With the demand of inclusion of Kurmis in the list of Scheduled Tribes, thousands of members of the Kurmi community and leaders cutting across party lines from across Jharkhand gathered at Morhabadi Ground to take part in a unity rally for Kurmis on Sunday.

In the rally organised by the Kurmi Sangharsh Morcha, people despite scorching heat, poured in from several places including, Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Palamu, Garhwa and Gumla among others, demanding of a government which speaks about the benefits of Kurmis.

The rally also witnessed the presence of several leaders of various political parties. lok Sabha MP from Ranchi, Ram Tahal Choudhary arrived at the stage and supported the demand of the Kurmis of being enlisted in the scheduled tribes of Jharkhand. He said, “Kurmis are tribals of Jharkhand and they have lived here generations after generation. They should get their rights.” Also present there was BJP MP Vidhyut Baran Mahto.

Present at the rally was JMM MlA from Dumri, Jaggarnath Mahto. He said, “Being a Kurmi, the fight for ST status is mine. It is the right of our Kurmi brothers who got debarred from it in the late 50s. For the 2019 elections, fighting for the rights of the Kurmis will be one of the election issues of the JMM.”

Former MP from Jamshedpur and the coordinator of the rally, Shailendra Mahto, motivated the agitation with his presence. He said, “It has to be a political conspiracy due to which the Kurmis were removed from ST list. Since the ancient years, all the tribal communities, including Santhals, Oraons, Mundas and Kurmis, used to be under the ST list. Then how come without our knowledge, the Kurmis were removed. Kurmis were and will always be the integral part of the tribal community. Their culture is exactly the same as the tribals. The government should immediately declare Kurmi caste as tribals and include it in the ST list. When the big industries (TATA, Coalfields) entered Jharkhand and set up their factories, it was the Kurmis who lost their land and had to migrate.”

Spokesperson of the Kurmi Sangharsh Morcha, Rajaram Mahto said, “Kurmis are simple and humble people. Many have fears that we want to intrude into someone else’s right but that is not the case. We just want what is ours. We want our identity. like us, our demand is also plain and simple, that is, inclusion of Kurmis in the list of STs.”

Kurmi representatives from different parts of Jharkhand took to the stage to express their determination on getting the ST status in the State. Rajendra Mahto from Tamar threatened the government by saying that if their demands were not paid heed to through peaceful demonstrations then they will not hesitate in turning the demonstrations violent, causing chakka jams and bloodbaths in the State. Nandlal Mahto from Silli said that till the 1950s the Kurmis were in the ST list but then false claims of their prosperity were made to the then incumbent resulting in the removal from the list. “We are determined in getting our rights back and we will go to every extent in order to get it back,” added Mahto.

Being a Sunday, the rally did not interfere hugely with the city life. However, in lieu with the mega rally, 700 additional police forces were deployed by the Ranchi Police. Apart from this, magistrates also were appointed to keep a close watch at the circumstances developing.

According to the police, all the police stations had been informed not to compromise on law and order in any circumstance.