December 11, 2025
Kalipada Saren Kherwal’s Zero Hour mention on the need for separate religion codes for Sari Dharam and Sarna Dharam for the upcoming Census
Thank you, Chairman, Sir, for giving me an opportunity to speak on an important issue. Sir, as we know, Santhals are the largest homogenous tribe in India. They mostly inhabit the States of West Bengal, Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar,
Assam and Tripura. The Santhal and other Adivasi communities profess and practice their own religion. that is, Saridharam and Sarnadharam, since time immemorial. Although the right to practise, profess and propagate our own religion is our fundamental right as per Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution of India, the Santhals and other Adivasi communities have not yet been allotted separate religion codes for Saridharam and Sarnadharam
I would like to mention here that the West Bengal Assembly has already introduced and approved a Bill as per a motion under Parliamentary Rule 185 for allotment of a separate religion code, Saridharam for the Santhal and
Sarnadharam for other Adivasi communities, on 17th February, 2023 Therefore, in order to honour the religious sentiments of the Santhals and other Adivasi communities, I humbly request the Government to arrange
for separate religion codes for Saridharam and Sarnadharam. I also demand separate columns for Saridharam and Sarnadharam in the data collection form to be used in the forthcoming Census of India. Thank you, Sir
