MPs and MLAs from Jharkhand today discussed issues including the Sarna Religion Code, the delimitation of constituencies, and other important matters at the All India Adivasi Congress (AIAC) meeting with Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, in Delhi.
Tribal MPs and MLAs from Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan attended the meeting. Lohardaga MP Sukhdeo Bhagat, Jharkhand Agriculture Minister Shilpi Neha Tirkey, and MLAs Sona Ram Sinku, Naman Vixal Kongadi, and Bhushan Bada were among the participants from Jharkhand.
During the meeting, Congress MP Sukhdeo Bhagat placed special emphasis on including the Sarna Dharma Code as a seventh column in the caste census.
The AIAC meeting, convened with the aim of uplifting tribal communities at the national level, saw Jharkhand Minister Shilpi Neha Tirkey speak on topics including the Sarna Code, the proposed Tribal Legal Council, and the status of tribal seats post-delimitation.
She stated that in a state like Jharkhand, previous governments had conspired to evict farmers from their own land under the pretext of land digitisation.
Tirkey proposed the formation of a Tribal Legal Council in the state, suggesting that such a body would help resolve tribal land-related disputes in a timely manner. She said the council would ensure the availability of legal aid through lawyers and provide better guidance to tribal families.
The Jharkhand Minister further said that the previous system of including ‘other’ columns in the national caste census before 2016 should be continued this time as a seventh column.
She advocated for the inclusion of a distinct column — either labelled as the ‘seventh column’, ‘Adi column’, or ‘Sarna Dharma column’ — in the census form for nature-worshipping tribal communities.
Tirkey also expressed concern about the potential consequences of delimitation in Jharkhand. She said that seats currently reserved for tribals must remain reserved even after delimitation, warning that failure to do so would risk erasing the identity and representation of tribal communities.
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