Symbolic pictures.
The first phase of elections has been held in Jharkhand. The second phase of voting will take place on November 20. Meanwhile, the BJP has intensified its attack on the Soren government over illegal infiltration of Santals and demographic changes. The BJP claimed that Bangladeshi infiltrators had changed the entire demography of Santal Pargana, a tribal district in Jharkhand. However, state chief minister Hemant Soren and the Congress termed these allegations by the BJP as baseless.
The Center made shocking revelations in an affidavit filed during a hearing in the Jharkhand High Court on September 12. According to the central government, six districts in Santal Pargana have witnessed massive Bengali infiltration. According to the central government’s affidavit filed in the high court, there was massive infiltration of Bangladeshis into tribal areas and the two districts most targeted by the infiltrators were Sahibganj and Pakul. As a result, the number of religious schools in these areas has also increased significantly over the past few years.
Demographic changes in Sahibganj and Pakur
According to central government statistics, the population of Sahibganj in 1961 was 401,400. Among them, the Muslim population is 82,000, accounting for about 20% of the total population. In 2011, the total population of Sahibganj increased to 1.15 million. During this period, the Muslim population reached approximately 400,000. Accounting for 35% of the total population. This means that in just 50 years, the Muslim population increased by 15% in percentage terms. It was only 20% in 1961 and increased to 35% in 2011. In 1961, the population of Bakul District was approximately 3.5 million. There are 76,000 Muslims among them, but in 2011 the Muslim population increased from 22% to 36%, or 352,000 people. Over the past 50 years, the population has grown by 14%.
According to central government reports, the Hindu population in Santal Pargana accounted for 90% of the total population in 1951, which means that if there were 100 people living in an area, 90 of them were Hindus. Among them, the tribal population accounts for 45%, the Muslim population accounts for 9%, and the Christian population accounts for less than 1%. However, in 2011, the Hindu population reached 68%, the tribal population accounted for 28%, the Muslim population accounted for 23%, and the Christian population accounted for 4%. Thus, in Santal Pargana district, the number of Hindus decreased by 22% between 1951 and 2011, while the tribal population decreased by 17% and the Muslim population increased by 14%. Not only that, Christians also increased by about 4%.
The change in the population of Santal Pargana gives serious indications and no one can deny that the Hindu tribes here are decreasing rapidly while the population of other religions is increasing. Illegal Bangladeshis are not only engaged in bride-and-son-in-law strategies, they are also making long-term investments in changing demographics. They were given everything from voter ID cards to produced Aadhar cards. In Sahibganj district, the government has removed the names of more than 7,900 Bangladeshi infiltrators from the electoral list. In these neighborhoods, the demographics have changed 200 to 300 times.
What districts are included?
The Bangladesh border is located at a distance of 50 to 200 kilometers from Sahibganj, Goda, Pakur, Dumka, Deoghar and Jamtara. It only takes them two to three hours to access these areas from Bangladesh. As a border country, there is not much difference in the language and dress of the people. Because of this, it was easy for these people to settle in these areas. While the Bangladesh infiltration case was heard only in the Santal Pargana district high court, the Prime Minister also mentioned the Kulhan district during his rally in Jamshedpur. Kolhan includes Sarai Kela, Kharsawan, West Singhbhu and East Singhbhu districts. Tribal voting is most important in the Santal Pargana and Korhan belts.
Korhan-Santhal’s Political Mathematics
In this context, it is important to take into account the calculation of parliamentary seats in these regions. Santal Pargana’s six constituencies have three Lok Sabha seats and 18 Assembly seats. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP got two seats in Dumka, Godda and Rajmahal got one seat, and the JMM got one seat, but a big change has happened in 2024, out of which, the BJP got only one Seats i.e. Godda and JMM got Dumka seat which Rajmahal could collect. In the 2019 Assembly elections, out of 18 seats in Santal Pargana, the JMM won 9 seats, including all 7 ST reserved seats, its ally Congress won 5 seats, while the Indian The People’s Party won 4 seats.
Kolhan has two Lok Sabha seats and 14 Assembly seats. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress won the Singhbhum seat and the BJP won the Jamshedpur seat in these districts. Although the Congress MP from Singhbhum Geeta Koda joined the BJP in 2024, she had to face defeat and the seat was lost to the JMM. This time the BJP also won the Jamshedpur seat. If we talk about the 2019 assembly elections, the BJP was defeated in all 14 assembly seats in Kolhan. Among them, JMM won 11 seats, Congress won 2 seats and Independent Party won 1 seat.
Why do penetration problems occur?
The tribal vote bank was the biggest factor in Jharkhand’s victory. This time the vote has been in favor of Mukti Morcha in Jharkhand, but this time, in a bid to weaken this vote bank, the BJP has handed over the reins of the party in the state to tribal leader Babulal Marandi, To return in the assembly elections, the largest leader of Kolhan And Champai Soren, known as Kolhan Tiger, has been incorporated into the BJP. At the time of the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP also included Sita Soren, the eldest daughter-in-law of the Soren family, and Geeta Koda, wife of former chief minister Madhu Koda. The BJP also offered tickets to the Lok Sabha elections to both of them, but they failed to win.
In the assembly elections, the BJP is once again trying to win over the support of its tribals so that it can once again fly the saffron flag to power in Jharkhand. This is why the party has started vehemently raising the issue of Bangladeshi and Rohingya infiltration into tribal areas like Santal Pargana and Kolkhan in the electoral environment.
