J’khand: Amid rush for ‘Andolankari’ tag, panel adds party membership in eligibility criteria

A commission appointed by the Hemant Soren government in Jharkhand to identify and extend significant benefits to those who took part in the movement for a separate state has tweaked the criteria for the “agitator” tag, which now includes membership of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), the chief minister’s party, and some other parties.

Jharkhand was carved out of Bihar in 2000.

The commission, called the Jharkhand Andolankari Chinhitikaran Aayog (JACA), has decided to add new criteria to identify a Jharkhand Andolankari (Jharkhand movement agitator) since 74,000 applications are pending before the three-member panel, which was notified on July 15, 2021, a member of the JACA said.

The Soren government has announced a host of benefits for those identified as Andolakari or to their immediate dependents, including monthly pensions, government jobs, reservation in jobs and at least a certificate, depending on their level of contribution in the movement, which peaked in the 1980s and was active till the then Bihar government constituted the Jharkhand Autonomous Council in 1995.

The currently prescribed criteria for applicants to be notified as Andolakari include documentary proof, including details of any registered case, an FIR (first information report), newspaper/media reports.

Now, the commission has decided to add a new criterion of party membership.

“Thousands of applications are now pending before the commission. The criteria fixed is very difficult to meet. Even if their was a police case against any protest, names of all protesters are not included. Same goes for newspaper reports, which appeared over three decades back,” said Bhubaneswar Mahto, member, JACA.

“We have now allowed membership of political fronts which were actively participating in the protest as one of the criteria. Besides mainstream parties like JMM and AJSU, there were other groups like Jharkhand Party, Jharkhand People’s Party and Jharkhand Majdoor & Kisan Sabha. Some protests were held under the common banner of Sarvadaliya Sangharsh Samiti. If an applicant provides proof of membership of any, and meeting records which have their names attested by a gazetted officer, we will accept it,” he said.

The JACA was first constituted in the state in 2012 and chaired by retired justice Vikramaditya, which got several extensions and was functional till February 9, 2020. The commission received a total of 63,289 applications till then, of which 4,328 were approved.

On July 15, 2021, the Soren government instituted the three-member commission chaired by retried Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Durga Oraon. Since then, the commission has received 10, 685 applications, of which only 1,254 have been approved.

Officials said the commission currently has 73,794 applications pending, as none of them have been rejected.

Meanwhile, a group of applicants on Tuesday staged a protest outside the commission’s office in Ranchi, seeking flexibility in the criteria for granting Andolankari status.

“The number of people who actually participated in the protest would run into lakhs. The set criteria are very difficult to fulfil. The Commission has powers to amend the rules. They should allow the notified Andolankaris to submit an affidavit about people who had joined them in the protest. If two persons give affidavit about any applicant, it should be accepted,” said Puskhar Mahto, convenor, Jharkhand Andolankari Sangharsh Morcha.