Amit I empathise with you. The written history of my family dates back to at least 1790 to Palamau, Jharkhand and no power on earth can declare me a non native.
However, the point that is being raised by Manoj below is an important one which has nothing to do with you or me being from Jharkhand. It is a fact that Adivasis who were taken to the north east during the British time to work in tea gardens have suffered in that place. My blood boils when I see third generation graduates from say Meena community getting ST status and hogging the benefits of reservations while poorest of the poor adivasis in Assam are denied the same. This is gross injustice and has to be fought. No civilised person can choose to ignore this injustice. For all their mild manner behaviour, people of Assam who live there are impervious who dont allow others to assimilate even after living there for generations (in sharp contrast to those Assamese who have migrated outside). This has to end. Kudos to Manoj for raising this very very important point. People like Pranab Mukherjee have no business lecturing Malaysia on their treatment of ethnic Indians while ignoring the plight of the people from Jharkhand who migrated to Assam generations ago. --- In [email protected], Amit Prakash Gupta <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Hi all my Jharkhandi friends, > > Blaming govt for everything is the easiest way out.Finding the real culprit in ourself is the most difficult. > > I have been reading these posts about all adivasis from last few months, it seems from your messages, adivasis are in deep trouble and neglected a lot. From you all, whoever resides @ranchi, Karma chowk and adivasi hotel is a big mess, after 8-9'O clock students who are getting full scholarships, are on roads extorting money from all vehicles on road for liquor. Is this what you call empowerment? This is nuisance value, with power comes bigger responsibilities. I am not justifying anything but I am telling you its time to work on ground not to talk endlessly. > > Nothing can be achieved by granting any caste status, but we need dedicated people to work for wellbeing of adivasis. > > I have observed people who are adivasis staying overseas or leading a gud life somewhere writing long speeches on adivasis. > > According to me, if you have never done something for any adivasi to progress or wellbeing of adivas....you have got no right to say anything. > > And last but not the least, why to divide our state into Adivasi and Non-adivasi, my family is having a background in Jharkhand, 300 years back too. Are we not gud enough to be considered Jharkhandis? > > All big leaders Sorens, Marandis, Mundas belongs to adivasis, take them to task....make them work...atleast for adivasis > > I joined this forum because i wanted to interact with like minded people, who can contribute to progress of Jharkhand. Please let us do something more constructive. All concerned mens and womens about adivasis, form an umbrela organization and take some concrete actions, instead of writing long mails. > > Thanks to this forum , i have met some like minded persons...and we have decided to establish a KPO sooner or later in Ranchi. That will give employment to more than 250 jharkhandis. > > I have great adivasi frends and we work for jharkhand not for a particular community. > > Thanks & Kind regards > > Amit P Gupta > > Jharkhand Forum <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > *Today, if Adivasis are taking up arms, it is the government that is > responsible for it. > * > If media reports about the involvement of an Adivasi outfit in the December > 13 bomb blast of Rajdhani Express is true, it spells bad news for the state > as well as the Adivasis of Assam and other places where Jharkhandi tribes > exist. It will add another undesirable chapter to militancy in this country. > > Today, if Adivasis have resorted to taking up arms it is because they have > been betrayed by successive governments of Assam. Ever since the first batch > of adivasis was brought to Assam during the British rule the community has > been an exploited and neglected lot. > > One can understand the pre-independence exploitation and neglect by the > colonial masters, but how can one excuse the continual exploitation and > neglect of a community that has contributed so much for the economic > prosperity of Assam, after independence. Today, the adivasis form the lowest > strata of Assamese society. > > Ethnic affinity knows no boundaries and that has been amply demonstrated > umpteen number of times in the past. The very recent one being the sharp > reaction of Tamils to the tough handling of Tamil demonstrators in Malaysia > by the local authorities. In a country like India where political boundaries > were drawn arbitrarily rendering people of one ethnicity divided between > several states, the affinity is even stronger. Therefore, this Adivasi > miltant outfit's arrival, which was much publicized by the local media, can > potentially distort peace in all the states where Adivasis exist. > > Already, this nation has bled enough. Do we need another militant outfit to > inflict wounds at this great country of ancient people and cultures? > > It is imperative for the governments in Assam and the Centre to recognize > the danger and concede the justified demand of Adivasis. > > While it is true that the term Adivasi encapsulates within itself a > conglomeration of Jharkhandi tribes, the fact is that the Adivasi community > of Jharkhandi descent is essentially one ethnic block and shares a common > dialect 'Sadri' though there may be minor variations in their culture. It > should also be noted that though the state of Jharkhand was created > recently, the Jharkhand movement itself dates back to the pre- independence > era. > > Some of them who are opposing the grant of ST status for Adivasis on the > premise that it "would adversely affect the status of the state's indigenous > people and would contribute towards further deterioration of their > socio-political and economic condition", seem to go by the premise that the > "well being of a community is only possible by domination of another". Such > flawed logic is untenable. Also, perhaps, the indiginity clause itself needs > some reconsideration. > > On the one hand these opponents talk about integration of the Adivasis with > the Assamese society while on the other they want to deny them their basic > citizenship rights. Ironically, they refer to the Adivasis, quite > ignominiously, as Tea Tribes but they do not want the government to grant > them Scheduled Tribe status. > > If the governments decide not to grant ST status with full citizenship > rights to the Adivasis of Assam, it would be akin to propagating apartheid > rule, something that has almost vanished from the face of this earth, but is > so reminiscent of the obnoxious colonial past. It would be an anachronism in > an age when migrant people of Indian origin have grown to the level of heads > of state in several countries. > > Manoj Tirkey > > ************************** > *My sincere apologies if I have hurt anybody's sentiments unintentionally. > Please pass it on to all Jharkhandi groups and other adivasi friends. * > > -- > > Jharkhand Forum > A Global Network of Jharkhand > E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Web: http://forum.jharkhand.org.in >
