Zakir Hussain and Mahesh Kumar Chaudhary are childhood friends. Now in their forties, they are still close. Zakir lives in Ajna village and works as a construction contractor in Pakur where Mahesh also runs a small restaurant in the town.
“Pakur [district] is a very peaceful place; there’s harmony among people here,” says Mahesh.
“It’s the people coming from outside, like Himanta Biswa Sarma, [Chief Minister of Assam] who are inciting people with their speeches,” adds Zakir, sitting next to his friend.
A part of the Santhal Pargana region, Pakur lies in the eastern corner of Jharkhand which goes to the state assembly polls on November 20, 2024. A total of 81 seats are up for grabs. In the last polls in 2019, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)-led alliance had ousted the BJP.
In a bid to wrest power back, the BJP has sent the CM of Assam among others to woo voters. BJP leaders have whipped up anger against the Muslim communities, labelling them ‘infiltrators from Bangladesh’.
“Hindus live next door to me; they come to my house, and I go to theirs,” Zakir continues, “it is only during elections that the Hindu-Muslim issue always comes up. How else will they [BJP] win?”
At a rally in Jamshedpur in September, 2024, Prime Minister Narendra Modi lent his political weight to
the issues
of infiltration. “In Santhal Pargana [region], the Adivasi population is rapidly decreasing. Lands are being seized. Infiltrators are occupying positions in panchayats,” he said to the crowd.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Home Minister Amit Shah have also spoken similarly in their public speeches. The BJP’s election
manifesto
says, “we will take concrete steps to prevent illegal Bangladeshi infiltration in Jharkhand and protect the rights of tribal communities.”
Left: A farmer ploughing a field in Ajna. Right: Zakir Hussain (right)) and Mahesh Kumar Chaudhary (left) are childhood friends. Mahesh runs a small restaurant, Zakir works as a construction contractor
Social activist Ashok Verma calls out the BJP for using this issue for political gain. “A false narrative is being presented. There is no issue of Bangladeshi infiltration in Santhal Pargana,” he says. He points out that the Chota Nagpur and the Santhal Pargana Tenancy Acts restrict the sale of Adivasi land, and any instances of land sales have involved locals, not Bangladeshis.
The BJP’s politicians are citing a recent report of the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) which says that Bangladeshi infiltration is altering the ‘demographics’ of Jharkhand’s Santhal Pargana region. The NCST submitted the report to the Ministry of Home Affairs, which was then submitted before the Jharkhand High Court. It has not been made public.
Ashok Verma was part of an independent fact-finding team investigating the NCST and calls these findings baseless. He maintains that Adivasis are leaving because of poverty, malnutrition, low birth rates and high mortality rates.
It doesn’t help that media is focussing on the issue of polarisation. “Just turn it [TV] off, and harmony will come back. Newspapers are read mostly by educated people, but everyone watches TV,” Zakir adds.
According to Zakir, “the main issue in this election should be inflation.
Aata
[wheat flour],
chawal
[rice],
dal
[lentils],
tel
[oil]…everything has become so expensive.”
A member of the Jharkhand Janadhikar Mahasabha, Ashok adds, “in Santhal Pargana, Muslims and Adivasis share similar cultures, food habits, and even celebrate each other’s festivals. If you visit the local Adivasi
haat
[markets], you'll see both communities present.”
*****
On June 17, 2024, the day of the Muslim festival of Bakrid, communal tensions were high in Gopinathpur over animals being sacrificed for the celebrations. Like Ajana, this village is also located in Pakur district, and has a mix of both Hindu and Muslim communities. Neighbouring West Bengal lies across a narrow irrigation canal. Most residents here are marginal workers, involved in agriculture and agricultural labour.
Left: Nomita and her husband Dipachand Mandal outside their house which was attacked in June, 2024. Right: She has photographic proof of the damage which they want to use to seek compensation
Left: The kitchen outside Nomita's house was also vandalised. Right: Feeder canal separates Jharkhand from West Bengal
The police were called in to Ward No. 11 in Gandhaipur panchayat. Things settled down, only to erupt again the next day. “The crowd was throwing stones,” adds local resident Sudheer who watched 100-200 police personnel arrive on the scene. “There was smoke everywhere,” he recalls, “they even set fire to motorcycles and a police vehicle.”
Nomita Mandal was at home with her daughter when they heard an explosion. “Suddenly, stones were raining down on our house. We ran inside,” she says, her tone still fearful.
By then, a group of men had already broken the lock and forced their way in. They started beating up the mother and daughter. “They hit me here…and here,” says the 16-year-old, pointing to her waist and shoulders, “the pain is still there.” The men also burnt down the kitchen, a room separate from the main house, Nomita says, showing PARI the spot.
Sanjay Kumar Jha, the station-in-charge of police station in Muffasil brushes the incident off saying, “The damage isn’t extensive. A hut was burnt down and there was some minor vandalism. No one has died.”
Nomita, 32, lives with her family in Gopinathpur in Jharkhand’s Pakur district. They are among the many families who have been living in the area for generations. “This is our home, our land,” she says firmly.
Left: Hema Mandal is feeling unsafe since the attacks took place. 'There was no Hindu-Muslim tension before, but now there's constant fear,' she says. Right: Her kitchen was also vandalised
Left: ' The Muslims here stood by the Hindus,' says Rihan Sheikh. Right: He has a video of the incident on his mobile phone
Part of the Gandhaipur panchayat in Pakur district, Gopinathpur is a Hindu-majority area, says Pinky Mandal, a member of the District Council. Nomita’s husband Dipachand’s family have lived here for five generations. “There was no Hindu-Muslim tension before, but since that Bakrid incident, things have worsened,” says 34-year-old Dipachand who was away with their two other children when the attack took place.
“Someone called the police, or who knows what might have happened to us,” says Nomita. The following week, she borrowed Rs. 50,000 from her in-laws to install grills on the windows and doors of their house. “We wouldn’t feel safe here without it,” says Dipachand, who works as a daily wage labourer. “I wish I hadn’t gone to work that day,” he adds.
Hema Mandal is rolling
beedi
s with
tendu
leaves on her verandah. “There was no Hindu-Muslim tension before, but now there’s a constant fear.” She adds that when the water level in the canal dries up, “there’ll be fights again.” And people from Bengal yell threats from across the border. “After six p.m., this entire road falls silent,” she adds.
The canal, which became central to the conflict, runs parallel to the road that leads to Hema’s house. Even in the afternoon, the area is deserted, and in the evening, with no street lights, it is submerged in darkness.
Referring to the canal, 27-year-old Rihan Sheikh says, “The people involved in the incident were all from the other side, from [West] Bengal. The Muslims here stood with the Hindus.” Rihan is a tenant farmer and cultivates paddy, wheat, mustard and maize. He is the sole earning member in his family of seven.
Dismissing the BJP rhetoric he asks this reporter, “we have lived here for many generations. Are we Bangladeshis?”
