Areas would raise voice for the tribals and oppose any move against the marginalised as she had done during her stint as the governor of Jharkhand,” Bhattacharya told the media in Ranchi.

The JMM had supported NDA candidate Murmu during the Presidential election.

Scheduled Areas in the country have a preponderance of tribal population subject to a special governance mechanism wherein the Centre plays a direct role in safeguarding the cultural and economic interests of the Scheduled Tribes in the area.

“With Droupadi ji as President, we would want her to make an announcement of enumeration of Sarna as a religion code in the next census and also announce the strict implementation of PESA Act, 1996 and the Forest Right Act, 2006 on August 9, which is observed as World Tribal Day,” Bhattacharya said, reminding that it was during her tenure as the Jharkhand governor that a special resolution for inclusion of Sarna as a religion code in the census (November 2020) was passed by the Assembly and sent to the Centre.

Panchayat (Extension of the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996, or PESA, was enacted by the Centre to ensure self-governance through gram sabhas (village assemblies) for people living in Scheduled Areas. Forest Rights Act, 2006 recognises the rights of forest-dwelling tribal communities and other traditional forest dwellers to forest resources for livelihood, habitation and other socio-cultural needs.

The tribals in Jharkhand, who are Sarna followers and nature worshippers, do not consider themselves Hindus and have been fighting for a separate religious identity for decades.

Tribal organisations have claimed that with the Centre dropping the “Others” option from the religion column for the next census, Sarna adherents would be forced to either skip the column or declare themselves members of one of the six specified religions — Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Buddhist, Jain and Sikh.