Babulal Marandi and Hemant Soren
In an election year, the issue of tribal and Muslim population in Jharkhand is gaining importance. The Bharatiya Janata Party alleges that the number of tribals in the state’s Santhal Parganas has declined over the past few years, while the number of Muslims has increased. The party says that all this is happening as part of a conspiracy.
The party has also complained to the Election Commission about this. Geographically, Jharkhand is divided into 4 parts (Santhal Pargana, Kolhan, North Chotanagpur and South Chotanagpur). Santhal Pargana region consists of 6 districts of Jharkhand: Godda, Deoghar, Dumka, Jamtara, Sahibganj and Pakur.
What is this whole matter of demography?
According to the Jharkhand BJP, when the census was first conducted in 1951, tribals constituted 44.67 percent of the population in Santhal Pargana districts. 9.44 percent were Muslims. 45.9 percent of the population belonged to Dalit, OBC and upper caste communities. An increase in this figure was seen in 1971.
In the year 1971, the number of tribals decreased and this year, tribals have increased from 44.67 to 36.22 percent in Santhal Pargana. Muslims have increased from 9.44 to 14.62 percent.
The 1981 census showed a slight increase in the tribal population. According to this year’s census, the number of tribals here was 36.80 percent. At the same time, the number of Muslims has increased by about 2 percent.
According to the 2011 census, the number of tribals in Santhal Pargana has declined to about 28 percent. The number of Muslims increased tremendously. Here the number of Muslims has increased to 22.73 percent.
Three main reasons are being given for the increase in Muslim population in Santhal Pargana-
1. According to BJP state president Babulal Marandi, Bangladeshi infiltrators have entered the area on a large scale. The Santhal Pargana of Jharkhand is adjacent to the Bengal border and through it Bangladeshis have settled in these areas.
2. Former CM Champai Soren made a statement about this in the assembly. According to him, the tribal population has decreased in the whole of Jharkhand. Why this happened should be reviewed. Matters can be resolved only when tribals get their rights and entitlements.
3. Conversion is also the main reason for the decline of tribals in Santhal Parganas. In 2017, the government also made a law in this regard, but still cases of forced conversions have come to light in many places.
Why is BJP giving importance to this issue?
The BJP is raising this issue of population from the Assembly to the Election Commission and the Governor. The party wants to sharpen the issue ahead of the elections. There are two main reasons behind this strategy of BJP.
1. Hemant’s tribal and Muslim connections
After losing the Lok Sabha elections in 2019, Hemant Soren formed an alliance of tribals and Muslims. Hemant formed an alliance with Congress and RJD to solve this equation. This community was also given preference in ticket distribution and manifesto.
Hemant’s equation was a hit and the BJP government came to power. Even in the recent Lok Sabha elections, tribals and Muslims supported India’s alliance, which led to the BJP losing all 5 tribal-dominated seats.
BJP wants to break this equation by raising the issue of demography in Jharkhand especially in Santhal Pargana. There are total 18 assembly seats in 6 districts of Santhal Pargana. In the 2019 elections, BJP won only 4 of these 18 seats.
2. Attempt to attract tribals to Jharkhand
Jharkhand is a tribal dominated state. Barring Raghubar Das, all the Chief Ministers appointed so far belong to the tribal community. Out of the 81 assembly seats in the state, 28 are reserved for tribals. Leaving aside reserved seats, there are around 30 seats where tribal voters dominate.
In the last assembly elections, out of these 28 seats, BJP got only 2 seats. Both these seats were from Khunti district. In the recent Lok Sabha elections too, BJP suffered a huge loss in Khunti. Senior party leader Arjun Munda has lost the election from here.
In such a situation, it is necessary for the BJP to worship the tribals. This is the reason why BJP is taking up tribal issues vigorously.
