As we are commemorating the 150th birth anniversary of Bhagwan Birsa Munda, let us lay bare a few forgotten facts. In April 1985, 15 Tribals were shot dead for no reason. These Tribals were from Banjhi village in Sahebganj district (then Bihar, now Jharkhand) and they had gone to SDO’s office to offer Satyagraha to protest the killing of one of their own. They were led by a former MP Father Anthony who was elected to Parliament as a Janata Party candidate in 1977. Father Anthony was also shot dead!
Targeting Peaceful Tribals
Before this harrowing experience, in September 1980, more than 50 Tribals were killed in police firing in Gua. Reason? Quite similar. They had gone to peacefully protest at the forest officers’ lodge at Gua about 160 km from Jamshedpur. Though the official figures were underreported, Shibu Soren is on record to verify the numbers.
Just three years had passed since the Gua tragedy, and another troubling news came from the same small mining town in Singhbhum district. The police tied five Tribals to a jeep, dragged them over a 100 metres, then hung them upside down from a cross beam and flogged them in public. Why? Tribals had tried to meet a senior executive of the Indian Iron & Steel Co. to raise the question of employment of local youths in the company’s mines.
During the 1980s, several reports came from Tripura when fleeing Hindu families from Bangladesh were shot dead in hundreds by Border Guard Bangladesh (BDG) personnel
Can we go farther back? In December 1971, (Bharat Ratna) Karpoori Thakur demanded resignation of Bihar Ministry because goons of local landlords had killed several Santhals in Purnea and the administration didn’t do anything about it. The tragedy of Chandwa Rupuspur was seen as a conspiracy of not only former landlords and big agriculturalists but also Congress politicians.
Divided Tribals and Tragedies
A few instances that have been recounted above could be stretched by hundreds. These tragedies occurred under successive Congress governments. People and politicians forget! Moving on, let us broaden the issue. During the 1980s, several reports came from Tripura when fleeing Hindu families from Bangladesh were shot dead in hundreds by Border Guard Bangladesh (BDG) personnel. Just an example. In May 1989, members of Chakma tribals were massacred in large numbers by BDG while they tried to run away from Bangladesh through the Chittagong Hill tract. The elderly, women and even children were not spared. A few Chakmas out of 500, mostly from Khagracharri (Bangladesh) who managed to escape to Bharat, narrated their harrowing tale. They told how their houses were set on fire and property looted. They were not allowed to buy an extra bit of ration and even religious festivals like Buddha Purnima were not permitted to be celebrated.
Targeting Chakmas, Sparing Muslim Immigrants
Moving to 2003, acting on a tip-off, the police launched a massive combing operation for illegal Bangladeshi immigrants in the Reti Bunder and Ganesh Chowk slums in Thane (Maharashtra). They numbered 73 and were all Muslims. What we need to understand is the following: How were Chakmas and other non-Muslims massacred by BDG while Muslim illegal immigrants were allowed to enter from Tripura, Assam, and other States? How did these illegal immigrants enter deep in the territory going as far as Western India? The Thane example here, it goes without saying, is one among many.
Threats to Unity
In 2008, an angry and violent Muslim mob ransacked Ranchi University. Muslims ransacked the main building protesting against the content of a PG history question paper that sought comments from students on Prophet Mohammed, who was described as a “trader” whose career ended as a “raider”. A tourist in Ranchi can easily experience a flood of “skull caps” and “beards” in the city. The census confirms the same for areas like Kanke, Tunduil, Irba and other neighbourhoods in the city. When did the city, which was known for its tribal and Christian minorities, acquire a growing Muslim demography?
