A state that exists between good and bad
VIJAY DEO JHARANCHIJharkhand has been a story of too much of negatives. But the story that remains unreported is the story of perpetual fight of people and the way they have withstood many tides — chronic and extant. In some way they have teased miracle probably leaving rest of India confounded.Look at the people, their life, custom, art, culture and society that exist on many layers of time and reality. Very often one cannot relate to the other, much less have a measure of comprehension. Researchers in subaltern history and sociology return with more unfamiliar and unique facts about people, their life and history.Imperial eminences — Dalton, Denis and Oaks, et al — weren’t the first or the last one to realize that these peace loving people could be exploited and subjugated till the time they chose to retaliate and revolt. From 1772 to 1900 it carried 13 major revolts against British Empire.Until quite recently, imperial historians wrote only darkly about Jharkhand and its leaders who had fought against British Empire. Gautam Kumar Bera’s ‘The Unrest axle: Ethno-social Movement in Eastern India’ probably offers the best insight of journey of Jharkhand as part of British Empire and then Indian Republic. But they continued their fight for rights over land, forest and wanted their unique cultural land must get constitutional emboss in form of a separate state. But the new tribes of rulers at Delhi’s power portal proved themselves the pedigree of their predecessors in exploiting people and their rich resources. Through a deliberate and silent process, one by one, leaders representing sentiment of Jharkhandi masses were shunted on the sideline. Ironically, few chose to put themselves on auction to secure political profits. Addressing a huge mass in 1981 at Gandhi Maidan in Dumka, BJP stalwart Atal Bihari Vajpayee had promised statehood to Jharkhand which he fulfilled in 2000.A decade passed and more yet to come. The turbulence of Domicile episode, frequent fall of governments, looting spree of public exchequer by people in establishment, petty and shady contractors turning into politician, hunger and famine, exploitation, corporate houses fast belting its mineral resources, and naxal terror sharking from dateline to dateline — Jharkhand got an unalloyed infamy as basket case and political laboratory of India.But Jharkhand has a way to fight, a quality that earned the state a grand concession and consideration in Shree Harivansh’s two books ‘Sapne Aur Yatharth’ and ‘Samay Aur Sawal’. Harivansh must be wishing to update his observation about Jharkhand with calmer analysis.As economist Dr Ramesh Sharan said that the chief cause of predicament of Jharkhand remained the gross abuse of power: “State and people were grossly misunderstood. Lack of mature leadership and no concrete policy led have brought this condition.” But everybody seriously believes that Jharkhand will right a fresh story of development and chuck odds in the bin of the past. It needs a fair examination of causes of mass displacement of tribal people and land acquisition policy that witnessed violent protest from Tapkara to Kathikund to Nagri and myriads of pockets are simmering with similar prospect. “170 MoUs so far…that means one crore tribal will be displaced. Tribal people are getting alienated in their own land, what a pity,” tribal leader Salkhan Murmu says. Two land related acts, CNT and SP Act are at place to protect tribal land besides Jharkhand falling in schedule 5th state category. But the Acts miserably failed to protect tribal land. A section considers these Acts too outdated, not in sync with socio-economic development of the state and tribal. But then radical groups virulent and violently opposes to any change without offering any alternative. Some of them give live cry against outsiders. Their definition of outsider is sure to drive out half of the population.Thankfully, their appeal remains contained within a precinct.Jharkhand’s problems are complex in nature which were misunderstood and misdiagnosed. Primary education starts from nil and staggers at shameful index. Healthcare is in shamble. Large swathes of the state have no access to water or electricity. State has got dubious distinction as the state where human trafficking is rampant. But to ignore any of Jharkhand’s mutinies against such problems would be to court ugly surprises.A battleground of Naxalism and security forces Jharkhand’s hinterland speak terrible story of the plight of the people and the pitfalls of iniquitous growth.Fighting against inequality people are trying to discover ways of securing their rightful share in what they are being told is theirs. There is court where they fight their battle legally, they have ballot for political battle.Bad news has often portrayed Jharkhand in villainy. But there is a lot of good news too. Youths are coming forward for a change. Those calling Jharkhand a functional anarchy probably miss that Jharkhand is what quietly happens between the bad and the good. It is state whose painful stride for prosperity has gone unnoticed. The first Governor of Jharkhand Prabhat Kumar is of the view that change will chatter in Jharkhand and the civil society must come forward in opinion making.Jharkhand is destined to glory. It has resolved to fight against cumulated contradictions. Former Jharkhand Governor Ved Marwah in his book ‘India in Turmoil’ had observed Jharkhand baffling yet beautiful. A decade later it sounds true.
