Whose land is it, anyway? Jharkhand’s politics has revolved around this question for nearly fifty years. The answer, one would have thought, was found in the creation of the new state which was meant to be a tribal-majority one. But insensitive state governments have their own ways of confusing — and angering — the people. The call for a bandh in Ranchi shows how callous such governments can be. A notification by the Union home ministry triggered fears among the tribal population that it would lose the legal protection to its land, which had been ensured by the Scheduled Areas Regulation. It later transpired that the Centre had made a “mistake”, but several state governments in Jharkhand did nothing to get it corrected. The organizations which had called the bandh postponed it following an assurance from the chief minister, Mr Madhu Koda, that he would get the Central notification revoked. What may not be so simple a task for Mr Koda is to allay the tribal people’s fears over possible alienation from their land.

For Jharkhand’s politicians, identity politics is only an electoral ploy. They do not seem to be too bothered about the larger dimensions of the so-called tribal question. It cannot be anyone’s case that the non-tribal population in Jharkhand should face any kind of discrimination. But the government should be worried about the signs of a demographic change in the state. The tribal people from Jharkhand have always gone to other states for seasonal work. Yet it should be a matter of concern if their disappearance from the census records suggests a dwindling tribal population in the state. There is another important reason why the government should be careful about preserving the state’s tribal identity. New industrial projects will require the government to acquire large tracts of land; these will also lead to the setting up of new urban centres. Making the tribal people stakeholders in an economic makeover will be a major challenge. But they would care more if they could call it their own land.