A Postcard From Jharkhand

Raksha Kumar A view of the Main Road, an important arterial road, in Ranchi, Jharkhand.

RANCHI, Jharkhandâ€" In most small towns across India, men huddle around roadside tea stalls and discuss everything from international politics to whose daughter eloped with whom. Such informal chat sessions are useful indicators of the pulse of the town.

Early on a damp, rainy morning in late August, I sauntered toward a chai shop on Purulia Road in Ranchi, the capital of Jharkhand state. That day’s edition of Prabhat Khabar tucked under my arm, an umbrella in hand, I took the four men by surprise as I approached.

I was to learn later that had I been in a pair of jeans, I would not have surprised them as much. “Western-looking girls” were supposed to be independent; they could walk into a tea shop, which are the traditional bastions of men. But “Indian-looking women” dressed in salwar kameez generally don’t do that.

After they grew used to my presence, I asked them about the state’s new chief minister, Hemant Soren. Some were hopeful about his term, which began about a month ago. But most had already written him off.

“He can only be good at corruption, like his predecessors,” a man with a gray stubble shouted. Apparently, I had unleashed suppressed passions among the early morning tea drinkers.

A few hours of discussing illegal mining, Maoist rebels, inept police, depressing politics, child trafficking and religion, I had a fair catalogue of the bitter concerns of present-day Jharkhand.

Ahmad Masood/Reuters A miner working inside a coal mine in Dhanbad district of Jharkhand, on Sept. 17, 2012.

Jharkhand owns 40 percent of India’s mines and mineral reserves, according to Prabhat Khabar’s Jharkhand Development Report 2012. That should have made Ranchi the capital of one of the most moneyed and progressive states, but Jharkhand ranks low on almost all the economic and human development indicators. A deeper understanding of Ranchi could hold the answers to Jharkhand’s cheerless state of affairs.

Located on a plateau with a thick forest cover surrounding it, the most conspicuous thing about Ranchi is its enjoyable weather. Such a pleasing climate brought the British to Chotanagpur Plateau, which houses Ranchi and its surrounding areas, with an idea of establishing medical refuges. They established a reputed center of psychiatry and another institute of tuberculosis, bringing in first signs of modernity to a primarily tribal state.

With increasing employment opportunities, Sindhi businessmen, Christian missionaries and north Bihari and Bengali settlers arrived. “And over a period of time, they took over the city,” said Sanjay Basu Mallick, a human rights activist based in Ranchi. “Today, there are mostly outsiders in Ranchi, very few who can claim to be indigenous to this land.”

The sentiment that the original tribal inhabitants are being robbed of their resources runs strong within various sections of society. “Large portions of the population feel cheated off their resources and left out of the current economic system, pushing the state into the unremitting Naxalite problem,” said Mr. Mallick, referring to the Maoist rebels, who often resort to violence.

This question of the outsiders is being hotly debated in the Jharkhand assembly presently. Orissa, West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh â€" the other states with a significant tribal population â€" have a domicile policy, while Jharkhand doesn’t. Under such a policy, those classified as natives to the land would be eligible for quotas at universities and in government jobs.

While at the tea stall, I meekly threw a contentious question to the men: Who are local Jharkhandis? The men, all dressed in faded pants or dhotis, with just a thin towel to cover their bare torsos, began speaking all at once.

“Who are the Jharkhandis?” “Tribals!” “Sarnas are the original inhabitants!” “Even Christian adivasis are natives.” “Biharis are not!” “Some Bengalis might be.” “Those living for more than 70 years.” “Those living since 1932.”

The debate about who should be the actual beneficiaries of the forest produce and minerals extracts occurs not just at tea stalls, but at elite colleges like St. Xavier’s and I.I.M. Ranchi.

“The problem of resource sharing has always been there,” said Professor M.J. Xavier, director of I.I.M. Ranchi. “In short, these are the debates: land for outsiders versus land for locals. Land for industries versus land for agriculture. Water for industries versus water for drinking. And of course, benefits of mining for the large companies versus benefits for the tribals.”

Palpable inequality is severe when one walks into the Ashok Nagar locality of Ranchi. Behind high walls and gates, the massive plots with gigantic houses stand proud. This gated community has a multispeciality hospital, a superior school and markets that sell expensive goods. Most residents are former bureaucrats, advocates, doctors or politicians.

“When you see Ashok Nagar, you know where the wealth of the state has gone,” said Mr. Mallick, the activist.

