Primary priority of new Jharkhand government should be to fix dilapidated public education, health systems

Counterview Desk

Government formation should be followed with action on Jharkhandi issues: Statement by Loktantra Bachao Abhiyan*:

***

Loktantra Bachao Abhiyan extends advance congratulations to the INDIA alliance government being formed today under the leadership of Chief Minister Hemant Soren. In this election, the people of Jharkhand have rejected the communal, divisive, and anti-Jharkhand politics of the BJP. This victory is a result of struggle of the Jharkhandis. Now, the INDIA alliance government, formed with a full majority, should begin working on its promises and state’s burning issues of the state, in accordance with Jhakhandi expectations, without hesitation. On the day of government formation, Loktantra Bachao Abhiyan is reminding it of some important promises and issues on which action should begin within six months. The government should start with an initiative to strengthen Jharkhandi unity and secularism against the BJP and RSS's attempts to divide society in the name of religion.

The primary priority of the government should be to fix the dilapidated public education and health systems of the state. For this, all vacant positions in the education and health systems should be filled within six months. A comprehensive campaign should be launched to establish quality education and health services. In the previous term, the Hemant Soren government passed the 1932 Khatiyan-based domicile policy in the assembly and sent it to the Center for inclusion in the 9th Schedule of the Constitution. However, during those five years, the anti-Jharkhand domicile and recruitment policies of the Raghubar Das government remained in effect. As soon as the INDIA government is formed, this policy should be repealed, and the policy based on the 1932 Khatiyan and the last survey settlement (with special provisions for the landless) should be implemented without waiting for its inclusion in the 9th Schedule. One of the key announcements of the INDIA alliance is to simplify the process of issuing caste/residential certificates to landless Dalits and displaced persons and to distribute these certificates within six months. Immediate action is expected on this.

Hemant Soren had given the right slogan in the election campaign that not NRC, but CNT-SPT law and PESA Act will prevail in Jharkhand. The government should notify PESA rules as per the suggestions of the society to strengthen tribal autonomy. A judicial inquiry commission should be constituted against the land grab that took place in violation of the CNT-SPT Act. A time-bound campaign should be launched, as per the electoral promise, to rectify the land scams that occurred in the online land records program, and action should be taken against the culprits.

Additionally, the INDIA coalition had announced that as soon as the government is formed, the Land Acquisition Act (Jharkhand) Amendment 2017 and the Land Bank Policy would be repealed. It is hoped that this will be the first decision after the formation of the government. Furthermore, within three months of the formation of the government, the promise to distribute all pending individual and community forest land claims without any reductions should be fulfilled. A Displacement and Rehabilitation Commission should be established, and the process of providing land to the landless, Dalits, and poor farmers should begin.

According to government data from a year ago, there are approximately 15,000 undertrial prisoners in the state, the majority of whom are Adivasis, Dalits, backward classes, and Muslims. Many of these cases are false. As per the electoral promise made by JMM, undertrial prisoners who have been in jail for a long time should be released. A high-level judicial inquiry commission should be constituted to free Adivasis, indigenous people, and marginalized individuals trapped in false cases.

To eliminate widespread malnutrition in the state, it should immediately be ensured that all children are given an egg daily in Anganwadis and mid-day meals in schools, and the centralized kitchen system for mid-day meals should be abolished. Additionally, the government's priority should also be to eliminate ground-level corruption. For this, the contracting system should be curbed immediately, and an active decentralized grievance redressal system should be established. Appointments should be made in all commissions—such as the Women's Commission, Human Rights Commission, Information Commission, etc.—and they should be made active.

Additionally, there are many public issues in the state that require serious action. Chief Minister Hemant Soren should establish a regular dialogue process with people's organizations and social activists to discuss ground-level issues and needs so that, together, everyone can move towards *Abua Raj* in the next five years.

---

*On behalf of the campaign:

Afzal Anis, Ajay Ekka, Ambika Yadav, Amrita Bodra, Ambita Kisku, Aloka Kujur, Arvind Anjum, Basing Hassa, Bharat Bhushan Choudhary, Bhashan Manmi, Binsay Munda, Charles Murmu, Dinesh Murmu, Elina Horo, Emilia Hansda, Hari Kumar Bhagat, Jean Dreze, Jyoti Kujur, Kumar Chandra Mardy, Kiran, Leena, Lal Mohan Singh Kherwar, Manasingh Munda, Meri Nisha Hansda, Manthan, Munni Devi, Nandita Bhattacharya, Praveer Peter, Paku Tudu, Ramchandra Manjhi, Raja Bharti, Ramesh Jerai, Reshmi Devi, Roz Khakha, Roz Madhu Tirki, Riya Tulika Pingua, Shashi Kumar, Sandeep Pradhan, Siraj Dutta, Sushil Marandi, Sebastian Marandi, Santosh Pahadia, Tom Kawla, Vinod Kumar

