‘One year on, no withdrawal of Pathalgadi cases’

In December 2019, the state government of Jharkhand had decided to drop “all cases” related to the Pathalgadi movement of 2017-2018.

Almost a year later, the government is still to send a requisition to the court to withdraw the cases, many of which involved charges of sedition.

• The Jharkhand government in May 2016 had attempted to tweak Chhotanagpur Land Tenancy Act, 1908 and the Santhal Pargana Tenancy Act, 1949.
  • These Acts were regarded as arakshya kavach (protective shield) for the land of tribals.
• However, the bill never got the go ahead due to massive protest by tribal communities.
• This led to violence in the state capital and protests were held in various parts of the state.
• As an extension to this protest, the tribals of Khunti, Gumla, Simdega, Saraikela, West Singhbhum area started erecting stones in their villages with PESA provisions highlighting their rights which came to be known as Pathalgadi movement.
• During the Pathalgadi movement, many villages saw people gathering from surrounding areas with bows and arrows to ‘assert their rights’.
• This resulted in a crackdown leading to the death of a tribal, Birsa Munda– named after the freedom fighter.
• Following this, cases were registered against several villagers.
• In December 2019, the state government promised to drop the cases filed against the supporters of the Pathalgadi movement in 2017 and 2018. 

What is Pathalgadi?

• The Pathalgadi movementoriginated in the Khunti area of the state.
• ‘Pathalgadi’ literally means ‘carving a stone’ — it is an ancient tradition in the tribal communities of Jharkhand.

• Adivasis usually erected engraved stones to mark the birth or death of a person.
• It is also done in honour of their ancestors, to announce important decisions regarding their families and villages or to simply mark the boundary of their villages. 

• The practice is still being followed even today in the Munda areas of Khunti.
• Pathalgadis have their presence in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and parts of West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh.
• This was first used to create political awareness when the Panchayat (Extension of Scheduled Area) Act (PESA) came into force in 1996.
  • That Act empowered the gram sabhas or panchayats to safeguard and preserve their traditions, community spaces and culture, and gave them the right to mandatory consultation in land acquisition.
• The Fifth Schedule of the Constitution deals with the administration and control of Scheduled Areas as well as of Scheduled Tribes.

• The Pathalgadi movement was to save tribal land rights, when the Jharkhand government introduced amendments to the Chotanagpur Tenancy Act (CNT) 1908 and the Santhal Pargana Tenancy (SPT) Act 1949
• It started in 2017, when stone monoliths engraved with provisions of the Indian Constitution began to be installed in the villages of Khunti.
• The engravings highlighted the special autonomy granted to Adivasi areas under the Fifth Schedule of the Indian Constitution.

• The ordinance was to amend the land tenancy laws to allow agricultural land to be used for non-agricultural purposes.
• It was to remove restrictions on the use of Adivasi land by owners or tenants for non-agricultural purposes.
• It also provided to insert a clause to permit the transfer of Adivasi land for linear projects “like road, canal, railway, cable transmission, pipelines, and schools, colleges, universities, panchayat buildings, hospitals, anganwadis” as well as any other “government purpose” as is notified by state government in the official gazette.

• In November 2019, the Jharkhand Police had filed sedition cases against more than 10,000 people between June 2017 and July 2018 in Khunti district.
• Under the sedition law, the people were booked for “exciting, or attempting to excite feelings of disaffection against the government.”
• But the new Hemant Soren-led JMM government dropped all sedition cases against those involved in the Pathalgadi movement in December 2019 and those booked in protests against CNT and SPT amendments.

• Self-rule: Pathalgadis started asking for self-rule and said that the government should enter their area with Gram Sabha permission.
• No outsider allowed without permission: Quoting Article 19 (5) of the Indian Constitution, they said outsiders are not allowed to live and work in adivasi villages without permission. The administration’s pamphlet calls this unconstitutional and violative of fundamental rights.
• No common formalities: They did not believe in Voter-ID cards or Aadhar cards, saying that it is for ‘common people’, and they did not follow it since they “khas admi”.

• It is widely believed that Pathalgadi movement is "inspired" from Gujarat's Satipati movement that denounces the government of India and doesn't believe in its laws.
  • Satipati followers believe that they have the sovereign right over the forest and other natural resources.
  • They are known for boycotting votes and government benefits, among others.
  • However, the Satipati movement has remained non-violent in the state, which originated from Vyara in Tapi district by Kunwar Keshri Singh.
• The Pathalgadi movement, which also seeks Adivasi rights over the resources by self-rule and prohibits outsiders, has gone violent on many occasions.
• Pathalgadhi is said to have originated from Khunti district, the birthplace of tribal icon Birsa Munda.

Jharkhand’s eagerness to attract huge industries in the state or to perhaps improve its position or rating is coming at a huge price. Tribals consider land as God. For centuries, these people have been closely linked with forests, it has always been their way of life. They should not be alienated from their lands, otherwise, it would be a crime.