Lok Sabha polls: Denied ST tag, Kols of Chitrakoot say no to vote

MANIKPUR (CHITRAKOOT): Kols - the successors of India’s tribal freedom fighter Birsa Munda – have announced to boycott the Lok Sabha 2019. Stating that the Kols of UP were worst among Kols in rest of India, they are demanding inclusion of their community in the list of scheduled tribes. At present, they are a part of Scheduled Castes of UP.

“While in rest of India, Kols are ST, we in UP are SC. The disadvantage limits our chance for a better life though provisions of reservation,” said Kamlesh Kol, who led the group in Chitrakoot’s Uncha Dih – a kol village barely eight kilometres from the neighbouring Madhya Pradesh .

Citing the example of one Sudhir – one of the few graduates in the community – Kamlesh said: “He cleared both written and physical levels of UP Police recruitment exam. He could not be selected as he was in the far end of the final merit list. Had he been an ST candidate, his selection was certain.”

Stating that inclusion in the ST list was the only way to change their fate and quality of life, Ram Pal Kol said: “we are not asking for anything undue. About 10 kms into Madhya Pradesh, Kols are STs and they have better access to educational facilities and jobs. We can also have all that but our demand has not been represented by our public representatives.”

Another elderly Kol, Gajendra said: “Though we are living in independent India, the life of many kols is similar to what it was before 1947 – most of us have no agricultural land, limited right over forest which has been our home since the time of Lord Ram. So this time, we will not vote. May be this works in our favour."

Anthropologists point out that most Kols consider themselves as descents of Shabari, who fed berries to Lord Ram during his exile. As the legend suggests, the Kols have a close relationship with the forest.

This bond was disrupted in the 19th century by the British East India Company, which indulged in deforestation and introduced zamindari to extract revenue from their forests lands. The Kols protested violently, in what is known as the Kol Rebellion (1831-32). UP is home to over five lakh kols living in around 10 districts.

“Their current problem lies in the implementation of Forests Rights Act under which forest dwelling communities who are not Scheduled Tribes have to furnish proof of their presence in the forest for 75 years. Those recognized as tribal are free from this burden of proof of residence which is tough as many of them have led a nomadic life for decades,” said Gopal Ji, founder of Akhil Bhartiya Samaj Sewa Sanstha – a voluntary organisation working to promote education, health and skill development in tribals.