BJP draws plan to reach out to STs in battleground J’khand

Tribal groups have been vocal against UCC, in the state that goes to polls in two phases on November 13 and 20.

Union home minister Amit Shah’s twin assurance of safeguarding Scheduled Tribes (STs) in Jharkhand from illegal immigrants and keeping their traditions and customs outside the purview of the proposed Uniform Civil Code (UCC) is an attempt by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to blunt the campaign against a common set of personal laws and for the recognition of tribals as an entity distinct from the Hindus, senior party leaders said.

Amit Shah said the BJP would keep tribal people out of the purview of the UCC wherever it is implemented and if voted to power in Jharkhand. (HT PHOTO)

Tribal groups have been vocal against UCC, a constant in the party’s manifesto for national elections since decades, in the state that goes to polls in two phases on November 13 and 20. There is also a demand from some groups to classify tribal customs and forms of worship as a separate religion, which both the BJP and its ideological mentor, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh are opposed to.

While the BJP has been wooing the STs that make up 26.2% of the state’s population, the party’s dismal performance in the last assembly polls and the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls –– it won 25 of 81 assembly seats but only two of 28 reserved for scheduled tribes in the 2019 assembly elections; and it won eight of 14 Lok Sabha seats in the summer’s national election and none of the of five reserved for STs –– have forced it to review its outreach.

Party leaders speaking on condition of anonymity said the home minister’s statement on Sunday addresses two specific concerns: land grab by illegal immigrants and the campaign to wedge a divide between the STs and the Hindus.

“Over time, there have been continuous efforts to create a schism between the tribals and the Hindu community. There are vested interests within the country and outside that have carried out conversions and sowed seeds of mistrust among the poor and the marginalised and seek to create an impression that tribals are distinct from the Hindus,” said a senior party leader and office bearer.

This leader said that in addition to the development work and ST-centric policies that have been announced in the last 10 years , there has been a concerted move by the BJP and the RSS to address ideological issues as well. “...it is in the wake of these concerns (conversion and land grab) that the Prime Minister, home minister and other senior leaders have asserted that ST interests will be safeguarded,” the leader said.

These interests span the tribal way of life, and at a more material level, jobs and land.

On Tuesday, the Prime Minister raised the issue of illegal immigrants and accused the state government of overlooking the concerns of the STs. “They are snatching your bread, your daughters and your land. If the misrule of JMM-Congress-RJD continues here, then the spread of tribal areas will shrink. This poses a big danger to the tribal communities and the security of the country,” he said.

At one level, the BJP has spelt out its intent to crack down on illegal immigrants, and set up a displacement commission for assessing and returning land; at another, it has said that the UCC will not apply to STs and that the government will assess the demand to recognise Sarna form of worship as a separate entity.

Speaking after the release of the party’s manifesto on Sunday, Shah said the BJP would keep tribal people out of the purview of the UCC wherever it is implemented and if voted to power in Jharkhand, it will “deliberate on” the demand for the Sarna Code “and make appropriate decisions.”

“Our government will introduce UCC in Jharkhand but tribals will be kept out of its ambit. Hemant Soren and the JMM government are making false propaganda that UCC will impact tribal rights, culture and relevant legislation, which is totally baseless as they will be kept out of its ambit,” Shah added in Ranchi.

A senior functionary of the RSS, which runs schools and skill development centres in the tribal areas through its affiliate the Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram, said while the Sangh does not perceive Sarna as separate from Hinduism, it is imperative to address the concerns of the community that has been pushing for a separate Sarna Code.

“The demand for a separate Sarna religious code gathered voice in 2020 when some groups began to delink Sarnas from Hindus, overlooking the fact that our puja padati (way of worship) is similar. It is the handiwork of groups that want to impose their religious beliefs on the tribals and draw them away from the Hindu way of life,” the functionary added, asking not to be named.

The Sangh was alarmed by an increase in the number of tribal people who chose to identify as “others” or “Sarna” instead of Hindu during the 2011 census said the functionary. That number was around 5 million in 2011.

Given that the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) has backed the demand for a Sarna Code, the RSS has supported Shah’s statement of assessing the demand. “It has become a political issue, but can have serious social ramifications, so it is in that light that the home minister has said they will study the demand...” the RSS functionary said.