Jharkhand: Many tribal families were ‘ostracized’ for celebrating the festival
Jamshedpur: Several tribal families in Dumaria block of Jharkhand’s East Singhbhum district were allegedly punished by ostracism by the village head for not celebrating the festival as per their wishes, officials said.
He said that about a dozen families of Chhota Asthi contacted Commission Deputy Manjunath Bhajantri on Friday and informed him about the matter.
The tribals claimed that they had celebrated the “Sohrai” festival in October last year, following which village head Rupai Hansda issued a decree allegedly barring them from availing the benefits of various government schemes.
One of them told reporters, “We don’t celebrate the festival the way he wanted… After that, we don’t even allow our sons to go to school or to the nearby entertainment courtyard.”
When asked about the incident, Bhajantri told PTI, “He directed the Block Development Officer (BDO) and the local police to call a meeting with the village head, victim’s families and other interested parties to resolve the issue. ” Asunto”
“The order issued was illegal and legal action can be taken against the village head if necessary,” he said.