The share of the population of Scheduled Tribes in Santhal Pargana in the year 1951 was 44.67 per centwhich became 28.11 per cent in 2011
The share of the population of Scheduled Tribes in Santhal Pargana in the year 1951 was 44.67 per cent which became 28.11 per cent in 2011. However, the quantum of decrease in tribal population due to outward migration, low childbirth rate among tribal conversion to Christianity and other reasons need to be assessed. However, the growing Muslim population in these areas could not be ignored. Misuse of loopholes in existing land laws like the transfer of tribal land to non-tribal through an affidavit of ‘Danpatra’ (Gift Deeds), by Muslims to acquire land in the region. In one such instance which took place recently in Pakur on July 18, 2024, an altercation took place between the tribals and Muslims, when a Muslim family took over a piece of land based on ‘Danpatra’.
A design seems to be in place. The illegal migrants enter through the very porous 4096.7-km border that Bharat shares with Bangladesh. However, there is an ease of migration of Muslims from Bangladesh, while all other communities especially Hindus are massacred trying the same. It seems that when these illegal migrants change the demography of a place, a disunited Hindu community and all others are at the receiving end. While a few opportunists have turned their face away from reality, some fact-checks might help.
Case of Maharashtra
An interesting figure came to light in 2011 about Maharashtra. According to a report submitted to the Maharashtra State Minorities Commission, the number of communal riots in Mumbai from 1908 to 2009 is more than that in any other part of Maharashtra. The 83 communal riots during the period claimed nearly 1,900 lives and resulted in injuries to over 8,000 people. The numbers, according to the report titled Socio-Economic and Educational Status of Muslims in Maharashtra (2011) and authored by A Shaban, Associate Professor, Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) far surpass those for even riot-prone towns like Malegaon. A distant second in the 1908-2009 riots list is Aurangabad (12 incidents), followed by Pune, Nagpur and Malegaon (11 incidents). Though Bhiwandi occupies the fifth spot (8 incidents), it ranks second in deaths (196).
A question pops out for Uddhav Thackeray, Sharad Pawar and Rahul Gandhi. How come the financial capital of Bharat which is supposedly a “melting pot” of cultures and communities also happens to be always amid communal flare? Who is Responsible?
Time and again, Mumbai Police have intervened to check and stop riots in the great city. A certain community has more culprits than others. In the history of communal riots in contemporary India, the attitude of the police has always been questioned. It is alleged that police show biased conduct towards Muslims when riots break out. To unpack this idea, we pick an episode from Maharashtra under the Congress CM Vilasrao Deshmukh. It was early in November 2008. A Muslim delegation met Deshmukh claiming that police have shown biased conduct towards Muslims after a local riot. The “Secular” Deshmukh asked Muslim intellectuals and civil society members to offer a solution. The solution was provided: “More Muslims in the police force.”
Upon verification, it was discovered that the Muslim representation in the Maharashtra Constabulary was significantly low, at only 3.5 per cent. However, it is important to consider the factors that contributed to this situation. Former Mumbai Police Commissioner Satish Sahney has publicly acknowledged his previous attempts to lead a reform initiative within the force. Notably, there was a regulatory requirement that mandated all applicants for positions within the constabulary to register with the employment exchange. Sahney recalled, “I was shocked to find that very few Muslim youths were registered. Of the 12,000 candidates who appeared for an exam in the mid-1990s for the constabulary, only 47 were Muslims. But 30 of them did qualify—a figure that suggested that Muslim candidates were inferior to none.” (TOI, November 11, 2008) However, what the figure also shows is that Muslim youth is not interested in joining the police.
Be it Jharkhand or Maharashtra or be it the tragic and brutal assault of tribals by different Congress Governments, or a particular community being the troublemaker whenever they get a demographic advantage, these debates are not to be compounded with parliamentary politics and elections. Batenge toh Katenge is not controversial but seems like a call for unity. That integration would happen when we will have more Muslims safeguarding universities rather than burning them. We will have Tribals getting their rights and not being tortured for raising their voice. National integration will happen when we won’t see thousands flocking the roads of Mumbai for the funeral of Yakub Memon. Those who are still living in the Nizami nostalgia and allude to incendiary “remove police for 15 minutes” remark should come ahead to encourage more Muslims to join the process of national integration as Indian citizens. They can focus on …Ek rahenge to nek rahenge and take it as a simple and lucid articulation of national unity.
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