Sarak people
সরাক | |
|---|---|
Sarak Jains celebrating Mahavir Jayanti | |
| Total population | |
| 34,000-50,000 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| West Bengal | 25,000-35,000 |
| Jharkhand | 5,000-10,000 |
| Odisha | 2,000-5,000 |
| Bihar | 1,000-5,000 |
| Assam | Unknown |
| Bangladesh | Unknown |
| Languages | |
| Bengali, Odia, Hindi, Assamese, Sambalpuri, Bihari languages | |
| Religion | |
| Jainism | |
| Part of a series on |
| Jainism |
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Saraks (from Sanskrit Śrāvaka) are a Jain ethnoreligious group found in West Bengal, Jharkhand, Odisha, Bihar, Assam and Bangladesh. They have been followers of Jainism, such as vegetarianism, since ancient times, however, were isolated and separated from the main body of the Jain community in western, northern, and southern India and have been Jain Bengalis ever since. The governments of India and West Bengal both have classified some of the Saraks under Other Backward Classes since 1994 but many of them have been in the General category from the beginning itself.