Explained | The politics over Jharkhand’s domicile policy

The story so far: On September 14, the Hemant Soren-led Jharkhand cabinet approved the long pending demand of Adivasi-Moolvasis (original inhabitants) to make 1932 as the cut-off year for domicile under the title ‘Jharkhand Definition of Local Persons and for Extending the Consequential, Social, Cultural and Other Benefits of such Local Persons Bill, 2022’. The draft Bill will be passed in the next Assembly session and then sent to the Centre with a proposal to place it in the ninth schedule of the Constitution (which contains the list of Central and State laws and will accord it protection from challenges in courts).

THE GIST

Hemant Soren’s cabinet has approved the proposal to use 1932 as the cut-off year for the domicile policy of local inhabitants, provided that the Union government puts it in ninth schedule of the Constitution.

Different tribal organisations and groups have been demanding 1932 as the cut-off year to decide the domicile policy because of the land survey and revenue register done in 1932 in large parts of the State. As per the proposed domicile policy, people who have their names or their ancestor’s name in the land records of 1932 or before, will be considered as local inhabitants of Jharkhand.

The ninth schedule contains the list of Central and State laws which cannot be challenged in courts. This is to keep the Act from judicial review in the future.

Why has 1932 been decided as the cut-off year for the policy?

Different tribal groups have been demanding 1932 as the cut-off year for several years because of the land survey and revenue register done that year in large parts of the State. Shibu Soren, who is the father of Chief Minister Hemant Soren and patron of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, has also been advocating for 1932 as the cut-off year. As per the proposed domicile policy, people who have their names or their ancestor’s name in the land records of 1932 or before, will be considered as local inhabitants of Jharkhand. But those who have lost their land records or have land records which are illegible or are landless people, can approach their respective Gram Sabhas for their inclusion.

Besides, the cabinet note of the State government claims that 1932 was fixed as the cut-off year for domicile policy as the migration of people from other States to Jharkhand (undivided Bihar) had resulted in negatively impacting the “original inhabitants/moolvasis/aboriginals.” “This can be verified as the percentage of population of the aboriginals/[STs] since the 1941 census has seen a steady decline in Jharkhand”, said the note while adding that, “there needs to be affirmative action at the policy level for the development of STs and moolvasis and the identification of local persons was a compelling necessity to provide social, cultural, educational service and other benefits”.

However, records show that land and revision surveys were done in Jharkhand at different times in different districts and areas. It has been done several times in the State at different points. Therefore, marking 1932 as the only cut-off year for domicile policy would leave lakhs of citizens of the State as “refugees”. The first land survey, especially in the Santhal area of the State, was done in 1872 and then in 1922. J. F. Gantzer had a complete land survey of the Santhal Pragana done with amendments in 1932, 1934 and 1936.

How have the government’s coalition partners and other parties reacted?

There has been a split among the Congress party leaders over this issue. Geeta Koda, Member of Parliament from Singhbhum and the working president of the party in Jharkhand has said that an agitation would be launched if the government does not reconsider its decision. According to her, the Kolhan region of the State comprising East Singhbhum, West Singhbhum and Saraikela districts had land surveys done in 1964-65, and the government’s decision to make 1932 as the cut-off year for domicile, will affect around 40-44 lakh people of the area. After Jharkhand was bifurcated into a separate State in 2000 from Bihar, the Babulal Marandi-led BJP government brought in the domicile policy with 1932 as the cut-off year. However, it led to violent widespread protests. Later, while hearing a PIL over it, a division bench of the Jharkhand High Court stayed the government’s decision. The BJP government came back to power in 2014 and put forward a domicile policy with 1985 as the cut-off year and that too was protested by local people who demanded 1932 as the cut-off year.

• Different tribal groups have been demanding 1932 as the cut-off year for several years because of the land survey and revenue register done that year in large parts of the State.
• Besides, the cabinet note of the State government claims that 1932 was fixed as the cut-off year for domicile policy as the migration of people from other States to Jharkhand (undivided Bihar) had resulted in negatively impacting the “original inhabitants/moolvasis/aboriginals.”
• There has been a split among the Congress party leaders over this issue. Geeta Koda, Member of Parliament from Singhbhum and the working president of the party in Jharkhand has said that an agitation would be launched if the government does not reconsider its decision.