AARM writes to Census Commissioner for inclusion of Adivasi faith in census

Agartala, Aug 21 (PTI) The Adivasi Adhikar Rashtriya Manch (AARM) has written to the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India urging him for inclusion of Adivasi faith in the forthcoming census to be carried out in the country.

AARM chairperson Jitendra Chaudhury, in the letter, said that since different Adivasi communities have their own beliefs and practices, it would be appropriate and just to include a column entitled "Scheduled Tribe/Janajati /Adivasi Faiths" in the census.

"In the Census Digital Library details of Column C-01, the enumeration of population by religious community is described as follows: The figures of six major religious communities viz. Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Jains are presented in this table," Chaudhury, who is also the Leader of Opposition in Tripura Assembly stated in the letter on Wednesday.

Chaudhury said, "The combined population of all other religion names grouped in the category of 'Other Religions and Persuasions' (ORP)… has also been included in the table." The Scheduled Tribe/Janajati/Adivasi population was enumerated in Census 2011 as being 8.6 per cent of the population, he said, adding the large majority of the population have their own religious and spiritual beliefs and identities.

Chaudhury said numerically this population consists of more than several of the religious communities described as "major" in the description given above.

"Across India, Adivasi communities have been demanding that their distinct faiths should find a specific mention in the census instead of being lumped in a general category of 'ORP," he said.

Chaudhury said in recognition of the legitimacy of this demand, the Jharkhand Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution to request that a separate column for registration of Adivasi beliefs should be included in the census.

He submitted that since different Adivasi communities have their own beliefs and practices, it would be appropriate and just to include a column entitled "Scheduled Tribe/Janajati / Adivasi Faiths".

"In our discussions (on August 19), you had said that the issue will be examined and that the notification has not yet been done. We hope you will do justice to Adivasi communities by including their specific beliefs", he said. PTI PS RG