Uniform Civil Code (UCC) faces resistance from ‘Santhal’ tribals in Odisha’s Keonjhar

Hundreds of Santhals, the community to which President Droupadi Murmu belongs, hit the streets in protest against the proposed Uniform Civil Code (UCC).

The Santhals, also spelt as Santal, are mostly distributed in Odisha, Jharkhand, and West Bengal are the third largest scheduled tribe community in India after Gonds and Bhils. Despite their social upliftment, the Santhals prefer to stay connected to their roots.

They are nature worshippers and follow age-old rituals and traditions. They fear that their beliefs and orthodox rules that govern their society will be affected if the UCC is implemented.

Armed with traditional bows and arrows and other weapons, hundreds of tribals assembled in front of Keonjhar District Collectorate and protested against the proposed UCC implementation, and submitted a memorandum over a 10-point charter of demands.

As a mark of protest, they were seen dancing, singing and performing other traditional rituals.

“Even after being accepted by the Constitution in 2003, Santhali language is not getting the recognition that it deserves. So, we demand our President Droupadi Murmu and CM Naveen Patnaik give our language the recognition it deserves,” said Siva Shankara Marni, a member of ‘Rashtriya Adivasi Ekta Parishad’.

“We also demand that Santhali language is taught from primary schools till graduation. Furthermore, we are not Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Jains, or Buddhists. We have our own religion ‘Sarna’ and we demand that our religion is included in the census,” he added.

Keonjhar MLA Mohan Charan Majhi, who was part of the protest, said that he would voice his support for UCC, but it should not affect his community in any way.

“I will support UCC, but they should make sure that it does not affect my community in any way. So, I request the Central government to introspect and take wise decisions so that no one is affected and it benefits everyone,” Majhi said.