Chandraprabha : In this pandemic situation, why did you particularly choose the ‘Kurmi community’ in your writing ‘The Coronavirus Pandemic vs Totemic Kurmi Community’?
Author: Since I am the member of Kurmi community, I will always choose my community at first in my writings, when I have to write about anything about any community. If I don’t tell the stories about our  lives, then how do you know about this community? In terms of this community, you will never know more than me. You will know as much as I say.
Chandraprabha : As you said, the social status of the Kurmis are still in a primitive state and now as the  Government is taking various necessary steps to educate everyone, so what’s the mentality of the Kurmis about education?
Author: After Independence, as we are unscheduled, we are detached from every kind of preservation. And even once our language was on the verge of extinction. But now, as we are somewhat educated, we don’t think about it. And recently, the Government is taking various steps for the preservation of tribal languages. But these are the result of our revolutions after Independence. Various revolutions continued to save our language. But now we are somewhat educated, not like our previous generation. At first, when I started my job of teaching, I didn’t find any female student. There was nothing called ‘female education’. Compared to that time, I will say, the society is gradually developing.
Chandraprabha : Can you please tell me about these revolutions?
Author: Actually, the revolutions started before Independence. As Manbhum, the Heart of Kurmali Language and Literature, was divided after Bengali Language Movement, our language suffered and the revolution started. In 1953, the first book in Kurmali ‘Kopila Mangal’ was written by Rajendra Prasad from Ranchi and the slogan came ‘Save Kurmali Mother Tongue’. When the revolution was in climax, at first in 1980, in the ‘Tribal Regional Language Department’ of Ranchi University, the Kurmali Language was included. Then the language started developing. Under the influence of Binod Bihari Mahato, whom I say ‘Father of Jharkhand’, the revolution started for the separation of Jharkhand from Bihar and he founded ‘Jharkhand Mukti Morcha’. And he started the slogan  ‘Educate or Eradicate’.
Chandraprabha : Is there any kind of social restriction from the side of the community when anyone wants to educate them, as the ancestors were totally illiterate and they wanted to live a simple life?
Author: No, there is nothing called ‘social restriction’ in our society. But our ancestors really hated the ‘education system’. Their ideas were like if I could get everything from fields and farms then why should I educate myself to earn money? Because we have already no problem of hunger or something. But when the education spreads, their mentality starts changing. Even now, they sell their properties for education. Their mentality has also changed. It is a kind of awakening in our society. But I’ll say there is only one restriction that we follow even now. There are eighty-one groups in Kurmi community. One should marry the one from the other eighty groups, but not from the same group. It’s a kind of restriction. Even I have also faced such restriction.
Chandraprabha : Do you think the ‘Kurmi community’ is somewhat different from the other tribes like ‘Santhal’, ‘Munda’ etc.?
Author: The ‘Santhal’, ‘Munda’ are non-Aryan hunters. They are ‘austrik’. We are farmers and Dravidian and also non-Aryans. They learned the agriculture from us. But as we are detached from others, we have a close contact within the communities. We live together.
Chandraprabha : As you say, the Kurmis deal a very simple lifestyle. So, now in this pandemic situation, as we become more concerned about our health, is there the same consciousness like- social distancing, use of masks etc. in Kurmi community?
Author: I will say, nowadays coronavirus is present in our community. In the previous time, when anyone suffered from cholera etc., he would be totally isolated or the villagers isolated the family approximately for 20 days. It’s something that now you call ‘quarantine’.