Ranchi Munda Tribal Community Forest Rights

The Munda tribe of Ranchi district is the largest tribal community of Jharkhand, practising the khuntkatti system of collective ancestral land ownership where clan members hold shared rights over forest and cultivated land cleared by their forebears. The landmark Chotanagpur Tenancy Act of 1908 recognises Munda khuntkatti rights and restricts land alienation, protecting the tribal land base from non-tribal acquisition — a legal framework that Jharkhand activists defend against repeated amendment attempts. Ranchi's Munda communities cultivate rice on terraced upland fields, harvest forest products, and celebrate the Sarhul spring festival that marks the blossoming of the sal tree as the tribal new year.