Tribals’ agitation call evokes mixed response
Barring an incident of blocking a goods train for few minutes and few road blockades, the agitation passed off peacefully Sunday When India was ruled by the British, Sarna followers enjoyed a separate code. Ironically, after independence, it was removed
RANCHI: The Road-Rail Roko agitation called by various tribal organisations in support of their long pending demand of according Sarna as separate religion code in Census 2021 evoked mixed response in the state.
Barring an incident of blocking a goods train for few minutes and few road blockades, the agitation passed off peacefully on Sunday. The impact of the agitation was invisible in cities.
Three tribal organisations-Kendriya Sarna Samiti (KSS), Adivasi Sengel Abhiyan (ASA) and Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad (ABAVP)--had jointly given the agitation call.
The organisations on Saturday night had carried out a torch light procession to make the event a success.
KSS central president Phoolchand Tirkey said on Sunday, “The agitation was peaceful across the state and its impact was also visible in Assam, Bihar, Chhatisgarh, West Bengal apart from Jharkhand.”
Tirkey said, “We stopped a goods train for few minutes at Kita railway station of Ranchi rail division and created road blockade in Hazaribagh and Kharsawan.”
Sarna code is related to tribals’ identity, the union leader said. “We are demanding for a separate column for Sarna religion in the upcoming census. When India was ruled by the British, Sarna religion followers enjoyed a separate code. Ironically, after independence, the code was removed in 1951 and great injustice was done with tribals,” he said.
Jharkhand has 32 tribal groups, of which eight tribes are from Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG). Tribals form 26.2% of the state’s population.