An Appeal from Pathalgadi Activists

pathalgadi movement

“Udburu” village located in the Murhu police station area under Khunti district of Jharkhand was known as hub of the “Pathalgadi” Movement. One of the most prominent leaders of the movement, Yusuf Purti comes from the village so it had automatically become its headquarter, where the movement had established the “Bank of Gram Sabha” and opened the first “Adivasi school” after boycotting the government school. The Movement had also identified a piece of land for building a hospital. However, the State declared the Pathalgadi Movement unconstitutional, anti-government and anti-national, and crushed down it.

The biggest impact of the police action has been on Prabhu Sahaya Purti alias Genda Munda, the village head. After registering four cases along with the sedition charges, the Khunti police arrested him on 6th September 2018 when he was on his way back home from Khunti. The police asked him if he could get the leader of the movement, Yusuf Purti, arrested. On receiving the answer in “No”, he was sent to Khunti Jail, then from there he was transferred to Dhanbad Jail, where he was kept in a special cell made for the notorious criminals. After a long fight in the courts and passing more than two years in jail, finally, he was released on 2 July 2021.

For the release of Prabhu Sahay Purti, the family members have paid Rs. 1,51,000 to the lawyer through his associate (Munshi), which they had collected by mortgaging their agricultural land for Rs 60,000 and took a loan of Rs. 18,000 from the neighbours. Besides, they sold out the forest produces worth of Rs 20,000 and Rs. 3,000 was given by Prabhu’s elder sister and Rs. 50,000 was given by his father and both brothers together. Two cases are still in trial stage so the Munshi keeps asking him for money but he can’t pay as he is with empty hand.

In his family, apart from his wife, he also has two daughters but they have only five acres of land to ensure their livelihood. Now Purti’s financial condition is very bad so he can neither afford to pay his lawyer to fight the cases nor can pay the fees for the elder daughter studying in the college. He is caught in the “debt trap”. Despite this, he is actively engaged in the fight for land, territory and resources. He has requested us to mobilise some fund at least to free his mortgage land, which will give him a lot of relief. We request you to do your part in keeping this great “Pathalgadi” warrior financially strong and keep his spirits high.

We would like to inform you that the previous state government of Jharkhand had filed 30 cases against 11,321 villagers. Of these 30 cases, 21 involve sedition charges sections 124A of the Indian Penal Code 1860, accusing villagers of waging war against the Indian state for establishing their Gram Sabhas as supreme authority. The police had arrested and imprisoned 115 person, who had spent in Jails for the period of three months up to four years. Now, most of them are trapped in debt trap like Prabhu Sahay Purti. We could able to mobilized Rs. 1,90,000 through the social media and book selling. The money was given to eight Pathalgadi worriers. Now, they have got back their mortgaged land and also repaid their loans. Your generous contribution will be very crucial for Prabhu Sahay Purti and other Pathalgadi worriers. You can send your contribution to the bank account given below.

A/C Holder : SAMUEL TUTI

A/C No. 3375108003909

IFC Code: CNRB0003375

Bank: Canara Bank

Dak Banglow Road Near Bank of Baroda,

Khunti, Jharkhand-835210

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