Why The Lotus Doesn't Bloom In Jharkhand

Just hours after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Mahayuti alliance staged a sweeping comeback bagging 230 of the 288 assembly seats in Maharashtra after its dismal show in the Lok Sabha elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterated the most popular slogan of this poll season바카라�바카라�ek hain toh safe hain바카라� (united we survive)바카라�to which former Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had attributed the victory. It was shorthand for a strategy to accuse the Congress-led Opposition of 바카라�dividing castes and tribes바카라�, which the PM at an election rally in Dhule called 바카라�the biggest conspiracy against India바카라�. Complemented with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath바카라�s 바카라�batenge toh katenge바카라� (divided we die) rhetoric stressing on 바카라�Hindu unity바카라� across castes and tribes, the 바카라�ek바카라�safe바카라�바카라� slogan worked in the BJP바카라�s favour in what is known as the land of Shivaji, but fell flat in the land of Birsa Munda바카라�Jharkhand바카라�the other state that went to polls in November and where the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)-led INDIA bloc바카라�s thumping triumph with 56 of the 81 seats signalled a counterintuitive enigma of sorts.

The indigenous people across Santhal Pargana, Chottanagpur, Kolhan and Palamu regions, with their long history of resisting the domination of the 바카라�diku바카라� (mostly moneylenders, traders and petty officials from 바카라�outside바카라�) and the authority of the colonial state in the Hul, Ulgulan and other uprisings did not fall for the BJP바카라�s tweak on the theme labelling Muslims in the Adivasi-majority territories as 바카라�Bangladeshi infiltrators바카라�. In fact, the BJP and its allies lost all the 28 seats reserved for the Scheduled Tribes (STs), save one that was bagged by former JMM leader Champai Soren, who joined the saffron party after Hemant Soren asked him to vacate the CM바카라�s chair for his reinstatement following bail from the Jharkhand High Court in a case of money laundering linked to an alleged land scam. In Santhal Pargana, where their campaigns against 바카라�Bangladeshi infiltrators바카라� gained momentum, they won only one seat out of 18.

Adivasi scholars suggest that at least three factors make Jharkhand different: political consciousness of its Adivasis; memories of the statehood movement; and, traditional relations between the Adivasi and the Muslims. 바카라�Most media discussions mention the state바카라�s welfare schemes, but what really cornered the BJP was the history of resistance against 바카라�outsiders바카라� and the political consciousness of Jharkhand바카라�s Adivasis,바카라� says scholar A. K. Pankaj. For centuries, Jharkhand has been known as a 바카라�land of resistance바카라� where people바카라�s memories were shaped by the rebellions of Birsa Munda, Sidhu-Kanhu and Tana Bhagat among others. 바카라�The whole history of my people is one of continuous exploitation and dispossession by the non-aboriginals of India, punctuated by rebellions and disorder,바카라� Marang Gomke Jaipal Singh Munda on January 24, 1947, told the Constituent Assembly as the only representative of India바카라�s indigenous people, whom he called the 바카라�unrecognised warriors of freedom바카라�. Indeed, the Ulgulan of 1899-90 led by Birsa had forced the Britishers to acknowledge the separate identity of Adivasis with the enactment of the Chhota Nagpur Tenancy (CNT) Act in 1908, which later became a major safeguard for the Adivasi lands.

Proudly embracing the moniker 바카라�jungli바카라� (a pejorative for forest-dweller bordering on 바카라�primate바카라�), Jaipal Singh Munda told the Constituent Assembly, 바카라�Most of you here are intruders as far as I am concerned바카라� the newcomers who have driven away my people from the Indus Valley to the jungle fastnesses.바카라� After almost 77 years, Hemant Soren invoked similar sentiments following his arrest. 바카라�They consider us jungli; they cannot digest the fact that an Adivasi can ride a BMW,바카라� he said. Indeed, the sense of 바카라�Adivasiyat바카라� lies in taking pride in being the land바카라�s original inhabitants who always resisted attempts to tinker with their culture, religion or language.

