The Cabinet note on the draft Bill approved by the Hemant Soren ministry on Wednesday night, keeping 1932 as the cut-off year to determine domicile status, clearly puts the onus regarding the fate of the decision on the Central government. The note states that the Bill will be operational only after the Centre clears an amendment to include it in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution. “.saath hi yeh prastaav hai ki uss praavdhaan ko Bharat ki Samvidhan ki Naumwi Anoosoochi mein shaamil karne hetu, Bharat sarkar se anurodh kiya jaaye. Yeh Adhiniyam Samvidhan ki Naumwi Anoosoochi mein sammalit hone ke upraant prabhavi maana jayega (… in addition, there is a proposal to request the Central government to include the Bill in the Ninth Schedule. This Act will come into force after its inclusion in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution),” it says. The Ninth Schedule contains a list of Central and state laws which cannot be challenged in courts, though the courts have held some times that these can be reviewed if they violate fundamental rights or the basic structure of the Constitution. Facing the threat of disqualification over a mining lease, Hemant Soren's move to approve 1932 as the cut-off date on the contentious issue of domicile is seen as a bid to put the shoe on the BJP's foot. The last time a domicile policy was attempted was under BJP governments, which burnt their hands in the protests that followed. “It is a win-win situation for Soren. The 1932 land records-based domicile will go in his favour, as it will be backed by the tribal population and moolvasis (the original natives) who migrated up to 1932 and form more than 30% of the population. Even if the Centre moves to amend the Constitution for inclusion of the Act in the Ninth Schedule, the Hemant Soren government will take the credit. In case of rejection, Soren can blame them,” a top Soren aide said. The Cabinet note says that 1932 was fixed as the date, as the migration of people from other states to Jharkhand (erstwhile Bihar) had resulted in “negatively” impacting the “original inhabitants/ moolwasi / aboriginals”. “This fact can be verified as the percentage of population of the aboriginals / STs since the Census of 1941 in Jharkhand has seen a steady decline. Various reasons may be attributed to it, but it cannot be denied that if any ‘precaution’ is not taken for the development of moolwaasis (and Adivasis), then in future too there will be a hindrance / barrier in their development,” the note says. Scheduled Tribes are estimated to number 26% of the population in Jharkhand. Thirteen of its 24 districts are 5th Schedule Areas which may have special or alternative governance mechanisms.
