ABSTRACT
This article explores the tug-of-war between the right of recognition of tribals and the so-called preservation of cultural unity of India’s largest religious denomination. Tribals adore and worship nature. Due to their distinctive way of living, tribals desire to be recognized as their religion which they name as Sarna religion, particularly in the Jharkhand state. The tribal populace constitutes 8.8 % of India’s population; however, they have no separate religious code in the census. Consequently, they have been forced to identify themselves by subscribing to either Hinduism, Christianity, or even Islam to a few extent. It is important to note that tribals of Jharkhand have constantly asserted that they belong to the Sarna religion. Hence, the current research article investigates the struggles, scenarios, and apprehensions of adopting Sarna as a religious code in the census, which tribals lost post-independence somehow.
