Jharkhand State Assembly Polls: Identity crisis for tribals or tussle for protecting roots?

Assembly polls are around the corner in the “tribal populated” State of Jharkhand, which will hold the much-hyped mega event in two phases, i.e., November 13 and 20. Those who have a deep understanding of the nation’s strategic subjects related to this particular region are well aware of the possible impact of the upcoming State polls on New Delhi’s future course of action in terms of dealing with the nation’s internal security dynamics.

Especially, when a significant portion of the State’s easternmost division has reportedly undergone a massive change of demography in the last 4-5 decades, particularly the tribal-dominated areas of Santhal, which are more or less has been at the centre of the campaign run by the prime opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

Despite an aggressive campaign and heated exchanges over the infiltration issue, other factors are also expected to play a major role in the upcoming elections for 81 state assembly seats.

In such a scenario, let’s delve into the details of the issues which is expected to impact the political contest between the BJP-led NDA and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) led I.N.D.I alliance with Indian National Congress (INC) and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) as its key allies.

Unemployment and allegations of corruption

The issue of unemployment and events related to alleged irregularities in conducting examinations has been a burning issue in the State lately, particularly the controversies surrounding the Jharkhand Staff Selection Competition examinations.

Such is the situation that even the final attempt made by the state government to conduct the examination fairly landed in deep controversy, prompting students to protest in large numbers over allegations of paper leaks in the August examination.

Further, the poll time promise made by the incumbent Soren government to provide 5lakhs government jobs has also been one of the issues which has irked the youths who have staged various demonstrations over the issue of unemployment, a few of them led by the BJP’s youth wing as well.

Other than the unemployment issue, the allegations linked with corruption have been the town’s talk on several occasions during the incumbent government’s tenure. This includes the recovery of a massive cash haul from a Congress party leader to the now jailed minister Alamgir Alam, who the Enforcement Directorate is investigating in connection with a money laundering case.

Alam, who was a minister for Rural Development, was arrested after a huge cash haul amounting to over Rs 30 crore was recovered from his secretary and his domestic help. Recently the investigative agency has also claimed that the jailed minister has extorted a huge sum of money as commission from June to December last year.

ED also arrested CM Hemant Soren in connection with a money laundering case related to an alleged Land Scam. Soren’s arrest led to the installation of Champai Soren as his successor. However, the decision proved to be a costly one for the JMM as the return of Hemant Soren in July this year following his release from jail eventually paved the way for Champai’s exit from the party, a tall tribal figure from Kolhan, who later disclosed that he was humiliated in the party he worked so hard for.

Crime against women & law and order situation

The law and order situation, particularly crime against women, has also been one of the key issues in the assembly polls where the Soren government was on the receiving end. From Dumka’s Ankita to Ruby Pahadin to the continuous emergence of cases of rape of minor girls from separate corners of the State have turned heads on occasions, raising concern over the law and order situation particularly the issue of women’s safety.

This has provided an opportunity for the State’s opposition leader to go all gun blazing on the government over crime against women in particular and the law and order situation in general. Adding fuel to the fire were the incidents of communal flare-ups that have erupted at several places, mostly during the Hindu festivals such as the Ramnavmi processions, Mahashivratri, Durga Puja, etc.

The recent disclosure about a well-organised network of Al-Qaeda Indian Subcontinent Module operated by a Ranchi-based doctor only underscores the immediate need for a crackdown on radical elements who have either succeeded in cementing their foot on the ground in the State or are trying to.

Illegal infiltration and demographic change, a key issue

The issue of illegal infiltration of Bangladeshi nationals in the State undoubtedly remains the most burning issue before the upcoming assembly polls, particularly in Santhal, an administrative division of the State encompassing Godda, Sahibganj, Dumka, Pakur, Jamtara, and Deogarh district.

The issue has been at the forefront of political strife between the two major political factions both inside and outside of the assembly, where the opposition led by the BJP has been continuously linking the emergence of concepts like Jamai Tola (a term given to colonies where outsiders are settled with the women of the tribal community after marrying them), planned encroachment of tribals lands by outsiders/infiltrators eventually leading to the dwindling of population of tribal community with the appeasement policy of the incumbent government.

Further, the communal scuffles in parts of Santhal adjacent to the West Bengal borders and other parts of the State have only fuelled the already worsening situation. The ruling alliance, however, has time and again downplayed the allegations of opposition, terming it a bid to promote polarisation of votes. Though amidst the political tug of war, the figures for the respective censuses between 1951 and 2011 vividly indicate a sharp decline in the percentage of tribal communities in the overall population of Santhal.

