For the people staying here Jharkhand means nothing

GARI, AUGUST 4: Ten o'clock on Thursday afternoon is no different from any other day in this village whose only claim to fame is that it f...

GARI, AUGUST 4: Ten o8217;clock on Thursday afternoon is no different from any other day in this village whose only claim to fame is that it falls in the district of Ranchi, the proposed capital of Jharkhand state. The Hindi film songs being played on the transistor of Budhwa Munda get echoed in his three-room hut shared by his ox and two goats.

The cattle graze in the fields outside, and in the hut, Budhwa sits in front of the stove, watching the flames lick the pot in which rice is being cooked.

With the Lok Sabha passing the Bihar Reorganisation Bill 2000, seeking creation of a separate Jharkhand state, on Thursday, it is a dream come true for many. But for Budhwa and his wife Shanichari, it means nothing.

quot;Ka bolt hi,quot; asks Shanichari when asked if she is happy over the proposed Jharkhand state. On hearing his wife speak to a stranger, Budhwa looks perplexed. quot;Ka kahi le what did you say?quot; he asks this reporter. When the question is repeated, he says: quot;What she will know about Jharkhand? I know Jharkhand is coming.quot;

Budhwa doesn8217;t understand Jharkhand8217;s significance as a proposed state or as India8217;s 28th state. He and Shanichari do not even know their dates of birth or age. They also do not know that if Jharkhand is created, it will have its own chief minister, ministers, officers and the police. For that matter, they do not know who is the Prime Minister of the country or the Governor of Bihar.

The two cannot even comprehend these words though they are sane and healthy, which makes them eligible to enter the electoral rolls of the Kanke block office, five km from Gari village.

Others in the village, consisting of 250 men, women and children, are no different. Most of them have had little education, and for more than six months in a year, these poor people survive on forest products. None of the tribals The Indian Express spoke to said he or she knew Jharkhand was a near reality now.

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quot;Even if Jharkhand Raj is established, I will not become its Raja king,quot; quips Mangra Munda, Budhwa8217;s neighbour. quot;Only Laloo Yadav will be its king,quot; he says as his nine-year-old son Somra Munda plays flute while driving a herd of cattle into the nearby forest. There is no sign of development around the village where there is neither electricity nor roads. A four-km pathway that connects it with Kanke criss-crosses paddy fields, streams and forests.

The nearest school is at Pithoria, four km away. Not a single child has been enrolled in the school. quot;If Somra goes to school, who will take the cattle for grazing?,quot; asks Budhwa, echoing the sentiments of his neighbours. For him, employment is the main problem. quot;We cut wood in the forest and sell it in the Kanke bazaar to earn our living six months a year,quot; says a tribal as his wife enters the hut carrying a bundle of firewood over her head.

Says an old tribal villager, quot;Every year, Jharkhand Raj is promised, but do you see any change in our condition?quot; Even the postman, a 30-year-old matriculate from Pithoria post office, is silent on Jharkhand. Perhaps his status as the only literate man in the village makes him say: quot;We will see what happens.quot; Asked if he thought the creation of Jharkhand would bring the government closer to the people, he asks: quot;So what?quot;

The tribals know nothing of the proposed territory of Jharkhand? quot;We have not seen Ranchi. Will Jharkhand have a separate high court?8230;we settle our disputes in the village panchayat,quot; they say.