Jamshedpur: A day after addressing a rally in poll-bound Assam, chief minister Hemant Soren on Monday reiterated that tribals in the northeastern state are being exploited and atrocities against them under the BJP led govt have increased. He said that if the local govt there fails to contain growing violence against tribals, then large army of Adivasis from Jharkhand will march to Assam to aid their fellow brothers and sisters. Soren made the statements after paying tributes to the martyrs of Kol uprising of 1837, in Serangsia in Tonto block of West Singhbhum district.Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma had camped in Jharkhand for months during the 2024 assembly elections here to take on JMM led alliance. NDA however faced a severe rout under his watch.He also claimed that violence against the indigenous people is such that 25 villages were torched and property was plundered by the non-tribal groups in recent months.“I was in Assam the other day. Local indigenous groups of Munda, Ho, Santhal, among others met me to cite on the increasing atrocities against the tribal groups,” Hemant said, adding that he has assured them that if it isn’t checked, then soon tribals in hordes will come to Assam from Jharkhand to protect the lives of community members.Hemant said that his father and tribal icon Shibu Soren had travelled to Assam several times to fight for the cause of local tribes whenever there was violence against them.Referring to the violent incidents in Kokrajhar and West Karbi Anglong districts between December and January, he said that those incidents were reportedly over land ownership, fear of demographic changes among indigenous groups, demands for the eviction of outsiders from the Sixth Schedule areas, etc.He also maintained that indigenous people of Jharkhand settled in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and several other states are categorised as Other Backward Class (OBC) population, which is an infringement of the ‘indigenous identity’ of the scheduled tribe (ST) community.“Adivasis are the original natives of India and they should be treated as STs regardless of the place they settled in,” the CM said. He added, “The state govt is working on several fronts to empower the tribal community, and providing jobs to the educated Adivasi youths is one of them.”“Mukhyamatri Maiya Samman Yojna is dedicated to empowering the eligible women of the state. In West Singhbhum, 2 lakh women beneficiaries are availing Rs 2500 every month under the Maiya Samman scheme,” he said.The CM also laid the foundation stone and inaugurated projects worth Rs 400 crore, distributed assets worth Rs 637 crore among 3.77 lakh beneficiaries and handed job letters to 1,449 youths on the occasion.
