Tana Bhagat tribals blocked trains in Jharkhand; after 57 hours withdrew rail blockade

 

Tana Bhagat tribals block trains at Jharkhand's Tori station, demand land rights, amendment to ChhotaNagpur Tenancy (CNT) Act. They started the blockade at Tori station on September 2, seeking amendment of the Chotanagpur Tenancy Act – which protects the land rights of the tribals.

The Rajdhani Express was stopped at Daltonganj railway station, while the goods trains were stranded on the Barkakana-Barwadih rail route of the East Central Railway (ECR). 

 

 

57 hours Rail blockade

Until it is withdrawn, Railway services were completely shut in the section for around 57 hours, and the Ranchi-bound Rajdhani Express got stuck at the Daltonganj station on Thursday, following which 930 passengers of the train had to be sent to their destinations in buses, officials said.

 

Reason

The community has been demanding that the provisions of the Chotanagpur Tenancy Act be strengthened through an amendment, and its members be granted a tax waiver on any land they possessed. 

 

What is Chotanagpur Tenancy Act (CNT), 1908?

• The Chotanagpur Tenancy (CNT) Act, enacted in 1908 after the Birsa Movement to govern land issues and prevent land alienation [then regarded as a rakshya kavach (protective shield) for the land of tribals in Chota Nagpur], is supposed to be the Magna Carta for tribals.

• Its operation is effective in North Chotanagpur, South Chotanagpur and Palamau divisions, including areas under various municipalities and notified area committees.

• The blueprint of the act was prepared by a missionary social worker and Catholic priest John B. Hoffman.

 

 

Key Provisions

• It prohibits the transfer of tribal land to non-tribals and protects community ownership.

• Section 46 of the CNT Act restricts transfer of land belonging to Scheduled Tribes/Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes.

• However, a tribal may transfer his land through sale, exchange, gift or will to a fellow Scheduled Tribe member and residents of his own police station area.

• Similarly, Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes can transfer land to members of their own community within the limits of the district in which the land is located with prior permission of the deputy commissioner.

 

Tana Bhagat Movement (1914-1919)

• In the second decade of the 20th century, Tana Bhagat movement started initially in a religious form but later transformed into a political one under the impact of the Indian National Congress.

• It was a tribal uprising of a section of the Tana Bhagats and Oraons under the leadership of Jatra Oraon occurring during the late colonial period in the Chhotanagpur region of Bihar, India.

• Tana Bhagats are followers of Mahatma Gandhi, and believes in Ahimsa (Non- violence).

• The Tana Bhagats opposed the taxes imposed on them by the British and they staged a Satyagraha (civil disobedience movement) even before Gandhi's satyagraha movement.

• They opposed the Zamindars, the Baniyas (moneylenders), the missionaries, the Muslims and the British state.