M A Sneha Gets India's First No-Caste, No-Religion Certificate

By: Women Entrepreneurs Review Team | Monday, 7 September 2026

M A Sneha, an advocate from Tiruppattur, Tamil Nadu, has made headlines after receiving an official certificate stating that she belongs to no caste and no religion. The “No Caste, No Religion” recognition followed years of persistence by Sneha, who was raised without either identity and spent nearly a decade seeking formal documentation for her way of living.

On February 5, 2019, Sneha received the certificate stating that she did not have a caste and religion from the Tahsildar of Tiruppattur, T.S. Sathiyamoorthy. This certificate finally ended the nine-year-long fight she had been fighting. More significantly, it was a validation of an identity she had held dear all her life.

Key Highlights:

• M A Sneha secured India’s first official no-caste, no-religion certificate
• She spent nine years seeking recognition of her caste-free identity
• Her journey highlights equality, social justice and freedom of identity

Sneha’s quest for the certificate was initiated when she understood that the government documents were inclusive of identifying people in terms of caste and community but there was nothing for people who identified themselves neither with caste nor religion. She belonged to an identity that did not exist in the common categories found in documentation papers. But there was no such certificate that would affirm her standing.

She then became determined to break this pattern that ended up into a long battle with the bureaucratic machinery. Between 2010 and 2017, Sneha wrote five requisition letters for the same purpose but failed. It became evident that it was difficult to seek administrative help for something that was out of the system.

This turning point was when Sneha decided to apply for the community certificate in accordance with the existing procedure of applying for a certificate. Her fight highlighted the disparity between one’s identity and documents that the government issued, but her tenacity proved that even an unconventional identity could be recognized by the government.

A woman advocate and mother from Tiruppattur, Sneha grew up believing that no one has any caste and religion. Unable to find any such provision made by the government, she took nine years to fight for her identity and certificate. Thus, her personal belief became an officially recognized identity.

However, for Sneha, the certification symbolizes something much more than any governmental document. “I see this certificate as a recognition of the system that we have been following as a family”, she added.

The certificate has also facilitated discussions among those who believe in similar ideologies. The certificate talks of a broader objective, which entails building up a society that accepts people on a human level without considering their caste backgrounds.

Sneha’s story gained further attention when Kamal Haasan, actor and turned politician, congratulated her on social media by putting up her picture. This post brought the unique event to public eye as they started sharing their opinions and support messages through social media.

While this journey started off as an individual one for Sneha, it ended up being more of a discussion. Not only does the certificate bring to light the possibility of someone being identified as not having any caste or religion, it makes us wonder if India can strike a balance between individual freedom and social justice.