The figures suggest that the tribal community had a share of 44.67 per cent in the overall population of the Santhal division in the year 1951 which reduced to 28.11 per cent in 2011. However, in the same period, the percentage of the Muslim community in the population of the Santhal region rose from 9.44 per cent to 22.73 per cent. Further, the figures related to the region’s Christian community have also undergone an unprecedented change as it has gone up by 6000 times.

For instance, upon analysing the census figures of 1991 and 2011, one would get to know that the share of the Hindu population in the bordering district of Sahibganj was at around 68 per cent in the year 1991 which has sharply declined to stand at 54 per cent in 2011, an overall unusual decline of 14 per cent in just two decades.

Here, however, the share of the Muslim community in the population has risen significantly, raising speculation over cross-border infiltration. Interestingly, the bordering district has also witnessed a sharp jump in the Christian population, which shot up to around 7.23 per cent in 2011 from a mere 2.71 per cent only in 1991.

In totality, the whole Santhal region is suspected of having a large concentration of illegal Bangladeshi infiltrators who have been reportedly forcing their way into the area through bordering districts adjacent to Murshidabad and Malda, which are in turn adjacent to the Bangladesh border on the other side.

However, despite the unprecedented change in demography, raising serious speculation about large-scale infiltration, the state government has denied any such infiltration in Santhal.

The change in demography has also led to conversion on a massive scale; the majority of them are suspected to be orchestrated either by mission apparatus or the infiltrators as alleged by a significant chunk of people who have been echoing their voice for “de-listing”, a pan Bharat exercise to identify those from the tribal community who have converted to any other religion and still availing the benefits reserved exclusively for the community.

Sensing the severity of the situation, the Jharkhand High Court has recently instructed both the State and the union government to form a joint fact-finding committee to deal with the issue, though the direction given by the court was challenged by the state government before the apex court, delaying the formation of any such committee.

However, a letter from the Jharkhand Intelligence Department (Special Branch) warning the administration about the infiltration also went viral, prompting the opposition leaders to sharpen their attack on the government’s stand. The opposition BJP, on the other hand, has promised to conduct a dedicated drive aimed at identifying and throwing out the infiltrators and returning the encroached lands of tribals if voted to power.

The tussle for tribal identity and Sarna code

Sarna religion code has been another noted issue among a significant chunk of masses in the tribal heartland, particularly among its followers, who more or less constitute over 10 per cent of the State’s overall population and a significant share in the State’s tribal population. A major chunk of the people who follow the Sarna sects has been raising demands for a separate religious code, claiming their disassociation with the Sanatan Dharma primarily on the grounds of nature worshipping.

Their demand has been well supported by the Soren-led government, which passed a resolution for the same in the assembly in 2020. Other than Sarna, a few JMM leaders have also raised the issue of outsiders-insiders, raising speculations over the party’s attempt to play more on local identity issues.  Separate claims have been made regarding the number of people supporting the cause of a separate Sarna religion code, with few claiming it to be around 50 lakhs.

The figure was believed to be claimed based on those choosing the Other Religion and Persuasions (ORP) column in the census of 2011, which was marked as religious identity by around 7.9 million people in the latest counting exercise.

However, a significant chunk of people within the community (tribal) have been continuously raising their voices against separate religious codes, citing similarities between them (Sarna followers) and the adherence to Sanatan Dharma. Those who oppose the demand claim that the community has been worshipping nature along with Mahadev-Parvati for centuries, celebrating Sarhul, a prominent festival of the tribals.

They further term it a conspiracy fuelled by foreign players to alienate the tribal community from its roots by dividing them.

To conclude, the way ahead for the JMM and BJP-led factions looks tough. At the same time, the JMM will leave no stone unturned in making the issue of tribal identity an emotional one among the masses to counter all the odds against it; the BJP-led faction, on the other hand, will be tightly holding its fiery campaign on the infiltration issue which according to the party is a battle for protecting the roots. Further, the issues of unemployment, crime against women, and communal scuffles are also expected to play a major role in the upcoming contest.

In all, the assembly elections seem like a battle primarily between the alleged identity crisis for tribals or the quest for protecting the roots of the tribal community from the alleged infiltration of foreign nationals with other factors playing supportive roles. As such, the answer to who will conquer the land of Dharti Aaba lies only in the womb of the future…. Johar.