The Jharkhandi Adivasi바카라�s political consciousness could be traced back to 1921, when Dulu Manki from Chaibasa became the first Adivasi representative from central India in the first legislative assembly that was formed. After a big setback in the 1937 assembly elections that they contested under the banners of various parties, the indigenous people came together to form the Adivasi Mahasabha and consolidated Adivasi votes in consecutive elections.

바카라�More than 70 organisations led by Thakkar Bapa were trying to 바카라�Hinduise바카라� the Adivasis in the 1940s,바카라� says Pankaj. 바카라�However, they were identified for what they truly were. Since then, right-wing parties could never garner a majority in Jharkhand바카라�s Adivasi-majority seats.바카라� The JMM deployed the 바카라�outsider바카라� pitch quite extensively, centring it around 바카라�Abua Sarkar바카라� (our government)바카라�a phrase first used by Birsa. In 1899-90, thousands of his followers had proclaimed 바카라�Diku Raj tuntu jana, Abua Raj ete jana바카라� (The rule of outsiders is over, our self-rule has begun). Invoking that history seemingly worked to the JMM바카라�s advantage, as the INDIA coalition won 27 out of the 28 ST-reserved seats. Even at the peak of the Modi wave that swept the country in 2014, the BJP had won only 11 of these seats. The number fell to two in the 2019 assembly election, and the party couldn바카라�t open its account in the 2024 Lok Sabha election.

바카라�This time the BJP tried to downplay the issue of 바카라�outsiders바카라� and 바카라�insiders바카라� on the pretext of Bangladeshi infiltration but, after Hemant Soren바카라�s arrest, the issue re-emerged in the minds of Adivasis who ended up seeing the saffron party as an anti-Adivasi outsider and voted against its candidates,바카라� says Ranjit Mahli, who teaches political science at Nilamber-Pitamber University, Medininagar.

Moreover, the memory of the JMM-led statehood movement is still rife, and so is the affinity among different communities. 바카라�Jharkhand is a state of 바카라�Andolankaris바카라� (movement people),바카라� says social activist Shamim S. Ali. 바카라�People gave their lives for statehood. And so many from other states have come here and bought land. Therefore, the infiltrator narrative just doesn바카라�t hold water.바카라� Those who participated in the statehood movement are now mostly in their 50s and 60s. 바카라�They will never forget those who tried to play divisive politics in Jharkhand even during the statehood movement,바카라� says an Andolankari.

Though Jharkhand has often seen sectarian disturbances during Ram Navami, the only major riot that the state witnessed was in 1967. Since then, the mobilisation for separate statehood didn바카라�t leave much ground for any sectarian agenda. As the son of Shibu Soren, a leading voice in the statehood movement, Hemant Soren, helming the JMM campaign, was also a nudge to walk the nostalgia street. 바카라�His father fought for statehood. How can we just leave him when he needs us the most?바카라� asks the Andolankari.

Referring to the history of Adivasi resistance, senior journalist Faisal Anurag says, 바카라�There is continuity in their struggle of 150 years. The rebellions of Tilka Manjhi, Sidhu-Kanhu, Birsa Munda or the Ho of Chaibasa are all testimony to this. The Jharkhandi Adivasis바카라� traditional system, socio-political identity and style of living differentiate them from the indigenous people in other states. The sense of the collective is their biggest strength that even the British had to acknowledge when they could not bring them under their system and had to make laws like the CNT for their separate tribal system.바카라�

The BJP바카라�s efforts to pit Adivasis against Muslims in Jharkhand found little traction as their mutual social relationship dates back to the 13th century. While Adivasis were skilled in agriculture, the Muslims, mostly Ansaris, complemented them with their weaving skills, building a transactional relationship that gradually snowballed into cultural and political bonhomie. 바카라�The Bangladeshis who came to Jharkhand during 1962-71 were mostly Hindus,바카라� says Ali. 바카라�Adivasis share a long camaraderie with Muslims in districts like Pakur and Sahebgunj. How can they believe that Muslims are infiltrators? During 2017-18, the then CM Raghubar Das asked the Indian Institute of Management to conduct a survey on alleged conversions. Adivasis who converted to Hinduism were found to be far more than those who embraced Islam.바카라�

(This appeared in the print as 'A State of Difference')