Pathalgadi Movement

WHY IN NEWS?

Seven persons were taken hostage and later killed, allegedly by armed supporters of the Pathalgadi self-rule movement, in a village in Jharkhand.

ABOUT PATHALGADI MOVEMENT

• ‘Pathalgadi’ literally means carving a stone — it is an ancient tradition in the tribal communities of Jharkhand. Adivasis usually erected engraved stones to mark the birth or death of a person.
• The Pathalgadi movement draws on this tradition of honouring the community’s ancestors.
• The tribals say Pathalgadi are basically a way to demarcate their territories and tell outsiders (government officials) that the law of the land does not apply there.
• This was first used to create political awareness when the Panchayat (Extension of Scheduled Area) Act or PESA came into force in 1996.
• The leaders of the movement decided to carve the key provisions of the PESA as messages on huge stones in order to enlighten Adivasi people about this law, which empowered a village as an administrative unit.

Revival

• The Pathalgadi movement was revived to protest tribal land rights in May 2016, when the government in Jharkhand introduced amendments to the Chotanagpur Tenancy Act (CNT) 1908 and the Santhal Pargana Tenancy (SPT) Act 1949.
• The two Acts prohibited transfer of tribal land to non-tribals as well as commercial use of tribal land.
• Ordinances introduced by the BJP sought to change that. According to the new amendments, governments could procure land from tribals for commercial use, without the permission of the gram sabha.

Prelims Question

Q. Pathalgadi Movement, which has been revived recently, belongs to which of the following states?
a. Jharkhand
b. Madhya Pradesh
c. Chattisgarh
d. West Bengal

Answer to the Prelims Question