NEW DELHI (India): Hundreds of members of the Kharwar Bhogta and Chero communities from the Indian state of Jharkhand and other tribal groups held a demonstration in New Delhi to press for a separate religion column for tribal people in the upcoming 2026 national census.
The protest was organized under the banner of Rashtriya Adivasi Samanvay Bharat and saw participation from tribal representatives and community leaders from several states who say official recognition of their distinct religious identity is essential.
The demonstrators called for reinstating a standalone tribal religion column in census forms, echoing how enumerations before 1951 recognized tribal religious identities separately before broad classification under major religions became prevalent. They also demanded a separate religion code for tribal communities in the country. They argue that without an independent religion code, their customs, beliefs and demographic data remain obscured within larger categories, affecting the visibility of tribal populations in official statistics and, they contend, access to culturally sensitive policy planning.
Representatives of tribal communities from across the country participated in the demonstration, underscoring a sense of shared concern across regions about recognition and representation in state and national data.
Protesters held placards calling for a tribal religion code that they say would reflect the distinct spiritual practices and cultural traditions of tribal communities. They said the current census framework, which lacks a specific category for tribal religion, forces them to select from existing general religion options that do not accurately capture their beliefs. Participants argued that this undermines their historical identity and contributes to systemic invisibility in socioeconomic planning.
Later, the protestors submitted a memorandum addressed to the Prime Minister outlining their demands and urging inclusion of a separate religion code in the 2026 Census of India. Tribal leaders also stressed that their participation in census processes should acknowledge tribal traditions and customs as standalone elements rather than subsume them under broader religion categories.
The demand for a separate tribal religion code has been voiced intermittently in political and civil society circles, with supporters asserting that distinct religious recognition would enable better enumeration of tribal populations and reinforce cultural pride. Opponents says national census categories should remain consistent and that recognizing additional religion codes for subgroups could complicate data collection.
In recent years, some tribal advocacy groups have highlighted that official census data influence resource allocation, development programs and minority protections. They maintain that accurate identification in census religion codes could affect planning for education, health services and cultural preservation initiatives targeted at tribal populations. The demonstrators said they plan to continue consultations with government officials and other stakeholders to push their case ahead of the census enumeration later this year.
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