Comments

The golden crop: How turmeric is transforming women's lives in tribal India

By Vikas Meshram* When the lush green fields of turmeric sway in the tribal belt of southern Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat, it is not merely a spice crop — it is the golden glow of self-reliance. In villages where even basic spices once had to be bought from the market, the very soil today is yielding a prosperity that has transformed the lives of thousands of families. At the heart of this transformation is the initiative of Vaagdhara, which has linked turmeric with livelihoods, nutrition, and village self-governance — gram swaraj.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Rajiv Shah Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Authoritarian destruction of the public sphere in Ecuador: Trumpism in action?

By Pilar Troya Fernández The situation in Ecuador under Daniel Noboa's government is one of authoritarianism advancing on several fronts simultaneously to consolidate neoliberalism and total submission to the US international agenda. These are not isolated measures, but rather a coordinated strategy that combines job insecurity, the dismantling of the welfare state, unrestricted access to mining, the continuation of oil exploitation without environmental considerations, the centralization of power through the financial suffocation of local governments, and the systematic criminalization of all forms of opposition and popular organization.

Echoes of Vietnam and Chile: The devastating cost of the I-A Axis in Iran

By Ram Puniyani The recent joint military actions by Israel and the United States against Iran have been devastating. Like all wars, this conflict is brutal to its core, leaving a trail of human suffering in its wake. The stated pretext for this aggression—the brutality of the Ayatollah Khamenei regime and its nuclear ambitions—clashes sharply with the reality of the diplomatic landscape. Iran had expressed a willingness to remain at the negotiating table, signaling a readiness to concede points emerging from dialogue.

False claim? What Venezuela is witnessing is not surrender but a tactical retreat

By Manolo De Los Santos The early morning hours of January 3, 2026, marked an inflection point in Venezuela and Latin America’s centuries-long struggle for self-determination and independence. Operation Absolute Resolve, ordered by the Trump administration, constituted the most brutal and direct military assault on a sovereign state in the region in recent memory. In a shocking operation that left hundreds dead, President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores were illegally kidnapped from Venezuelan soil and transported to the United States, where they now face fabricated charges in a New York federal detention facility. In the two months since this act of war, a torrent of speculation has emerged from so-called experts and pundits across the political spectrum. This has followed three main lines: One . The operation’s success indicated treason at the highest levels of the Bolivarian Revolution. Two . Acting President Delcy Rodríguez and the remaining leadership have abandone...

The selective memory of a violent city: Uttam Nagar and the invisible victims of Delhi

By Sunil Kumar* Hundreds of murders take place in Delhi every year, yet only a few incidents become topics of nationwide discussion. The question is: why does this happen? Today, the incident in Uttam Nagar has become the centre of national debate. A 26-year-old man, Tarun Kumar, was killed following a dispute that reportedly began after a balloon hit a small child. In several colonies of Delhi, slogans such as “Jai Shri Ram” and “Vande Mataram” are being raised while demanding the death penalty for Tarun’s killers. As a result, nearly 50,000 residents of Hastsal JJ Colony are now living in what resembles a state of confinement.

The price of silence: Why Modi won’t follow Shastri, appeal for sacrifice

By Arundhati Dhuru, Sandeep Pandey* In 1965, as India grappled with war and a crippling food crisis, Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri faced a United States that used wheat shipments under the PL-480 agreement as a lever to dictate Indian foreign policy. Shastri’s response remains legendary: he appealed to the nation to skip one meal a day. Millions of middle-class households complied, choosing temporary hunger over the sacrifice of national dignity. Today, India faces a modern equivalent in the energy sector, yet the leadership’s response stands in stark contrast to that era of self-reliance.

Love letters in a lifelong war: Babusha Kohli’s resistance in verse

By Ravi Ranjan* “War does not determine who is right—only who is left.” Bertrand Russell’s words echo hauntingly in our times, and few contemporary Hindi poets embody this truth as profoundly as Babusha Kohli. Emerging from Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, Kohli has carved a unique space in literature by weaving together tenderness, protest, and philosophy across poetry, prose, and cinema. Her work is not merely artistic expression—it is resistance, refuge, and a call for peace.

Search This Blog