Committee to be formed to identify families of Kharswan tribal martyrs: Jharkhand CM

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Thursday (January 1, 2026) said a committee would be formed soon to identify the families of Kharswan tribal martyrs and people associated with them to grant them due honour like the martyrs of Gua police firing incident.

Mr. Soren paid floral tribute to tribal martyrs, who were opposing the merger of Seraikela-Kharswan district (then part of undivided Bihar) to Odisha and demanding a separate Jharkhand State, killed in police firing on this day in 1948.

Hundreds of tribals had gathered at Kharswan Hat Maidan on New Year’s Day in 1948 in protest against the merger of Seraikela-Kharswan district into Odisha and demanding the creation of a separate Jharkhand State to protect their “jal, jungle, jameen” (water, forest, and land) when police had opened fire on them.

Mr. Soren, accompanied by a host of party leaders, including JMM MP Joba Majhi, Jharkhand Minister Deepak Birua, Dasrath Gagrai, and Sabita Mahato (both MLAs), paid floral tributes to the tribal martyrs, who sacrificed their lives for the cause of a separate Jharkhand state.

Talking to reporters, Mr. Soren said a committee will be formed soon to identify the families of the martyrs and those associated with them.

The committee would start functioning as the families of martyrs would be honoured like in the case of families of martyrs killed in the Gua firing incident, which had happened on September 8, 1980, Mr. Soren said.

Adivasi warriors had sacrificed their lives protecting the rights of the tribal community, their jal, jungle, jameen, the Chief Minister said, adding that the tribal community is proud of them.

Mr. Soren said people not only from the Kolhan region but across the state visit the “Sahid Sthal” to pay homage to tribal heroes, who made supreme sacrifice for the tribals’ cause.

Tribal martyrs will neither be forgotten, nor their memory will be erased ever, Mr. Soren said, adding that the tribals are today breathing because of their sacrifice.

Asked about the Sahid Sthal, which remains closed for a major part of the year, Mr. Soren said it would be developed to make it memorable.

“Currently, construction work is going on at the site, and we will dedicate it to the public soon. We did not want the site to be misused,” Mr. Soren added.