Manipur Rajya Sabha MP Maharaja Leishemba Sanajaoba today raised a matter of Urgent Public Importance, urging the Government of India to formally recognise Sanamahi as a separate religion in the national Census.
He highlighted that the Manipur Legislative Assembly had unanimously adopted a resolution on 5 August 2022 requesting the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India to include Sanamahi as an independent religious category.
Sanajaoba said the resolution echoed the long-standing sentiment of the Meitei/Meetei community, for whom Sanamahi is an ancient indigenous faith with distinct rituals, practices and cultural heritage.
He expressed concern that the continued absence of an independent enumeration code for Sanamahi had resulted in misrepresentation and dilution of the identity of its followers, despite repeated appeals from scholars, CSOs and religious authorities including the Lainingthou Sanamahi Temple Board, Uttra Shanglen and Sanakonung.
He stated that thousands of individuals continue to practice Sanamahi but lack an appropriate category to record their faith in the Census schedule.
Recognising Sanamahi as a distinct religion, he said, would ensure accurate demographic representation, protect cultural heritage and uphold constitutional principles of religious freedom and identity.
Through the House, the MP urged the Government to issue a clear directive to Census authorities for the inclusion of Sanamahi as a separate religion.
He also shared the appeal tagging PMO India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah on his social media handles.
