Tribal Politics in Jharkhand

Over the past few years, the agricultural distress has resulted in agitations, protest marches and, above all, suicides, widely reported from different parts of India. The loss of livelihoods following demonetisation and the inability to create new employment led to a record increase in the unemployment rate. The imposition of the goods and services tax caused a lot of problems and hardships to the manufacturing and trading classes, especially in the small and medium enterprises. Besides, there was a general unease among the religious minorities due to a climate of hate, resulting in a number of untoward incidents.

There was restlessness among the Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) communities due to the regime’s attitude towards them, as was evident in its position on the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 and the introduction of changes in the roster system for implementation of the reservation policy in higher educational institutions. Besides, there was caste-based violence against Dalits at regular intervals. As for the regime's attitude towards tribals, it was evident in what it did over the process of hearings on the case filed by a non-governmental organisation challenging the legality of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006. The government’s negligence on the matter resulted in the Supreme Court’s order for eviction of more than a million STs and other forest dwellers’ families due to rejection of their claims. The outcry on the matter resulted in damage control by filing a review petition.