By IANS
Ranchi : In the wake of an attack on tribals in Assam, a contrite Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (JVM) chief Babulal Marandi Friday admitted that he had made a “big mistake” by raising the issue of domicile status for tribals during his tenure as chief minister of Jharkhand.
“Raising the domiciliary issue was my biggest mistake. There can be one domicile in India and anyone living in any state is a resident of that state,” Marandi said.
In 2002, Marandi had introduced a policy in Jharkhand for granting domicile status to people of Bihari origin and tribals. However, this created a sharp divide between the people, with those from Bihar being branded as dikus (outsiders).
Seven people lost their lives in clashes between those who supported giving domicile status to tribals and people of Bihari origin and those who were opposed to it.
The Jharkhand High Court had then struck down the domicile policy and asked the state government to prepare a fresh policy through which local residents could be given preference in government jobs.
But the state government has not drawn up any policy so far. The condition of tribals has not changed in the last seven years since Jharkhand was carved out from Bihar in Nov 2000.
The literacy rate among tribals is less than 40 percent against the state average of 54 percent. The number of families living below the poverty line (BPL) has increased by 100,000 in the past seven years. Around 54 percent of BPL families in Jharkhand belong to tribal and Dalit communities.
Although the state has had four tribal chief ministers, tribal languages have not been accorded second language status in the state. The Delimitation Commission of India (DCI) had recommended the reduction of tribal seats in the assembly from 28 to 21.
Most tribal leaders like Marandi, former chief minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Arjun Munda and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) chief Shibu Soren have decried the violence in Assam, but are reticent about the condition of tribals in Jharkahnd.