Ranchi: The battlelines are drawn in Jharkhand where the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) is making territorial integrity a poll issue after BJP MP Nishikant Dubey suggested that a Union Territory be carved out of the state to curb “infiltration” from Bangladesh.
On Monday, there was an uproar in the Jharkhand assembly as the BJP MLAs flagged the same matter and accused the JMM and the Congress of doing appeasement politics for garnering votes.
Two days earlier, JMM workers protested across the poll-bound state and burnt the effigy of Dubey. The JMM has floated a slogan ‘Jharkhand Batega Nahi, Adivasi Hatega Nahi’ (Jharkhand will not be divided, Adivasis will not be removed) to turn the tables on the BJP in the state.
In the Lok Sabha last week, Dubey had said the population of adivasis in Santhal Pargana was on a decline due to the growing influx of “Bangladeshi infiltrators”. Tribal population had reduced from 36 percent to 26 percent, he said.
The opposition BJP has been raising the pitch over ‘Bangladeshi infiltrators’ and changing demography in Santhal Pargana, alleging that the government has pushed the tribals to the margins in the region.
On 20 July in Ranchi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah blew the poll bugle at a BJP state working committee meeting as he alleged that “infiltrators” were marrying tribal women, buying land and usurping jobs meant for locals.
A day before this, BJP state president Babulal Marandi had written to Chief Minister Hemant Soren demanding a detailed investigation into the declining population of tribals. Four days later, Marandi led a BJP delegation to the Election Commission’s office in Delhi and sought review into the demographic changes in Santhal region.
झारखंड के कई मुस्लिम बहुल क्षेत्रों के मतदाता सूची में अप्रत्याशित वृद्धि आई है। मतदाताओं की संख्या में अचानक 20% से 123% तक की वृद्धि बड़े पैमाने पर फर्जीवाड़ा और साजिश की ओर इशारा करता है।
भारतीय निर्वाचन आयोग द्वारा झारखंड के मतदाता सूची में हुई अप्रत्याशित वृद्धि की सघनता से… pic.twitter.com/D0iWhrP1To
— Office of Babulal Marandi (@babulalmarandi) July 25, 2024
Similarly, Asha Lakra, a member of the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes, held a press conference in Ranchi on Sunday wherein she alleged that the condition of tribals was horrific. “Due to Bangladeshi Muslims, tribals are not able to speak out of fear and are not going to the police. Demography is changing rapidly,” Lakra, a BJP national secretary, said after touring the region bordering West Bengal.
But, the JMM and its allies accuse the BJP of raking up “a baseless issue” and question what the Centre is doing to stop infiltration. “The BJP wants to divide the state. We will not allow it. The BJP has never been concerned about the tribals,” JMM veteran and minister Deepak Birua said outside the assembly Monday.
Referring to Dubey’s statement, JMM general secretary Supriyo Bhattacharya told the media Sunday that the BJP’s intention was “divisive”.
“This is not a simple and sudden question raised in the Lok Sabha. This is a well-thought political conspiracy. Even Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma have been fanning the issue ever since they came to Jharkhand as election and co-election in-charges of BJP,” he asserted.
JMM MP Vijay Kumar Hansdak alleged that Dubey gave a new spin after the BJP made noise about “infiltration” after losing all the five tribal seats in the Lok Sabha elections. “The BJP has nothing to do with the basic issues of the indigenous people. The tribals have many questions and sentiments, but BJP leaders will never talk about them,” he told ThePrint
Jharkhand is set for polls in November-December. The adverse results in ST reserved seats were seen as a setback for the BJP, which has been trying to make a comeback in the eastern state.
Political analyst Rajat Kumar Gupta felt it was too early to comment on whether the issue which the BJP is bent on raising would earn brownie points. “With the alacrity at which BJP is raising this issue, it is to be seen whether this issue will remain strong in the assembly elections or lose steam. Sandeshkhali in West Bengal is an example,” he told ThePrint.
