Sarna Dharma Code No Longer At Centre of Hemant Soren's Politics

Hemant Soren kept the issue of the Sarna Dharma Code at the centre of his politics continuously from 2019 till the 2024 Jharkhand Assembly elections, linking it consistently with tribal identity, existence and rights.

After coming to power, within a year, on 11 November 2020, the Jharkhand Assembly unanimously passed the Sarna Dharma Code proposal and sent it to the central government. After that, he wrote several letters to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, repeatedly demanding its implementation.

In the 2024 Assembly elections as well, JMM and Hemant Soren made it a major election issue. In rallies and announcements, they said that a separate Sarna Dharma Code is necessary to give constitutional recognition to the religious identity of tribals. From the election stages, the message was clear that their government was fighting for tribal identity, and the Centre was keeping this demand pending and ignoring tribal society.

But after the elections ended and the government was formed, the Sarna Dharma Code gradually slipped down the list of political priorities. The proposal is still pending with the central government, because the authority to introduce a new religious code lies with the Centre and the Registrar General of India, and it requires changes in the census process. With no concrete initiative from the Centre and no sustained political pressure from the state government, the demand has weakened over time.

Earlier, this issue used to be at the heart of rallies, speeches and political campaigns. Now it has been reduced to a symbolic demand. Disappointment has grown among tribal organisations as well. What was once the biggest identity-based movement in Jharkhand’s politics now appears to be in a state of stagnation due to the lack of concrete political action.

So the question is — why is Hemant Soren silent on this issue? Has his strategy regarding the state’s tribal concerns changed?

Tribal organisations are again preparing to intensify the demand for the Sarna Dharma Code once again.  The protests are being led by Narayan Oraon, a member of the Jharkhand Tribal Advisory Council (TAC). As president of the Central Sarna Committee of India, Narayan Oraon has been one of those tribal leaders who have continuously driven the campaign for the Sarna Dharma Code.

Speaking about Hemant Soren’s silence, Narayan Oraon says, “What Hemant wants, why he is silent, I do not know. But before being a TAC member, I am a representative of the Sarna tribal society, and only after that a TAC member. Maybe tomorrow I too may contest elections, but if in the process of contesting elections I forget my society, then no one would be a bigger culprit than me. I don’t know his intentions, but we are very firm on the Sarna issue. I may be a TAC member, but I am not a follower of any party.”

Narayan Oraon also admits that over the past two years, the demand for the Sarna Dharma Code has weakened in the state, and says Hemant Soren’s silence cannot be denied in this regard. However, he expresses happiness over Hemant’s recent statement about leading an effort to unite Sarna tribals across the country.

A TAC member is generally perceived as someone close to the government and its head. In such a situation, Narayan Oraon’s dissatisfaction speaks volumes.

On 24 January, while addressing the tribal community in Ranchi, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said that “Sarna is not a religion, but a method of worship, and tribals are Hindus.” On this statement too, Hemant Soren has maintained silence.

Earlier, whenever BJP and RSS leaders described tribals as Hindus, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) had objected. Hemant Soren used to counter it by saying that tribals were not Hindus, are not Hindus, and will never be Hindus. But on Bhagwat’s recent remark, not only Hemant, but even his party remained silent. Though Neha Shilpi Tirkey, a minister in Hemant Soren’s government from the Congress quota, did raise objections to Bhagwat’s statement.

Hemant Soren’s silence on the Sarna issue raises questions about the politics through which he has consistently demanded and advocated a separate Sarna Dharma Code for tribals.

Sarna religious leader and Jharkhand state president of Rajee Padha Sarna Prarthana Sabha Bharat, Ravi Tigga, is also disappointed with Hemant Soren’s silence. He says, “After the ED episode, Hemant Soren has become soft. He no longer attacks the BJP. Even on genuine tribal demands, he becomes deaf and mute. There was a dispute over Sarna land in Ranchi’s Sirmatoli — he did not speak a word. In the Deori temple controversy, people came in buses from Tamar to meet him, but he did not meet anyone. He remained silent on the RIMS Nagri dispute as well. The Hemant who used to be sensitive to tribal issues in his first term has become insensitive in his second term.”

