Kurmi movement: Indefinite rail blockade at Sini station from September 20

Seraikela: By submitting a memorandum to the station master of Sini railway station, it has been informed that from September 20, the tribal Kurmi community will organize an indefinite rail strike demanding to be made ST. For this, vigorous publicity is being done at the Panchayat level. In the core committee, 50-50 members from about 16 Panchayats are engaged in making the program successful.

The Kurmi community has been struggling for a long time for three main demands — inclusion in the Scheduled Tribe list, recognition of Kudmali language in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution, and a separate tribal religion code. It was explained that Rail Teka is a symbol of peaceful resistance. The Kurmi community has used this as a weapon to make their voices heard by the government.

Now, the movement has been led by youth. Like Nepal’s Gen-Z movement, Kurmi youth are reorienting the struggle through social media, organizing, and argument-based politics. They want to take their demands to the national and international levels by presenting evidence and cultural heritage. It was stated that if the government ignores this public voice, this discontent could become widespread.

Tribal outfits submit memo to Rly officials against Kurmi rail blockade

Ranchi: Since the formation of Jharkhand, the Kudmi/Kurmi community has been demanding inclusion in the ST list. However, TRI’s first research report in 2004 dismissed their claims as baseless. Previously, the Kaka Kalelkar Committee (1955) and the Lokur Committee (1965) had also rejected this demand based on established criteria.

This proposal has been rejected numerous times, from Parliament to the legislative assemblies of Jharkhand, West Bengal, and Odisha. Now, once again, the Kurmi community has announced a rail roko movement on September 20.

Under the banner of the All India Tribal Development Council, a delegation submitted a memorandum to the Ranchi Railway Manager and Deputy Commissioner in protest against the ST list demand.

President Geeta Shree Oraon stated that their rail roko movement had previously occurred in 2005, which halted train operations for five days, causing significant inconvenience to millions of passengers. This time, the disruption in rail services will cause hardship to the general public.

The delegation has demanded that the government take action against the leaders of the movement to ensure that passengers do not face any difficulties. The representatives stated that if the administration does not take action, the tribal community will be forced to strongly oppose this movement.