Ranchi: The government plans to recruit from June candidates from primitive tribes to set up a separate army battalion.
The project will be launched with a written examination.
The primitive tribe battalion will be an armed battalion on the lines of Jharkhand Armed Police. It will be named Special India Reserve Battalion or Paharia Adim Janjati Battalion.
M S Bhatia, inspector General of operations and police spokesperson (in-charge), said the objective for the project is to train primitive tribals who can be used as a multi-purpose wing of the police. The government plans to make some eligibility relaxation for tribals as compared to the general recruitment of constables.
The primitive tribe groups in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand are Asur, Mal Paharia, Birhor, Birjia, Parhaiya, Sauria Paharia, Hill Kharia, Korwa and Savar. The battalion will be formed with candidates from these tribes, who are spread across the Chotanagpur Plateau. The tribes live in poverty without enough jobs.
The government will set up two battalions – one to be stationed at Dumka, the tribal heartland, and another at Khunti where around 70 percent population is tribal. A total of 1,042 candidates will be recruited for this purpose.
Besides other law enforcing activities, the government will also use the battalions in anti-Maoist operations after they undergo jungle warfare training. Bhatia said, “The recruits will go through an exhaustive training module to make them ready for all jobs an armed force is expected to carry out.”
The primitive tribe battalions, a senior police officer said, will come to the police department with some unique advantages. “They can identify themselves with the hills and forests of the state where they have to perform. For all of them it would be an additional advantage and they will not struggle like the jawans from outside the state to get a grip on the geography of the area,” he told The Times of India.
Bhatia said that the people from primitive tribe are born with strong physical characteristics. “They have higher endurance and greater immunity besides being blessed with strong and agile body,” he added.
The concept of primitive tribe battalion was developed in 2012. It will also mark a better integration of the tribe into the mainstream and the jobs will offer them economic benefits.