In India’s tribal-dominated Jharkhand, BJP labels Muslims as ‘Bangladeshis’

Pakur, India – Sitting astatine a dusty roadside beverage stall pinch his friends successful Bada Sanakad colony successful nan tribal-dominated eastbound Indian authorities of Jhakhand, Abdul Gafur is furious.

“Who says we are Bangladeshi infiltrators? Hear maine out, we are nan registered citizens of India. To date, God knows really galore of our generations person passed distant connected this land. So, do not reproach our ancestors by calling america infiltrators,” said nan 46-year-old farmer, arsenic astir a twelve of his companions, astir of them Muslims, nodded successful agreement.

Gafur is simply a Muslim, a organization successful Jharkhand that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been coating arsenic “Bangladeshi infiltrators” for months arsenic it seeks to unseat a coalition of guidance parties, led by Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), successful nan two-phase authorities assembly predetermination that started connected November 13.

Bid to break anti-BJP voting bloc?

Bada Sanakad falls successful Jharkhand’s Pakur district, which together pinch Godda, Deoghar, Dumka, Jamtara and Sahibganj districts shape what is known arsenic nan Santhal Pargana region, which votes successful nan 2nd shape of nan predetermination connected Wednesday. The region, pinch 18 seats successful nan 81-member authorities assembly, is dominated by tribal groups, who on pinch Muslims shape astir 50 percent of Santhal Pargana’s organization and person traditionally been voting for anti-BJP parties.

Across Jharkhand state, nan tribes and Muslims – astatine 26.2 percent and 14.5 percent respectively, according to nan 2011 census – shape astir 41 percent of Jharkhand’s 32 cardinal population.

Analysts opportunity it is this shape of voting among nan tribals and Muslims that nan BJP intends to break this twelvemonth by invoking nan “Muslim infiltrator” bogey. In 2019, nan right-wing statement won only 4 of 18 Santhal Pargana seats, while successful nan parliamentary elections earlier this year, nan BJP grounded to triumph nan 2 seats reserved for nan tribals and won 1 of nan 3 from nan region.

Catholic nuns queue up to ballot astatine a polling position during nan first shape of Jharkhand predetermination successful authorities superior Ranchi [File: Rajesh Kumar/AP]

India’s affirmative action programme reserves immoderate authorities assembly and parliamentary seats for historically marginalised groups, including dozens of tribes and less-privileged castes. The programme besides extends specified quotas successful state-run world institutions and authorities jobs.

Pakur, located connected nan northeastern extremity of Jharkhand, is hardly 50km (32 miles) from nan Bangladesh border. It besides adjoins nan Muslim-dominated Murshidabad territory successful neighbouring West Bengal state. It is for this logic that astir residents successful Santhal Pargana speak Bengali, a awesome South Asian connection spoken successful West Bengal arsenic good arsenic Bangladesh.

The bogey of a Bangladeshi infiltrator is not unfamiliar successful India, particularly since Modi came to powerfulness successful 2014 connected a Hindu majoritarian agenda. What first started arsenic a demonisation of nan mainly-Muslim Rohingya refugees from Myanmar and Bangladesh metamorphosed into a broader run against Muslims successful India’s northeast, particularly successful nan state of Assam, location to millions of Bengali-speaking Muslims.

In Assam, wherever a 3rd of its organization is Muslim, nan BJP and its friends person been moving nan “Muslim infiltrator” run for decades, alleging that Muslims entered nan state from Bangladesh “illegally”, altered nan state’s demographics, and took complete lands and jobs.

Xenophobic campaigns demanding that specified Muslims should beryllium deprived of each citizenship rights, jailed aliases deported to Bangladesh person intensified since a BJP-led conjugation first won Assam successful 2016. Since then, thousands of Muslims person been declared “doubtful” voters and dozens put successful detention centres specifically designed to fastener up “illegal” Muslims.

Now, Muslims successful Jharkhand fearfulness that authorities is being transported to their state: The BJP appointed Assam’s Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma its predetermination coordinator for Jharkhand successful nan run-up to nan vote. Sarma, 55, is simply a hardline politician accused of dislike speeches and policies against Muslims. In respective of his predetermination rallies successful Jharkhand, Sarma said his statement would place “the illegals” – arsenic he claims he did successful Assam – and “push them to Bangladesh”.

Sarma besides promised to replicate Assam’s arguable National Register of Citizens (NRC) successful Jharkhand if nan BJP wins. The NRC, primitively ordered by India’s Supreme Court successful 2013, intends to place and deport immigrants successful India who do not person valid papers. In 2019, Sarma’s authorities utilized nan NRC thrust to region astir 2 cardinal group from nan citizenship database – astir half of them Hindus. Though nan BJP had declared its intent to instrumentality NRC nationwide, it has been seen using nan rumor selectively successful immoderate regions.

“The state knows that 900,000 Hindus and 700,000 Muslims were near retired successful nan last draught of Assam’s NRC,” Jharkhand-based lawyer Shadab Ansari told Al Jazeera, adding that specified campaigns will person nary effect successful a tribal-dominated state.

Most analysts respect nan NRC arsenic a argumentation supplement to a arguable citizenship rule passed by nan Modi authorities successful 2019 and implemented earlier this year. The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), whose transition had group disconnected protests crossed nan state complete allegations of anti-Muslim bias, expedites Indian citizenship for “persecuted” Hindus, Parsis, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and Christians from neighbouring Muslim-majority Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan earlier December 31, 2014.

