Surendra Soren
Ranchi
Student leader Devendra Nath Mahato on Monday launched a statewide “Recruitment System Reform Yatra”, pledging to travel across all 24 districts of Jharkhand and raise issues concerning recruitment examinations, employment and the future of students.
The campaign began at Lukaiya Tand in Nemra Ramgarh district, the native village of former Chief Minister Shibu Soren. Mahato, accompanied by a large number of students, paid his respects at Soren’s life-size statue before planting a sal tree on the premises. Despite heavy rain, students remained present during the launch.
Speaking to reporters, Mahato said the journey was being started from the land of Dishom Guru Shibu Soren while paying tribute to Jharkhand’s martyrs, including Nirmal Mahato, Sheikh Bhikhari, Binod Mahato, Chand and Bhairav, and Phulo-Jhano.
“This is not merely a journey. It is a journey for the reconstruction of Jharkhand,” Mahato said.
The yatra will pass through Ramgarh, Hazaribagh, Chatra, Koderma and Giridih, before moving through the Santhal Pargana region, including Deoghar, Dumka, Godda and Sahibganj, and subsequently cover the remaining districts. A grand public meeting is proposed in Ranchi to mark its conclusion. Mahato himself drove the mini-bus from the launch venue.
Student leader Puja Mahato, who was part of the campaign, said students had initially welcomed the movement at Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium but were disappointed by subsequent developments.
“We have come to seek blessings from Shibu Soren and begin the journey so that the future of students is not played with,” she said.
Meanwhile, tension prevailed in Nemra earlier in the day as villagers put up a blockade on roads leading into the village after learning that Mahato planned to visit the area as part of his campaign. Several villagers, carrying traditional weapons, gathered at the village boundary.
According to villagers, they feared that Mahato and his supporters might burn an effigy of Chief Minister Hemant Soren, who is also regarded as the village Majhi Hadam (traditional village head).
Villager Ramdhun Soren said: “We came to know that Devendra Nath Mahato was coming to Nemra, so we blocked the road. We will not allow an effigy-burning programme in the village.”
Another villager, Ramlal Tudu, said the village follows its traditional system of governance. “Hemant Soren is our village head and Majhi Hadam. No outsider will be allowed to enter the village without his permission. Devendra Nath Mahato did not seek permission from our Majhi Hadam,” Tudu said.
The villagers maintained that their objection was specifically to the proposed effigy-burning programme and not to the student leader’s broader campaign.
