In Hazaribagh district, the Kurmi community started a loud “rail stop” protest at Charahi railway station on Saturday, causing the rail operations to come to a complete standstill from 8 am. Thousands of men, women and young people under the leadership of Mandu MLA Tiwari Mahato sat on the tracks, the station premises were flooded and stopped the movement of all trains. This protest surprised the passengers. Many trains stopped suddenly and passengers remained stranded for hours amid growing disappointment.
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Railway officials have issued a high alert and deployed additional personnel to deal with the crisis, while the local administration has deployed heavy security forces to keep a close watch on the situation. The protesters raised slogans, exposing the alleged neglect being faced by the community for years, without being distracted by the deployment. Their main demands include the inclusion of the Kurmi community in the Scheduled Tribes (ST) list and the eighth schedule of the Constitution to give official recognition to the Kurmali language.
The members of the community stressed that we have endured discrimination for decades; Now, raising your voice is not an alternative, but a need. A member said, “We have completed our education, but what we got? Nothing. We did not get good jobs, and we want to ensure a better future for our children. Scheduled Tribes (ST) benefits through quota do not get the other backward classes (OBCs), so we are demanding that our community be given ST status.”
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Addressing the gathering, Mandu MLA Tiwari Mahato pledged to continue the agitation till the state and central government gave concrete assurances. He announced that this is a peaceful protest, but it would be further intensified if our legitimate demands are ignored. The government will have to take decisive action. The blockade, which is part of a similar wave of a similar widespread movement starting on 20 September by Kurmi organizations in Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha, has created a stir in the region and has presented a major challenge for the authorities. The previous efforts to achieve the status of Scheduled Tribes have been repeatedly rejected on legislative forums, due to which the demand for action is being rejected.