RANCHI, India (UCAN) -- Tribal groups in Jharkhand have threatened to mount large-scale violent protests if the state proceeds with a plan to add two disputed groups to the statutory quota system.

More than 50,000 tribal people demonstrated Nov. 27 in Ranchi, the Jharkhand capital, after the government of the eastern Indian state announced its plan to add the Kurmi and Teli ethnic groups to its list of tribal communities.

Representatives from 13 tribal bodies joined the march, where their leaders threatened to launch an "unprecedented and violent" protest if the plan went ahead. They also denounced the state government, headed by the Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP, Indian people's party).

The Indian Constitution reserves a percentage of government jobs and seats in educational institutions for low-caste and tribal groups to improve their socioeconomic status. Recent Supreme Court rulings have limited the quota to less than 50 percent. In Jharkhand these benefits go mostly to tribal groups, who officially make up about 28 percent of nearly 27 million people. Tribal leaders, however, claim tribal groups actually account for 60 percent of the population.

The marchers submitted a memorandum to state Governor Ved Prakash Marwah in which they described the Kurmi and Teli as having exploited tribals. While one group grabbed tribal land and property, the other fleeced tribal people as moneylenders, the memorandum added.

"Kurmi, Teli hosh main aao (Kurmi and Teli, come to your senses)," read a placard at the march.

Tribal leaders refuse to accept the two groups as tribes, saying they follow the Hindu caste system and do not practice tribal customs and traditions.

Both groups are politically influential in neighboring Bihar state, where they are designated Hindu communities. They also have grown prominent in Jharkhand, which was part of Bihar until four years ago. The state was created purportedly to promote tribal advancement.

Chief Minister Arjun Munda told reporters in early December that he had forwarded the state government's recommendation. "I have done my job, now it is up to (the federal government) to pass or reject it," he added.

While the tribals protested, Kurmi and Teli communities staged victory processions in different parts of the state. They shouted slogans in Hindi saying "only those supporting Kurmi-Teli interests would rule Jharkhand."

Chandreshwar Prasad Singh, BJP member of the legislative assembly from Ranchi, claims the Kurmi were listed as a tribal community from 1913 to 1931. Since "no clear explanation" was available for their exclusion, the government has recommended restoring their old status, he told UCA News Dec. 7. He asserted the Kurmi-Teli demand for tribal status is legitimate.

Another Kurmi leader, Sudesh Mahto, added, "We are confident (the federal) government would not oppose the proposal."

Pradeep Balmuchu, a Congress party leader, told UCA News the Kurmi form 18-22 percent of the state's population and could influence voting in 22 state assembly constituencies. A state legislative assembly election is due in the first quarter of 2005.

Nationally, the Congress and the BJP lead the country's main rival political alliances. Congress heads the current federal coalition government.

No official statistics are available on the Teli community. Unofficial sources, however, put their figure at 10-15 percent of the state's population.

Church authorities have refused to be drawn into the controversy, although Christians are a significant part of the tribal population. Cardinal Telesphore Toppo of Ranchi has refused to comment directly on the matter.

Speaking with UCA News, the tribal cardinal, also president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India, regretted the issue is surfacing just before the assembly election. He cautioned against stirring up tribal sentiments.

Ranchi, 1,160 kilometers southeast of New Delhi, is considered the nerve center of the predominantly tribal Church in eastern India.

Tribal leader Karma Oraon told UCA News that granting the Kurmi and Teli tribal status "would amount to encroachment" and existing tribal communities would "thwart" the challenge to their identity. Earlier, at the march, Oraon warned the government move would disturb the state's "social and communal harmony" and trigger violence.

Another opponent of the move is Deo Kumar Dhan, an opposition member in the state legislative assembly. He noted that the two groups differed with tribals culturally and in religious practices and food habits. "When there is no similarity in cultures, how can they be allowed to become part of our community?" he questioned.

The legislator maintained that the tribal status would legitimize the Kurmi and Teli as owners of tribal land. Tribals would ostracize legislators from their communities if they helped the government amend the law, he added.

Currently, two laws enacted during the British colonial rule protect tribal land rights, says Franklin Baxla, a tribal who heads the history department of Ranchi's Jesuit-managed St. Xavier's College.

Baxla claimed the Kurmi have already accepted their status as belonging to the Hindu warrior caste, Kshatriya. So including them as a tribal community, he argued, would violate the laws -- the Chhotanagpur Tenancy Act and Santal Pargana Tenancy Act. Chhotanagpur is a tribal name for the region comprising Jharkhand and tribal pockets in neighboring states. Santal Pargana, in the eastern part of Jharkhand, is an area Santal tribals dominate.

"Both tenancy acts protect tribal lands in both parts of Jharkhand. But if the land grabbers are declared tribal, who will protect lands of those that are originally tribal?" Baxla asked.

Satish Bhagat, a student leader, told UCA News tribal youth would lay down their lives to stop the government move, which he termed "vote-bank politics."

Priti Tirkey, another student marcher, also accused the BJP of trying to garner Hindu votes. She carried a banner that read, "BJP is enemy of tribals, Tribals will not vote for BJP." The government move, she told UCA News, is "a big conspiracy" to usurp tribals' constitutional rights.

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