Act of Faith

Nandini Tank

Act of Faith

Nandini Tank

2021, Caravan Magazine

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the lede Act of Faith The growing demand for recognition of the Sarna religion in Jharkhand / Religion / nandini tank On 15 March, at the sixth protest gathering of the National Adivasi Indigenous Religion Coordination Committee, Adivasis from across the country came together at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar to demand a separate column for “tribal religion” in the census. They also appealed for the inclusion of Adivasi languages in the eighth schedule of the Constitution. A month earlier, speaking at a conference organised by Harvard University, Jharkhand’s chief minister Hemant Soren said that “Adivasis were never Hindus, neither they will ever be.” He added, “Adivasis are nature worshipers, their culture, religious rituals, and lifestyle is entirely different than Hindus.” Soren’s comments, which became a point of criticism for right-wing leaders, echoed the voices of Adivasis in Jharkhand who follow their own distinct belief systems, which have been transmitted orally through generations. In November last year, the Jharkhand assembly passed a resolutiontitled, “To propose a provision to provide a separate Sarna code for the Adivasis of the state in census 2021 before the Central Government.” This was a significant step in the larger struggle for a pan-Indian census code to recognise tribal religion. Sarna is centred on the worship of nature and holds all natural objects to be sacred. The belief system is shared across numerous Adivasi groups in Jharkhand and its neighbouring states, and it permeates these group’s social and cultural life. Its recognition would secure essential legal rights for Adivasis and help preserve their language, myths, epics, customs and history. In the 2011 census, around thirteen percent of Jharkhand’s population—roughly 4.2 million people—was identified as following “other religions and persuasions” beyond the six faiths currently recognised: Hinduism, Islam, 12 Sikhism, Buddhism, Christianity and Jainism. In Jharkhand,“other religions” mostly denotes Sarna belief. Sarna translates to “sacred grove,” and such groves serve as centres of Sarna worship. Sarnas are believed to have been identified by believers’ ancestors, and are located near a village’s Sakhua or Sal tree, which is believed to be inhabited by the bongas, or spirits. The origin stories of Sarna vary in each Adivasi community, but they all revolve around the Sakhua tree and ancestors’ encounter with the supreme god—known as Dharmesh in the Oraon community, Marang Buru among Santals and Sing Bonga among Mundas. “Contrary to the mainstream religion, Sarna Sthal is open throughout the day and night and we do not have any idol, structure or building,” Gird- Speaking at a conference organised by Harvard University, Jharkhand’s chief minister Hemant Soren said that “Adivasis were never Hindus, neither they will ever be.” He added, “Adivasis are nature worshipers, their culture, religious rituals, and lifestyle is entirely different than Hindus.” ww hari Ram Gaunjhu, a Nagpuri writer and researcher, told me. “However, in recent years, Adivasis have fabricated idols and symbols.” Another aspect that distinguishes Sarna from other religions is that the faith has no concept of heaven or hell. Followers believe that their dead ancestors reside with them and show them the right path via dreams. Knowledge is passed from one generation to another THE CARAVAN orally, narrated by pahans or priests.“A Sarna home has two kitchens—the spirits of our ancestors reside in the kitchen inside our homes, whereas the food is cooked in the outside kitchen,” Sela Khalkho, a 55-year-old from the Oraon tribe, told me. While the world is facing a major climate and environmental crisis, various studies suggest that Adivasis have protected and preserved the environment and natural resources better than other communities. One reason for this is that their survival and identity depend on their relationship with the land and nature. This adds extra impetus for protecting and promoting Sarna. William R Da Silva, a scholar in residence at Chennai’s Loyola College, told me that Adivasi languages and belief systemssustain a unique world view. “The day Adivasi customs will diminish, that day the identity as an Adivasi will vanish,” he said. The followers of Sarna associate themselves with the Sarna flag, with its distinctive red and white stripes, which they often use in demonstrations or protests. Over the last decade, various Sarna organisations such as the Aadarsh Adivasi Vikas Sarna Samiti, the All India Sarna Dhorom andthe Ranchi Sarna Youth Welfare Group have started organising cultural and social events in Jharkhand. “On 21 February 2015, at a national seminar in Delhi, I along with Adivasi leaders of other states showed concern on the inclusion of a separate column in the census to secure our identity and lives,” Arbind Oraon, the national convenor of the National Adivasi Indigenous Coordination Committee, told me. In the colonial period, British census officials provided a separate column for tribal belief systems. After Independence, this was removed on the grounds that the border between Hinduism and tribal religions was vague—an idea strongly contested by many Adivasis then and now. the lede Some activists argue that one of the reasons the demand for recognising Sarna has not yet been accepted is because there is an internal conflict of terminology. While the resolution passed by the Jharkhand government recognises a Sarna code, nationwide many Adivasi activists have been asking for recognition of Tribal or Adivasi religion as a broad category. “We have been demanding an Adivasi column rather than a Sarna code, which would only cater to the tribes of Jharkhand,” Poonam Kachhap, an Adivasi activist, who represented Odisha in 15 March protest at Jantar Mantar, told me. “An Adivasi column would be pan-Indian and different belief systems can be added under it.” The ongoing demand is yet another act of resistance in the tribal history of Jharkhand, which is full of stories of rebellion. “We have been worshipping nature before the ideology of religion existed,” Oraon told me. “This is the time we come forward and ask for our rights and recognition before our history and culture becomes extinct.” s below: Sarna followers protest against religious conversion under the banner of Sarna Prarthana Sabha in Ranchi. In the 2011 census, around thirteen percent of Jharkhand’s population— roughly 4.2 million people—was identified as following “other religions and persuasions.” diwakar prasad / hindustan times In a preface to Adi-Dharam, a book on Adivasi belief by Ram Dayal Munda, the scholar Samar Bosu Mullick writes, “Adi-dharam, the original belief system, as we know it today may not be the earliest but certainly one of the oldest systems of belief still in practice in its various forms and different levels of continuity and transformation.” Subsuming Adivasi belief in the “other” category erodes their distinct identity. “When generations opt for ‘other’ or different religious category in the census, it is likely that they tend to forget their belief system,” Somnath Pahan, a member of the Sarna committee for Ranchi’s Angada block, told me. “This way, the Adivasi population exists physically but culturally it is extinct.” Adivasi festivals and social practices centre on their ancestral lands and forests. “If the Adivasis migrate or pick other religions, it often leads to decay of Adivasi culture,” Hercules Singh Munda, a language conversationalist from the Munda tribe, said. APRIL 2021 13

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