Jharkhand bandh call given by non-tribal outfits led by Bhojpuri Magahi Maithili Angika Manch (BMMAM) on Sunday to press their demand for inclusion of Bhojpuri and Magahi in the list of recognised regional languages of Dhanbad and Bokaro districts, evoked a mixed response.
The tribal organisations who oppose the demand, however, termed it a complete failure. Members of different non-tribal organisations led by BMMAM took to the streets in Ranchi and other districts to try to make the bandh a success.
However, the impact of the bandh call was missing in cities, as markets were open and traffic movement normal like other days. Bandh supporters were seen marching from Ranchi’s Birsa Chowk to Albert Ekka Chowk requesting traders to shut their shops.
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Even though the traffic was almost normal in Ranchi, the number of passenger auto-rickshaws plying the streets were fewer compared to normal days.
The non-tribal outfits are demanding the inclusion of Bhojpuri and Magahi in the list of regional languages for Dhanbad and Bokaro districts and are also protesting a move to use the 1932-`Khatiyan' (land records) as proof of domicile in the state.
BMMAM president Kailash Yadav told media persons, “It was a token bandh in the state on Sunday. If government does not include Bhojpuri and Magahi in the list of regional languages in Dhanbad and Bokaro, the agitation will be intensified. We also demand the government drop the idea of a 1932-`Khatiyan' based domicile policy.”
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Meanwhile, JMM legislator Lobin Hembrom and former Jharkhand minister Geetashre Oraon have termed the bandh call by non-tribal outfits as a complete failure.
The two tribal leaders on Sunday participated in an indefinite agitation staged by Jharkhand Bhasa Sangharsah Samiti (JBSS) near Governor House.
JBSS members have been agitating since February 24 near Governor House in support of their demands for implementing 1932-Khatiyan based domicile policy.
The JMM legislator assured them that he would request the Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren in assembly on Monday to meet a delegation of JBSS and hear their grievances.
Hembrom told media persons, “I am an Adivasi (tribal) first and then a legislator. I have been demanding in the assembly that we implement 1932-Khatiyan based domicile policy and have also sought a deadline from the government for implementing it.”
Geetashree Oraon said that the government should clear its stand over 1932-Khatiyan. Over Jharkhand bandh, she said, “The bandh was a complete failure and even non-tribal people have rejected it.”
The Jharkhand government earlier last month withdrew Bhojpuri and Magahi from the list of recognised regional languages of Dhanbad and Bokaro amid widespread protests.
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The Department of Personnel, Administrative Reforms and Rajbhasha withdrew a notification dated December 24, 2021, that allowed these two languages in matric and intermediate levels for appearing in recruitment examinations of district-level posts, conducted by the Jharkhand State Staff Selection Commission.
People in both the districts had been agitating under the banner of the Jharkhandi Bhasa Bachao Sangharsh Samiti, stating that these languages were not widely spoken in the region.
With PTI inputs.
