A conglomerate of various tribal rights outfits in Jharkhand has threatened violent protests if the government fails to pass a bill for a separate Sarna code during the ongoing monsoon session of the Assembly scheduled to end on Tuesday.

Arbind Oraon, the convener of National Adivasi Indigenous Religion Coordination Committee of India, which has been running extensive campaigns for inclusion of a Sarna code in the national Census since 2015, said on Monday that the government should not take the tribal community’s demand lightly as the peaceful protests may not take much time to turn violent if the government continues to be apathetic towards the demands.

“So far, our protests have been peaceful. We also maintained social distancing on the streets. This should in no way be seen as our weakness. We will take to the streets and resort to violent protests if the government does not pass a bill for a Sarna code during the ongoing monsoon session,” said Oraon.

Including a Sarna code in the religious census was one of the promises made by the ruling JMM during the 2019 Assembly polls in which the party toppled the BJP government and came to power.

“In March, we met the chief minister and he assured us that the government will pass a bill for inclusion of a Sarna code in the religious census. However, Covid-19 pandemic diverted the attention of the government, and we also remained quiet as the situation demanded immediate attention,” said Oraon.

On Monday, tribal youths formed a human chain on both sides of the road near Shehjanand Chowk in Ranchi and held posters carrying slogans like, “No Sarna Code, No Vote” and “Garv Se Kaho Hum Sarna hai (take pride in calling yourself Sarna)” when Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s convoy crossed the road on way to the Assembly.

A Sarna code has been a long-pending demand of the tribal community in Jharkhand. Several hundred members of the tribal community staged a protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on February 18 demanding a separate Sarna code in the 2021 census.

Bablu Munda, president of Kendriya Sarna Samiti, a tribal rights group that participated in the protests, said the tribal community in Jharkhand has been pressing for a Sarna code since decades, but no government had bothered to pay heed to their demands. “But former chief minister Raghubar Das had assured us that he will speak to the Centre about our demands. But his government was toppled before he could take any initiative regarding our issues,” Munda said.

Sarna followers are nature worshippers who do not consider themselves Hindus and have been fighting for a separate religious identity in India for decades. Lakhs of tribesmen who were born in Sarna-following families got converted to Christianity over the past century after the advent of missionaries, claim tribal gurus.

These tribesmen have also been at loggerheads with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) over being tagged as Hindus by the saffron outfit. In 2014, thousands of Sarna followers handed over a memorandum to then Union minister P. Chidambaram and demanded recognition of Sarna as a separate religion. The crusaders back then had also staged a protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, but their pleas went unheeded. In 2015, about 30,000 tribals held a nationwide campaign.