A tribal protest over 19 demands turned tense outside the Bankura District Magistrate’s office on Tuesday after demonstrators clashed with police barricades and some protesters entered the office compound before the district magistrate accepted their memorandum.
The demonstration was organised by the Bharat Jakat Majhi Pargana Mahal, a tribal social organisation, which had called for action on issues including the reopening of hostels that have shut across Bankura, Purulia and Jhargram over the past decade, an end to the alleged issuance of fake tribal certificates to non-tribal applicants, and the creation of a Santali-medium education board.
According to the report, protesters marched through Bankura town towards the district magistrate’s office. Police put up a barricade near DIG More to stop the procession, leading to pushing and jostling between the police and some demonstrators. The protesters then continued their sit-in outside the barricade.
The situation became more tense when the organisation’s representatives went to submit the memorandum and learnt that the district magistrate was not present in the office. Protesters subsequently crossed the barricade and reached the main gate of the district magistrate’s office. Police closed the iron gate to prevent them from entering, but several police personnel reportedly fell to the ground during the pushing and the gate was later opened, allowing some demonstrators to enter the compound.
A large police contingent arrived at the site and removed the protesters from the office premises. The organisation continued its protest outside the compound for some time. The demonstration was withdrawn after the district magistrate reached the office and received the memorandum.
Babunath Tudu, a leader of the Bharat Jakat Majhi Pargana Mahal who led Tuesday’s protest, said the organisation had come both to submit the memorandum and to discuss the demands with the district’s senior-most administrative officer. He said protesters became agitated after waiting for the district magistrate to arrive.
Tudu said the district magistrate discussed the demands with the protesters after arriving and sought seven days to review them. The organisation then decided to suspend the protest for the time being.
The memorandum contains 19 demands, according to the report. These include measures related to tribal hostels, tribal identity certificates and education in the Santali medium. The district administration’s review of the demands over the next seven days is the immediate next step identified after the protest.