Hemant Soren had been under ED investigation in an alleged land scam and money laundering case, accused of involvement in illegal land acquisition in Ranchi. In the Deori temple controversy, tribal organisations had protested against non-tribal religious activities at a tribal faith site. In the Sirmatoli Sarna land dispute, tensions arose over construction on Sarna Sthal. In Nagri, there was local opposition to the acquisition of tribal land for the expansion of RIMS. Tribal organisations believe that Hemant Soren remained silent on all these issues as well.

Sarna religious leaders and organisations like Rajee Padha Sarna Prarthana Sabha Bharat and the Central Sarna Committee of India say that it was because of organisations like theirs that Hemant Soren and his party received full tribal support and won all tribal seats in the state.

According to them, when the movement for the Sarna religion intensified before the elections, the Hemant government feared that if they did not deliver the religion code, public anger was so strong that they would not get votes again. The slogan was raised: “No Code, No Vote.” Under this pressure, Hemant Soren called a special session of the Assembly, passed the Sarna Dharma Code proposal, and sent it to the Centre.

The organisation says the state government passed the proposal and shifted the responsibility to the Centre, and then used it in election rallies to say that the BJP does not want to grant tribals a separate religious identity. As a result, tribals united in the 2024 Lok Sabha and Assembly elections and voted against the BJP, leading to the BJP losing all tribal seats.

A 2018 RTI report shows that Jharkhand has over 8.6 million tribals. Among them, 4,012,622 follow the Sarna faith, 3,245,856 identify as Hindu, 1,338,175 as Christian, 18,107 as Muslim, 2,946 as Buddhist, 984 as Sikh, 381 as Jain, and 25,971 tribals do not follow any religion.

During Soren’s previous term the Assembly passed the ‘Sarna or Adivasi Religion Code Bill’ and sent it to the Centre, demanding a separate religious code in the Constitution. Even though five years have passed without visible initiative from the Government of India, Hemant Soren appears to have gained political advantage from it.

Observers believe that this initiative benefited him politically. In last year’s Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, Sarna followers voted in his favour, and as a result, his alliance won all reserved tribal seats in both elections.

The BJP had won 12 of the 14 parliamentary seats in 2014 and 2019, but in 2024 it lost three, all reserved for tribals. The results in Khunti and Lohardaga were particularly striking. Between 1989 and 2019, the BJP had won these seats repeatedly, including eight times in Khunti and six in Lohardaga.

Similarly, the JMM alliance won 27 of the 28 tribal-reserved Assembly seats, including both seats in Khunti, which were earlier with the BJP. The BJP’s strength on tribal seats has steadily declined — nine seats in 2005, nine again in 2009, eleven in 2014, two in 2019, and just one in 2024.

So why is Hemant Soren silent on an issue that brought him political benefit?

Senior journalist Divyanshu says Hemant Soren still has three years before the next election. So he may not want to disturb the favourable environment by speaking on this now. When two years remain before elections, he might revive the campaign, or he may rely on schemes like Maiya Samman for electoral gains. Another point is that the BJP is currently not in a position to significantly damage him. The ED matter has also calmed down. In such a quiet political atmosphere, why would anyone want to disturb it?

Divyanshu further says that if seen from a tribal perspective, among non-Christian tribals in the state, around 80 per cent are “Hinduites,” and Hemant understands these sentiments. At the same time, the issue of delisting — removing ST status from tribals who have adopted Christianity, Islam or Buddhism — has been active for years. The Munda vs Oraon debate has also emerged. Hemant knows that amid so many internal tensions, restarting the Sarna Dharma Code line right now could create divisions among tribals.

Divyanshu compares Hemant’s position to that of the Congress in Jharkhand in earlier times. Kartik Oraon, a major Congress leader, spent his life in Congress politics, and the Congress was seen as oriented towards Christian tribals. But when Kartik Oraon first raised the delisting issue, the Congress could not act decisively, knowing that a large section of tribals might turn against it.

It is worth noting that Chief Minister Hemant Soren has described himself as a Sarna follower and has rejected the idea that tribals are Hindus. Yet in the last two years, his temple visits have increased, and political meanings are being drawn from this.

Observers of his politics say Hemant changed significantly before and after his jail term.  

Senior journalist Anand Kumar says that after coming out of jail, it would be difficult to find a major temple where Hemant Soren has not bowed his head along with his wife, Kalpana.

According to Anand, the Soren family historically had a secular political image, but in recent years, they appear to be moving closer to Hindutva politics. He believes Kalpana’s influence is visible in this shift.