“This seems to be a political row in view of the elections. It does not seem to have any effect on the social fabric at the moment. The concern should be that the land and rights of tribals is in danger in the entire state,” Ashwani Kumar Pankaj, author of ‘Shunyakal Mein Adivasi’, told ThePrint.
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‘Learn about Santhal Pargana first’
JMM veteran Stephen Marandi advised Dubey to learn about the history of the Jharkhand statehood movement and the Santhal Pargana region before making the UT demand.
“Santhal Pargana is the land of Santhal leaders Sido-Kanhu, the heroes of ‘Hul Rebellion’ (in 1855). It is important to remember that we did not get Jharkhand easily. There have been long fights and sacrifices for this. Santhal Pargana is and will remain an important region of Jharkhand,” the Maheshpur MLA added.
JMM MP Nalin Soren told ThePrint that Bengali-speaking people were living in many parts of Santhal Pargana for a long period.
“It is not right to label Bengali-speaking people as intruders. Why don’t the BJP leaders demand from the central government that strict steps be taken to stop infiltration?” the Dumka MP countered.
Similarly, Congress leader and minister Irfan Ansari told ThePrint that the BJP was trying to “humiliate” tribals, Muslims and Bengali-speaking people. “Those who don’t vote for them are called infiltrators,” he alleged.
Comprising the six districts of Dumka, Sahibganj, Godda, Jamtara, Pakur, and Deogarh, the Santhal Pargana region has 3 Lok Sabha seats and 28 Assembly segments. In the Lok Sabha polls, the JMM won both the ST seats of Dumka and Rajmahal from the region. The BJP won only four assembly seats in 2019.
Inquiry on in Sahibganj
Meanwhile, Sahibganj Deputy Commissioner Hemant Sati told ThePrint that a nine-member team was directed to submit within two weeks a progress report about the investigation to identify “infiltrators” in Jharkhand.
This was after the Jharkhand High Court on 3 July asked all six deputy commissioners of Santhal Pargana to identify the “infiltrators” and to prepare an action plan to deport them.
“They were asked to file an affidavit within two weeks. The court was informed 18 July, that the affidavits were filed by subordinate officers, and not the DCs. It refused to accept the affidavits and ordered fresh affidavits be filed. The bench said it is a very serious matter and again directed the six DCs to file specific affidavits,” senior lawyer Rajeev Kumar told ThePrint.
BJP spokesperson Pratul Shahdev said that the court’s directions show that the matter is serious. “Infiltrators first reach Santhal Pargana after which they take shelter at madrasas at the border area. Then their names are registered in the voter list, and they are settled as part of a conspiracy,” he alleged.
Leader of the Opposition Amar Kumar Bauri said his party was seeking a response from the Jharkhand government in the assembly as to what action was taken following the court order and against the police personnel who thrashed tribal students in Pakur.
“Several recent incidents of clashes in Santhal Pargana in which Hindus and tribals were tortured are examples of the kind of terror that prevails in the bordering areas. Infiltrators are settling in many places under the political patronage (of the ruling parties),” Bauri told ThePrint.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
Also Read: Babulal Marandi losing hold among tribals? Jharkhand BJP chief faces state poll test after LS losses
Residents of Jharkhand are not willing to work in the mines. The job is a very dangerous one and the work conditions are pathetic to say the least. The pay is meagre and the environment in the mines is toxic. No wonder no one wishes to work in these mines.
However, the Bangladeshi infiltrator is an exception. Driven by poverty and hunger, he is willing to work the dangerous mines on a meagre wage. Hence, mine owners are very happy to facilitate his arrival and presence in Jharkhand. And most importantly, this suits the Left-liberal political parties (JMM, Congress) as this increases their votebank.
This nexus of mining corporates and Left-liberal political parties is responsible for the large scale demographic change in Jharkhand’s population. Smuggling people in from Bangladesh and settling them in Jharkhand has become an industry and has the blessings of the corporate-political mafia.