RAJ KUMAR
Ranchi, Sept.20: Since the Hemant Soren cabinet has announced Khatiyan (land records) of 1932 as basis to identify a local, renowned lawyer of civil matters in Jharkhand, Pandey Rabindra Nath Rai popularly known as Mani Babu is worried thinking from where the ‘Shigufa’ of ‘1932 Khatiyan’ has come.
Shigufa is a Persian word which means to say something strange or interesting that is the origin of the quarrel.
In an exclusive interview with Lagatar24.com, septuagenarian Mani Babu, who is known for his command over the land related laws concerning Jharkhand, said: “To the best of my knowledge no Khatiyan was made in 1932 across the present Jharkhand region.”
“”As far as I know, a survey was conducted in Santhal Pargana between 1889 and 1902.” In Ranchi, one survey was conducted from 1902 to 1908, followed by a revision survey from 1927 to 1935. A survey was conducted in Palamu between 1913 and 1920, while the most recent survey in Saraikela Kharsawan and Singhbhum was conducted between 1925 and 1928. Surveys were conducted in Singhbhum and some of its surrounding areas between 1913 and 1918. The survey in Hazaribagh was conducted between 1908 and 1915, while surveys in Dalbhum and Singhbhum were conducted between 1906 and 1911.As a result, I see no reason to use 1932 as a cut off mark to determine a local. I’m perplexed as to where Shigufa of 1932 Khatiyan came from,” Mani Babu added laughing.
Mani Babu was worried about the way Khatiyan is being used as a base to identify locals and politics revolving around in Jharkhand.
“I’m not sure how Khatiyan became a base for identifying locals. Khatiyan preparation is a routine exercise. The government prepares a Khatiyan every 30 years, according to the Survey Settlement Manual. The survey begins after 30 years and is expected to be completed within the next seven years. This survey provides landowners with an up-to-date record of their property. How is it that this process can be used to identify locals? According to my knowledge, locals are chosen based on cultural and linguistic knowledge, as well as social connections,” Manu Babu said.
Mani Babu said it requires proper studies by experts before defining locals as apart from seeing its constitutional validity its effect on common people is also required to be assessed.
“People migrated to the Jharkhand region from all over the country over the last century for a variety of reasons. Some of the most important reasons remained railway expansion, industrialization, and mining activities. Prior to this, migration occurred after the auctioning of Zamindari began in 1793 during British rule, with Zamindars from UP, Ara, and Gaya coming to participate. The majority of the Gujaratis who have arrived have come to supply slippers for the construction of railway lines. They were the owners of a saw machine that they used to make slippers after collecting wood from the forests of Jharkhand. Thus, it is easy to see how difficult it is to distinguish between locals and outsiders based on land survey records,” Mani Babu said.
Apart from that, the expert of civil law said, for identifying the process of migration one needs to study the influence of other states in different parts of the state before ascertaining who the locals are.
“If you concentrate on the Santhal Pargana region of Jharkhand, you will notice the influence of four different languages. While the languages of Dumka have influenced the languages of Bhagalpur, the languages of Deoghar and Madhupur have influenced the languages of Munger. West Bengal has an influence in Mihijam, while languages spoken in Khagaria have an influence in Godda and Sahibganj. In the Chotanagpur region, Gumla is influenced by Chhattisgarh, whereas Bano is influenced by Odisha. Bengal influences Silli, while the Magadh region influences Giridih and Koderma. Mirzapur has influenced Palamau and Garhwa. In terms of language, only Santhali, Mundari, and Kurukh are complete languages. Jharkhand’s people are also classified as Adivasi and Sadan. Sada is Mundari for horse. Sadans are those who arrived later in the region and knew how to ride horses,” Mani Babu said.
Mani Babu explained how difficult it is to determine who are locals before stating that migration and repatriation is a continuous process. “Even Oraons in Jharkhand have migrated from Rohtas, and Mundas from the south.” Previously, Asur and Bhuia ruled the region; Mundas succeeded them, and Oraons succeeded Mundas. Many tribes migrated to Assam from the Jharkhand region for tea cultivation and became locals,” Mani Babu explained.
When asked what the cut-off date should be to define locals if necessary, ManiBabu said. “January 26, 1950, when India’s Constitution came into effect.” When asked why, he explained, “The Constitution provides for Scheduled areas with a purpose of protecting the identity and culture of some communities and groups.”
When asked how far the local policy will benefit SCs and STs, the veteran lawyer replied, “SCs and STs will have no special benefit from it because they already have protection under Article 342 of the Indian Constitution.” When asked how far he sees the policy’s influence for the betterment of the state, he said, “The entire exercise for class III and IV government jobs, which has a share of only 2% of available employment opportunities.”
