1932 and after: How to define a ‘Jharkhandi’?

What is the controversy over Jharkhand’s domicile policy?

Questions around the definition of a “Jharkhandi” had led to the resignation of the state’s first chief minister Babulal Marandi in 2002, with successive governments thereafter steering clear of the issue. After the formation of Jharkhand as a state in 2000, CM Marandi thought it was necessary to define a “Jharkhandi” in order to provide various benefits, including government jobs, to local people, and made 1932 as the cut-off year for proof of land records. It triggered widespread protests involving those people, especially non-tribals, who had migrated to Jharkhand at a later stage.

So, did the government make any domicile policy since the creation of Jharkhand state?

After 2002, successive Jharkhand governments refrained from touching the domicile issue until the BJP-led government, headed by Raghubar Das, took the helm in 2014. The Raghubar government notified a “relaxed domicile policy” in 2016, mentioning six ways in which one could be treated as a Jharkhand’s domicile. First, a person is called a resident if his or her father’s name is in the land records. The Gram Sabha can identify in case a person is landless. Second, people who are into business or have been employed for the past 30 years or more in the state along with their heirs will be considered residents, which essentially makes 1985 as the domicile cut-off year. As per this policy, those people will also be considered as residents who are employed by the state or central government in Jharkhand, have held any constitutional or statutory posts, along with their spouses or children, or people who were born in the state and completed their matriculation or equivalent examination. Experts, however, say this policy was “flawed” as it did not give priority to tribals, for whom the state was created in the first place.

What happened when Hemant Soren took charge as the Jharkhand CM?

After the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)-led coalition government, headed by Hemant Soren, assumed office in December 2019, JMM president Shibu Soren said that 1932 “Khatiyan” (proof of a person’s land document) should be made the cut-off year to formulate the “Sthaniya Niti” (domicile policy). The Hemant Soren government then set up a Cabinet Sub-committee to redefine domicile.

What stance has the Jharkhand government taken in the Assembly on the issue now?

The Jharkhand government said in the Assembly on March 14 that the deliberations on the state’s new domicile policy were still continuing, indicating that the land records of 1932 will not be its “only basis”. Rural development minister Alamgir Alam told the House that many districts had been left out in the 1932 land survey and the government was studying all aspects of the issue. “It is clear that 1932 land records will remain as proof. However, we are studying it as many surveys were undertaken in various other districts till 1964; for Palamu it was done in 1997. Now, consider a family staying in Jharkhand for five generations, and if the land records were made in 1974, they will miss out on the domicile (if 1932 is taken as the base year); and where will they go,” Alam said.