Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Wednesday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking recognition of the ‘Sarna' religious code for tribals.
Mr Soren said the population of tribals in the state has declined to 26 per cent from 38 per cent in the last eight decades.
"The concern of protecting the traditional religious existence of tribals... is certainly a serious question. Today, the demand for Tribal/Sarna Religious Code is being raised so that this nature-worshipping tribal community can be confident about its identity.
"At present, when the demand for Uniform Civil Code is being raised by some organisations, positive initiative on this demand of Tribal/Sarna community is absolutely necessary for their protection," Mr Soren said in the letter to PM Modi.
Earlier, the Jharkhand Assembly had unanimously passed a resolution for inclusion of ‘Sarna' as a separate religion in the census.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Featured Video Of The Day
JMM's Ground Approach Vs BJP's Grand Messaging: Jharkhand Election Results Decoded
Waqf Law Has No Place In The Constitution, Says PM Modi "Sole Focus Is On Family": PM Modi Jabs Congress After Maharashtra Win "Victory A Stamp On BJP's Governance Model": Top Quotes From PM's Speech With Thumping Win, Maharashtra Decides Real NCP, Sena Election Results: BJP-Led Mahayuti Secures Landslide Victory In Maharashtra "Moving Towards One Party, One Nation": Uddhav Thackeray On BJP Victory "In The Name Of Globalisation, We Actually Hollowed Out...": S Jaishankar Waqf Law Has No Place In The Constitution, Says PM Modi Israeli Strikes Kill 120 Palestinians In Gaza Over 48 Hours Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.