Identities, Indigeneity, and the 1932 'Khatiyan'

The incumbent Government of Jharkhand, led by the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, along with its allies, has completed more than two years in office since. During its tenure, it has already faced several challenges, the most recent being that of falling as a possible victim to the usual tactical attempts made at legislative (governmental) destabilisation. However, the Adivasi leader, and incumbent Chief Minister of Jharkhand, Hemant Soren has always proved to be a tough contender for the Bharatiya Janata Party to deal with.

With a population of around 3.9 Crore, the proportion of Scheduled Tribe(s) in Jharkhand is approximately 28 percent. Jharkhand has the sixth largest Scheduled Tribe(s) population in India. Undeniably, the assertion and resistance shown by the Adivasis of Jharkhand is a part of various socio-historical realities. From the Adivasi Mahasabha to the Jharkhand Party, and the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, the question of 'identities' and 'indigeneity' has always remained relevant.

Hemant Soren belongs to the Santhal tribe. His interventions in social justice through policy-framing ensure that the tradition(s) of Adivasi assertion are in tandem with their socio-historical relationship with Jal(water), Jangal(forests), and Zameen (land). The exploitative appropriation of the land and its associated resources of Jharkhand by the 'non-indigenous' has always been a recurrent phenomenon throughout the ages.

The conflicts which such practices have subsequently resulted in are direct repercussions of the oppressive tendencies reflected in the actions of the 'non-indigenous', mostly aimed towards accumulation of privilege. This is evidenced through the historical categorisation of such 'non-indigenous' population in Jharkhand, through a word which the indigenous Adivasis have always used: 'Diku(s)', meaning, outsiders/foreigners. It has been used at various points in history, sometimes for British officials, and at other times for the Hindu upper-caste/class moneylenders, Zamindars, and locally-dominant social elites.

Amongst the variegated forms of 'social identities,' linguistic identities are a significant constituent of people's lives and livelihoods. In this context, it is important to mention one of the recent interventions by the Hemant Soren-led Government of Jharkhand. On February 18 2022, it released a notification detailing the tribal and regional languages in each district of Jharkhand.

As the Government of Jharkhand removed Bhojpuri and Magahi from the list of regional languages in the districts of Dhanbad and Bokaro, there was a lot of resentment expressed primarily by the upper-caste migrant population of Bihar. In the recent past, they have been motivated to acquire land in Jharkhand, reportedly through exploitative methods, attracted by the material resources in the state.

This has led to a significant reduction in the access to such resources for the indigenous Adivasi population, who rightfully consider themselves the 'Moolniwasis' or original inhabitants of the land. The linguistic policy modifications should be observed in this light, since leaders from various Adivasi organisations across Jharkhand seemed to have approved the Government's decision.

On September 14 2022, the Government of Jharkhand approved the 'Jharkhand Definition of Local Persons and for Extending the Consequential, Social, Cultural, and Other Benefits to Such Local Persons Bill, 2022' in the Legislative Assembly. According to this Bill, the land settlement survey records ('Khatiyan') produced in 1932 or before, shall become the basis of determination of the 'indigeneity' of a Jharkhandi.

As a result, the Moolniwasis or original inhabitants, will be legally defined as those who have their names in the land settlement records existing in 1932 or before. This has been a long-standing social and political demand of various Adivasi organisations.

They have been on the forefront of the protests against the previous governmental policies of the non-Adivasi Bharatiya Janata Party Chief Minister Raghubar Das. These include the controversial move to categorise the domicile status of a Jharkhandi with the residential settlement records of 1985 as the base year. The intensity and magnitude with which protests were held by Adivasi organisations during the 'Pathalgadi Movement' need to be recalled here. Indeed, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and Hemant Soren, then in the Opposition camp, had vehemently criticised and protested against the BJP's decisions.

When Urdu was listed as a Regional Language in all the 24 districts of Jharkhand within the same notification, it also ignited the wrath of many Hindi-speaking Hindu upper-caste population. However, the Muslims of Jharkhand have approved and applauded the recent modifications in 'domicile laws,' on the basis of the 1932 land settlement survey records. Their assertive celebrations indicate their confidence in establishing their historical 'indigeneity,' which can be factually traced back to 1932 or even before that.

Along with the 'Jharkhand Definition of Local Persons…' Bill, another Bill which seeks to increase the percentage of reservations for the socially and economically backward classes was introduced. The existing percentage share of reservations for the Other Backward Class(es), Scheduled Caste(s), and Scheduled Tribe(s), which was previously 14, 10, and 26, has been increased justifiably to 27, 12, and 28, respectively. Such a socio-political thought and move is, in many ways, a marker of Hemant Soren-led government's commitment to ensure that legislative policy-framing procedure(s), are envisioned on the bedrock of equitable and affirmative social justice.

Since education is one of the fundamental assets for any human being, the Jharkhand government has worked to ensure the holistic progress of Adivasi students. On December 29 2020, it introduced the 'Marang Gomke Jaipal Singh Munda Overseas Scholarship Scheme' to send approximately ten students every year from the Scheduled Tribe(s) communities of Jharkhand to pursue a one-year Masters or a two-years M.Phil. degree across 22 courses in 15 top-tier universities in the United Kingdom.

Jaipal Singh Munda was the first Adivasi student from India to study at the University of Oxford in England between 1922 and 1929. He also captained the Indian Hockey Team and led it to a gold medal at the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics. He is fondly remembered by the Adivasi people as 'Marang Gomke' or the 'Supreme/Great Leader' because of his efforts towards the Adivasi movement, as he worked extensively in the assertion of their identities.

(A celebration was held by Jharkhand Mukti Morcha party supporters, led by Dashrath Gagrai, MLA, Kharsawan Vidhan Sabha Constituency, on September 15.)

I was recently engaged in research fieldwork at Kharsawan town in the Seraikela-Kharsawan district in Jharkhand. On September 15th I came across a huge procession of people, predominantly holding the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha party flags, and a few waving the Indian National Congress flags.

They marched to the tune of a song which had lyrics, such as, "Jharkhand Raej Gota Hilay Dele Re (The whole of Jharkhand state has been shaken)." I asked a local why the procession was being taken out. According to him the celebration was being held by the people to welcome the recent legislative developments in Jharkhand's 'domicile law' based on the 1932 'Khatiyan'.

(Mahendra Lal Soy of Maranghatu Village, Kuchai Block, Seraikela-Kharsawan District, Jharkhand, is quite hopeful about the government's policies)

I also travelled to the Maranghatu village, located in the Kuchai Block of the Seraikela-Kharsawan district to meet the elderly Mahendra Lal Soy in regard to an oral historical research project. The 90-year-old Soy had been a witness to the charisma of Jaipal Singh Munda during his public gatherings. Soy accompanied me to the main pucca road of the village, through a shortcut across the fields. He said he was happy at the Government's decision to implement the 'Khatiyan' with 1932 as the base year.

Somnath Pati is an independent researcher, and former postgraduate student of Modern Indian History from the Centre for Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University. Views expressed are the writer's own.