Ranchi, Sept. 8: Taking a cue from the aggressive Kudmi-Mahtos, other marginal groups of ethnic origin have also joined the clamour for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status in Jharkhand.

While the Rajputs and the Brahmins are demanding reservation in Rajasthan, the dominant caste group in Jharkhand — Kudmi-Mahtos — is gunning for Scheduled Tribe status. Following in its footsteps are smaller groups like the Telis and the Ahir-Yadavs.

The Kudmi-Mahtos, the politically and socially-dominant section in Jharkhand, were the first to demand ST status. The Telis followed suit under the banner of Chhotanagpuria Teli Utthan Teli Samaj, led by leaders like Ashok Kumar Bhagat and Baliram Sahu. The organisation staged a dharna at the Assembly gate today to press their demand, so that clan members could safeguard their political rights.

The Jharkhand Pal Sangh has also demanded inclusion of pals, herdsmen, on the Scheduled Tribe list at a meeting held in Dhurwa recently. They declared they would observe Charwaha Day on December 24. Around the same time, the Ahir-Yadavs also held a meeting at Dhurwa under the leadership of Asha Devi demanding ST status.

However, the Kudmi-Mahtos are leading the identity campaign. Community members said they were on the ST list in 1913 and the list has never been revoked. The British dropped them from the list in 1931 following a request by Kudmi-Mahto leaders. Leaders now feel it was a wrong move as the decision was influenced by Kudmis from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, who donned the “sacred thread (janew)” to be on par with the upper castes. Kudmi-Mahto leaders, cutting across party lines, have joined hands to fight for tribal status. They said if the government did not endorse their demand, it would stand to lose as numerically, the Kudmi-Mahtos have a say in 31 Assembly segments. They have six legislators in the Assembly. “What do they want — all the Assembly seats?” queried a social scientist from the Jharkhand Tribal Research Institute.

Even today, the joint action committee is led by BJP leader and former MP Shailendra Mahto and includes veteran politicians like former Congress MLA Keshav Mahto Kamlesh and ex-Samata Party MP Raj Kishore Mahto. They contended that they were also totemic and their rites and rituals were similar to that of the tribals. If they are granted ST status, then Jharkhand would become a tribal state and it would expedite development.

According to them, they lost out because their land was not protected by any tenancy law unlike the tribals. They have also rejected the report prepared by the Tribal Research Institute, calling it unscientific.