BJP spokesperson Pratul Shahdev denied nan statement is utilizing nan “Bangladeshi infiltrator” rumor arsenic an predetermination plank. “We person been raising this rumor for years and will proceed to do so,” he told Al Jazeera.

Shahdev said nan BJP is not claiming that each Santhal Muslims are infiltrators. “We are only raising questions connected Bangladeshi Muslim infiltrators, not connected section Muslims of Jharkhand,” he said.

“These infiltrators are taking advantage of various schemes tally by nan authorities for minorities by becoming citizens of nan state and usurping nan authorities of section Muslims. They are marrying tribal women and usurping nan onshore of tribals,” he added, without providing immoderate grounds to backmost his allegation.

Controversial BJP video

Meanwhile, nan BJP past week raised its “Bangladeshi infiltrator” transportation by releasing a 53-second video that depicted a group of Muslims, men and children wearing skullcaps and women successful burqa, forcibly entering nan location of a purported JMM protagonist and occupying it.

The video starts pinch residents successful a seemingly upper-middle-class bungalow-style location enjoying their meals and playing euphony connected a power erstwhile nan doorbell rings. A man opens nan doorway to find nan group outside, immoderate carrying their belongings connected their heads.

The man, taken aback, asks what they want. But nan group shoves him speech and barges in, taking complete nan power and soiling nan upholstery pinch their soiled feet. A female from nan location is shown closing her chemoreceptor – a stark reference to nan invading “impurity”. Soon, nan occupants are each complete nan house, forcing nan residents to huddle successful a corner. Amid nan “occupation”, nan camera zooms to a poster featuring JMM’s Soren connected nan wall. The caption adjacent to his photograph says: “We will alteration nan look of Jharkhand.”

Gafur from Pakur told Al Jazeera he saw nan video connected WhatsApp. “It seems nan BJP wants to summation votes by spreading hatred done specified videos. This effort to summation votes by mounting a communicative centering connected a peculiar belief is scary,” he said.

The JMM complained to nan Election Commission of India astir nan “misleading and malicious” video, accusing nan BJP of breaching nan predetermination rules. The committee connected Sunday ordered nan BJP to return down nan video immediately. The statement obliged, but nan video is still viral connected societal media, pinch respective accounts connected X and Facebook sharing it.

“The only responsibility of Santhal citizens who are being labelled Bangladeshis is that first, they are Muslims, and two, they are Bengali speaking. That is why they are accused of being Bangladeshis,” JMM legislator Sudivya Kumar Sonu told Al Jazeera.

BJP spokesperson Shahdev told Al Jazeera nan video “tried to show really horrific nan business is erstwhile intruders forcefully participate someone’s house”. “But erstwhile nan Election Commission instructed, we took it down. We did not station nan video to wounded nan sentiments of immoderate community,” he said.

‘We tin only beryllium patient’

The BJP whitethorn person taken down nan video, but its apical leaders – including Modi’s main aide, Home Minister Amit Shah, and BJP main Jagat Prakash Nadda – person agelong been targeting nan JMM-led government, accusing it of helping “illegal” Muslims settee crossed nan authorities and adding them to nan voters’ list. In 2018, Shah had repeatedly called Bangladeshi migrants “termites” during his nationalist speeches.

In 1 of his run speeches successful Jharkhand, Nadda moreover cited an alleged intelligence study claiming that “Bangladeshi infiltrators” are sheltered successful madrassas (Muslim schools) wherever they are fixed cardinal documents reserved for citizens. “The JMM authorities ensured onshore for them,” he said.

Gafur rejected nan allegation.

“Bangladesh was formed successful 1971 whereas each nan Muslims surviving successful Bada Sanakad person onshore records, immoderate going arsenic acold backmost arsenic 1932. Our ancestors person been surviving present since earlier nan independency of India,” he said.

Wakil Ansari, sitting adjacent to Gafur astatine nan beverage stall, agreed. He said nan governmental parties should activity to create nan Santhal Pargana region alternatively of indulging successful specified polarising tactics.

“Most Santhal families are limited connected agriculture. But owed to a deficiency of resources for irrigation, farmers are limited connected ponds and rain. In specified a situation, agriculture has been suffering. The authorities should activity connected it,” Ansari, 55, told Al Jazeera.

“Our children are deprived of value education. Due to constricted occupation opportunities, group either activity successful chromatic quarries aliases migrate to different states successful hunt of amended work. No governmental statement is consenting to talk these issues,” he said.

AC Micheal Williams, nationalist coordinator for United Christian Forum, a organization group, told Al Jazeera nan Hindu right’s authorities successful Jharkhand truthful acold mainly targeted Christian churches and different specified institutions, accusing them of moving a conversion run by offering rate and different incentives to nan mediocre tribals.

“This year, location person been a full of 585 incidents of unit against Christians crossed India, pinch 27 of those incidents occurring successful Jharkhand alone,” he noted.

“Just arsenic Christians person been accused of conversion, now Muslims successful Jharkhand are being targeted nether nan pretext of being Bangladeshi infiltrators. Such politically motivated actions for nan liking of votes are detrimental to nan interests of nan state and will yet harm societal harmony,” he said.

Back astatine nan beverage stall successful Bada Sanakad village, Gafur only has 1 thought arsenic he prepares to ballot connected Wednesday: “We tin only beryllium patient.”