Salauddin, an auto-rickshaw driver who goes by only one name, said that only those who have something to lose would want to raise security apparatus like gates. “We have nothing worth losing, so we do not live within communities such as Ashok Nagar,” he said.

However, ironically, the perception of the threat posed by Maoist rebels in cities like Ranchi, Jamshedpur and Bokaro â€" cities with considerable wealth that are surrounded by Maoist rebel strongholds â€" is nonexistent. “That is because of a politician-Naxal nexus,” said Professor Xavier. “The politicians want these islands of prosperity for themselves and they join hands with the Naxals to keep these safe.”

Jharkhand was formed in 2000, after a six-decade struggle for a separate state. “The state was carved out of Bihar with a lot of hope,” said Professor Xavier. “Though the social indices were very bad, people thought that Jharkhand’s rich mineral reserve would bring in money to the state and human development would be taken care of.”

However, after 13 years, Mr. Mallick, who was a part of the separate state movement, said that Jharkhand is his dream turned sour. “Poverty, inequality and lawlessness are the order of the day today,” he said.

A fairly large lake in the middle of Ranchi is emblematic of Ranchi’s problems. What was once the main water source to maintain the city’s water table is today being encroached upon from the corners. “If the encroachment continues this way, then the lake will cease to exist in the coming future,” said Ballu, a fisherman in the lake who goes by one name. “Sometimes private players acquire land, sometimes the government does. Ultimately, we have no claim on our own lands.”

Raksha Kumar Ballu, who goes by one name, fishing in the polluted Badka Talaab lake in Ranchi, Jharkhand, on Aug. 31.

Many times, land in Jharkhand is sold under duress or illegally. The Chotanagpur Tenancy Act of 1908 forbids the transfer of tribal land to nontribals, but Gladson Dungdung, a human rights activist, said that increasing modernization is forcing tribals to sell their land to survive.

This problem is particularly stark in cities like Ranchi, where real estate prices have skyrocketed in the past few years. One tribal, who asked not to be identified, said that one day a bunch of burly men approached him, carrying concealed guns. The tribal owned prime property on Kanke Road in Ranchi. “Clear out this property by the weekend, and make sure you sign the papers before you leave,” was all that he was told.

The tribal suspected that the men were acting on behalf of an influential nontribal real estate developer. The papers were clearly forged, but he was left with no choice but to sign. Today, he lives in a crowded locality in the old town area of Ranchi.

Those areas like Lalpur Chowk battle problems of overcrowding, inefficient sanitary systems, unmanaged garbage and life-pausing traffic jams. In a Cafe Coffee Day, a group of students from Xavier’s Institute of Social Sciences chattered loudly about such annoyances.

“There was an eight-hour power cut yesterday!” exclaimed a young student. The others nodded in dismay. “There a power cut almost every day!” another screeched in anger.

“Yes,” said a third student. “Our state has so much coal, why should we produce coal to serve the interests of neighboring states while we deprive our people of electricity?”

It is a sore point among residents of Jharkhand. “We give away the coal we produce; there is little done in the area of electricity production and generation,” said Professor Xavier.

Boarding a crammed shared auto-rickshaw from the Main Road, Ranchi’s version of Fifth Avenue in New York, I headed toward the city’s southeastern corner. The vehicle lurched from side to side as it went over potholes. Any passenger can call out to the driver to stop at any point, and the vehicle drops off and picks up people on its way. The lack of any decent public transport has given rise to these private forms of transport.

“Name any problem in this state, and I will tell you how the politicians are responsible for it,” said Mr. Mallick.

The state has seen nine chief ministers in its 13 years of existence. “No clear leadership emerged after the formation of the state,” said Professor Xavier. “The infighting among tribes was soaring and no consensus was formed.”

Two of the chief ministers, Madhu Koda and Shibu Soren, are on the radar of the Central Bureau of Investigation for alleged multimillion dollar scams. This has breached the common man’s trust in politics.

“I think the journalists and politicians in Delhi would follow Jharkhandi politics more than the common man here,” said Mr. Mallick. “He is estranged from the policy makers almost permanently.”

The common man in Jharkhand has learned to endure, said Savitri Devi, who uses a shared auto-rickshaw regularly. “We are used to living like this,” she said. “Adjustment is our second name, here in Jharkhand. If we get some facilities, we will enjoy them. In the end, life doesn’t stop.”

Raksha Kumar is a freelance journalist.