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.
