Two years ago, at a public face-off with then tribal welfare minister Ramesh Singh Munda, someone from the audience quizzed the politician on the exact number of Birhor tribesmen living in the state.

The minister, as in-charge of tribal affairs, fumbled and suggested that the number might be around 1,000 given that the population of Birhors was on a downward trend in Jharkhand.

Munda was completely off the mark as the then Birhor population stood at around 4,000 according to official census figures.

This is to stress that after seven years of Jharkhand, of the 30 tribes in the state, virtually no trace remains of 25.

The five major tribes — Mundas, Hos, Kharias, Santhals and the Oraons — have over the past two centuries settled down and taken to farming. The record of land survey rights undertaken by the British rulers in 1908 and again in 1932 has duly recorded land holdings of these five major tribes.

However, no trace remains of the 25 “minor tribes” such as the Asurs, Pahariyas and Birhors who till date continue to lead a nomadic life.

Since these minor tribesmen have never settled down, depending more on the forests for sustenance, no official records exist.

These nomadic tribesmen, who do not care for state jobs either, have never been known to apply for the Scheduled Tribes certificates.

Hence, even official records fail to present any picture of 25 out of the 30 tribes who have inhabited Jharkhand since ages. A couple of colonies were created by the state government for the Birhors, though as on date, barely anyone lives there.

No one cares what has happened to the vanishing Birhors.

The picture is quite different in case of the major tribes of Mundas, Hos, Kharias, Santhals and the Oraons who have secured all state benefits for themselves as guaranteed by the country’s constitution for the Scheduled Tribes.

To make matters worse, after seven years, a new class among the tribes has evolved which has become very close to the powers-that-be.

This new tribal class has become quite moneyed, thanks to their proximity to state power.

In this backdrop, after seven years since Jharkhand was carved out from Bihar, the alienation of the tribes is now complete.