Raipur: A massive row has erupted in the Jashpur district of Chhattisgarh after the local administration sealed a residential hostel which is alleged to being operated unlawfully in Dipu Bagicha area of the town, prompting protest from a section of people from the tribal community who are now demanding reopening of the hostel.
A section of people from the tribal community gathered in Shatrunjay Pratap Singh Judev hockey stadium in Jashpur on Tuesday, September 03, raising demands linked to re-opening of the sealed hostel. The agitators led by Sarna religious Guru, Bandhan Tigga, a resident of Jharkhand who has been raising demands of a separate Sarna religion code, gave an ultimatum to the administration to restore the status quo within a weeks’ time.
The administration’s move to seal the hostel at Dipu Bagicha was motivated by the fact that the place serves as the headquarter of the “Raji Pahadi” hence they have come up with an excuse that children are residing and studying here along other accusations. The administration should hand over the keys to the tribal people within a weeks’ time otherwise we will be force to launch a major agitation in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand, said Tigga while interacting with the media.
While portraying a section of the tribal community as “non-Hindus”, Tigga further remarked that “the way Ayodhya’s Ram temple matters for the Hindu community, “Sarna Sthals” are equally important for the tribal community. The Hindus have established their temple after 500 years then why tribals worship places are being shut”.
They say feel proud to say we are Hindu then we should also allowed to take pride to be tribals, how could it be possible until we are provided with a separate religion code added Tigga while emphasising that we have been continuously demanding a separate religion code for Sarna followers”.
The local MLA says that she is a daughter of the Oraon community then why she is opposing the traditions of the community. She should study Sarna and opened up the seal premises alongside organising a purification drive as various people have gone there, added Tigga.
The rally (Jan Aakrosh) was called by Raji Padha, an organisation mainly consist of Oraon sect of the tribal community with its headquarter at Dipu Bagicha in Jashpur along with other organisation linked to the Padha system. A significant section of people associated with these organisations are reportedly followers of “Addi”, another separate group within the tribal community alike Sarna.
The protestors also submitted a memorandum to the administration demanding return of the keys stating that Dipu Bagaicha is a distinctive worship place of the Sarna followers and the students were residing in the hostel under impermanent arrangements under the Dhumkuriya system.
Local MLA, Raimuni Bhagat hits back, alleged foreign ploy to create rift within tribal community
Meanwhile in a befitting reply to Tigga, local Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA, Raimuni Bhagat said that“a few people are creating a rift among the Oraon community on instruction of foreign powers. The Oraon community has been worshipping Mahadev-Parvati (Bhagwan Shiva-Maa Parvati) along with nature since ages and is primarily Hindu”.
Firstly, he (Tigga) who claims to be a religious guru should disclose his religion, in the Raji Padha system (a kind of self-styled management system of the tribal community prevalent in the region) there is no concept of a religious guru. A few people carrying the foreign flags are creating rift within the Oraon community on indication of foreign powers. Has he spreading religious madness on instructions of some cardinal, Bishop of Jharkhand? Added Bhagat.
She further pointed out that a daughter of the Oraon society has been elected as an MLA in Jashpur, this has been made possible only due to a significant chunk of people of the Oraon community has rallied behind, the community has been hurt by the statement made by Tigga, this is nothing but a despicable attempt aimed at dividing the Hindus.
What is Sarna religion code?
The demand of a separate religion code for Sarna followers have gained support from a section of tribal community in recent few years largely in specific tribal dominated pockets of Chhattisgarh, Odisha and more significantly in Jharkhand where Sarna followers are believed to be in significant numbers.
Those who believe in the demand, claims their disassociation with the Sanatan Dharma primarily on grounds of nature worshipping. The demand raised by Sarna followers gets some legitimacy in the year 2020, when the Jharkhand assembly passed a resolution in favour of a separate Sarna code. This follows a letter of the state’s Chief Minister, Hemant Soren to Prime Minister, Narendra Modi requesting inclusion of Sarna religion code in the next census.
More recently, the then Congress president and incumbent Leader of Opposition, Rahul Gandhi during his Bharat Jodo Yatra in February this year had also asserted that the Congress government took steps in direction of implementing the Sarna religion code, attracting a quick rebuttal from the BJP’s state unit president Babu Lal Marandi who reminded him that it was the Congress party who opposed the candidature of Draupadi Murmu for the post of president.
People in favour of the proposed code
Separate claims have been made in regard to the number of people supporting the cause of a separate Sarna religion code based primarily on the basis of nature worshipping. In a combined meeting of Sarna committees and various organisations linked with the demands of Sarna religion code held in December last year, it was claimed that the numbers of those in support of inclusion of Sarna code in census is around 50 lakhs.
The figure was believed to be claimed on the basis of those choosing the Other Religion and Persuasions (ORP) column in the census of 2011, which was marked as religious identity by around 7.9 million people in the latest counting exercise. However, the accuracy of the claim is subject to verification.
Though despite the continuous demand of a separate code, a significant chunk of the people in the tribal community rejects the claims of a separate identity of Sarna followers by drawing similarities between them and the adherence of Sanatan Dharma. According to them the community has been worshipping the nature along with Mahadev-Parvati since centuries and there are no separate worship methods as claimed by the followers as both the Sanatan Dharma follower and those demanding a separate religious identity celebrates Sarhul, a prominent festival of the Oraon community alongside visiting and worshipping at Sarna Sthal.
Is there a conspiracy behind?
Voices claiming demand of a separate religion as a conspiracy to divide the Hindu society have been emerging strongly within the tribal community itself. Those who oppose the demand of a separate religion code claimed that attempts are being made to alienate the tribal community from its root by dividing them.
Underscoring the ploy behind such a demand Raj Kumar Hansda, National co-convenor of the Janjati Suraksha Manch (JSM) in a written statement released in December last year said “that such a demand is nothing but a threadbare which cannot be implemented according to the constitution and rules specified for census”.
“It was the British who started conducting census in 1871 and continued it till 1941, distorting/misrepresenting the census figures according to their political gain. They further divided and gave separate names to the people residing in remote forest regions such as notorious tribes, superstitious and nature worshippers after they failed to dominate them” he added.
People associated with such movements are assisting the cause of foreign conspirators who are making desperate attempts to implant the seeds of separatism in innocent tribal youths. The whole idea is to cut a section of the society from Hinduism which will eventually make them vulnerable for conversion, quoted Hansda.
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