THE Union Home Minister Amit Shah, while launching the electoral manifesto of the BJP in Jharkhand, said that the party would bring a law to restrict the transfer of land from Adivasis to ‘Bangladeshi infiltrators’. He also reiterated the promise of implementing the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the state, but this time with a twist—“Adivasis will be exempted from its ambit,” he said. This is, however, not the first time that the trope of Bangladeshi infiltrators has been invoked by BJP leaders in the run-up to the Jharkhand Assembly elections. It started with the BJP’s plan to bring in Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma as the election-in-charge of the state. Sarma is known for invoking the narratives of ‘love jihad’ and ‘land jihad’ on his home turf. But the way it worked in his favour in Assam, will it serve the same purpose in Jharkhand? The historic cultural transactions and bonhomie between Adivasis and Muslims in the Chhota Nagpur region vouch for a different reality where the sense of assimilation prevails over imaginative separation.
A meeting with Padma Shri lokgeet singer Madhu Mansoori—who gained prominence with his song ‘Gao Chorab Nahi’—around 20 km from Ranchi, behind a roadside dhaba named ‘Jharkhand Muslim Hotel’, brings forth a new form of identity assertion. Showing reverence to his Muslim identity, if you greet him with Assalamu Alaykum, he responds with folded hands and a broad smile and says, ‘Johar’. Explaining his identity in a lucid manner, he says: “I consider myself to be an ‘Oraon Muslim’. The privileging of Adivasi identity over religious identity stems from the long cultural relations we share with the Adivasis.” Although his family embraced Islam several generations ago, being Adivasis, their cultural practices remain the same. He says that while he celebrates Eid and Baqarid, he never desists from celebrating Karma or Sarhul.
この記事は Outlook の November 21, 2024 版に掲載されています。
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この記事は Outlook の November 21, 2024 版に掲載されています。
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IMT Ghaziabad hosted its Annual Convocation Ceremony for the Class of 2024
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Identity and 'Infiltrators'
The Jharkhand Assembly election has emerged as a high-stakes political contest, with the battle for power intensifying between key players in the state.
Beyond Deadlines
Bibek Debroy could engage with even those who were not aligned with his politics or economics
Portraying Absence
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Of Rivers, Jungles and Mountains
In Adivasi poetry, everything breathes, everything is alive and nothing is inferior to humans
Hemant Versus Himanta
Himanta Biswa Sarma brings his hate bandwagon to Jharkhand to rattle Hemant Soren’s tribal identity politics
A Smouldering Wasteland
As Jharkhand goes to the polls, people living in and around Jharia coalfield have just one request for the administration—a life free from smoke, fear and danger for their children
Search for a Narrative
By demanding a separate Sarna Code for the tribals, Hemant Soren has offered the larger issue of tribal identity before the voters
The Historic Bonhomie
While the BJP Is trying to invoke the trope of Bangladeshi infiltrators”, the ground reality paints a different picture pertaining to the historical significance of Muslim-Adivasi camaraderie
Sarna Dharma
The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha is keeping the Sarna Code issue alive in its election campaign, especially in tribal areas