Jharkhand goes to the polls on the last leg of its five-phased assembly elections on December 20. We are told that the Bharatiya Janata Party is going to be the biggest winner since Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party leaders have promised to bring development for all, sabka vikas, if voted to power.
The party’s confidence is soaring. After this year's general elections, the BJP’s tribal face and three-time state Chief Minister Arjun Munda said in an interview, “We are 100% sure that people will give two-third majority to the BJP in this assembly election” because “people of Jharkhand are disillusioned by the lawlessness, corruption and bad governance first during the regime of Madhu Koda and now under Hemant Soren”.
There is no doubt that since its formation, the state has faced rampant corruption, nepotism, lawlessness and rise in crime, compounding various socio-political and educational issues.
Malnutrition and poor education
According to the Jharkhand Human Rights Report (2000-'11), prepared by the Jharkhand Human Rights Movements, more than 100 people have died from acute hunger since the state’s creation. Of these, 40 belonged to the indigenous Adivasi communities.
Malnutrition is even more widespread. As per the National Family and Health Survey, 57% children in Jharkhand are malnourished. The Jharkhand Social Welfare Department’s own data puts this figure at 5.5 lakh children. Looking closer, 56.5% of children aged below five are underweight and 70.3% are anaemic. Anaemia affects 78.2% girls, of whom 64.2% are school-going, and 70% women. Among indigenous tribes, 64.3% children aged below five are underweight, and 80% are children and 85% women are anaemic.
In the Indian Labour & Employment Report 2014, prepared by the Institute for Human Development, Jharkhand stood sixteenth in the country on the Employment Situation Index. According to the report, “Hurdles like poor education infrastructure, alleged exploitation of mineral reserves, poor public health system, displacing people involved in menial jobs are some of the factors claimed to have halted the state’s march on the road of development. Also, discrimination between big corporate houses and Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises is seen...as the reason for the state’s poor performance of ESI index.”
A recent report prepared by the Ranchi-based human rights organisation, Network of Advocate for Right and Action, documents that custodial police torture killed 41 people in the last 10 years.
Fixing responsibility
Who is responsible for this state of affairs? The Congress and the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, many would have us believe. But a look at party-wise regimes tells an altogether different story.
Over the last 14 years, the BJP has been at the state’s helm in one way or the other. The first and second chief ministers were from the BJP. Of the five chief ministers the state has had, the two from the BJP had the longest tenures (BJP’s Arjun Munda was in power thrice covering a period of more than six years). A third non-BJP chief minister held the post with the BJP’s support. The JMM ruled the state for less than three years over four stints, including the ongoing one. In all these years, the Congress never ruled the state directly.
Clearly then, blaming the plight of the Jharkhandi people on Congress and JMM alone, while absolving BJP of all guilt, is a barefaced lie.
Munda and his party leaders accuse Koda and Soren for the current state of affairs, forgetting that these two enjoyed BJP’s support. It was not surprising to hear BJP President Amit Shah sympathising with Koda while speaking in Lohardaga during the election campaign. According to a news report, “Shah said, ‘No one from the Congress, which supported Koda, had gone to jail, but the poor adivasi had to go to jail.’ Though he added that he was not supporting Koda, Shah’s attack was targeted solely at the Congress.”
Backtracking from promises
The cheerleaders of the BJP, and especially of Modi, ignore these facts and argue that the party could not solve Jharkhand’s problems because it never received a clear mandate. Whenever the party tried to do something substantial to alleviate the people’s plight, the alliance partners did not cooperate. That is why this time around, they are asking for a clear and decisive mandate. “Give a clear mandate to the BJP in Jharkhand and I promise development of the state,” said Modi at a rally in Chaibasa last month.
In all this, a crucial question is not answered: what is the guarantee that a clear mandate will necessarily lead to development? Even a cursory look at the last six months of the Modi government at the Centre informs us that, in the BJP’s case, landslide mandate does not always lead to the path of development.
This is so evident that even Modi’s noted cheerleaders like Arun Shourie, Tavleen Singh and Madhu Kishwar have publicly expressed their discontent with the way the Central government is operating and backtracking from its election promises.
Development for whom?
Even if the BJP succeeds in delivering the promise of development, how is it going to ensure sabka vikas? Especially since its model is neither inclusive in nature nor scope.
Over the years, the exclusive nature of the Gujarat Model has been exposed by journalists and researchers, proving that it has marginalised more people – especially Muslim, Dalit and tribal – than empowering them. Moreover, Modi’s repeated references in Jharkhand to “rich land” hints that he is more interested in exploiting the state’s natural resources than anything else. If that is the case, it will further worsen the state’s problem of displacement.
Remember, the issue of displacement is critical in Jharkhand. The state has displaced 80% of the tribal population from their land and forests for the sake of “development” and relocated only 4.5% of them. The rest of them are wandering in big cities for their survival.
Several reports by civil society organisations and human rights groups say that in the decade from 2000, around 30 lakh people had to migrate from the state. Of these, five lakh are women, now primarily working as house help in metros. According to a Delhi-based research and advocacy centre, the Indian Social Institute, 54.78% girls and women who shifted from Jharkhand to Delhi are working as housemaid. Of these, 70% had to migrate before the age of 18, and 72.1% could not marry because of the nature of their work.
Modi and his party leaders have only made a lot of promises during the campaign. These assurances, if the past is any clue, are likely to produce more questions than answers.
Mahtab Alam is a civil rights activist. He has previously worked in Jharkhand with people’s movements. His Twitter handle is @MahtabNama.
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The party’s confidence is soaring. After this year's general elections, the BJP’s tribal face and three-time state Chief Minister Arjun Munda said in an interview, “We are 100% sure that people will give two-third majority to the BJP in this assembly election” because “people of Jharkhand are disillusioned by the lawlessness, corruption and bad governance first during the regime of Madhu Koda and now under Hemant Soren”.
There is no doubt that since its formation, the state has faced rampant corruption, nepotism, lawlessness and rise in crime, compounding various socio-political and educational issues.
Malnutrition and poor education
According to the Jharkhand Human Rights Report (2000-'11), prepared by the Jharkhand Human Rights Movements, more than 100 people have died from acute hunger since the state’s creation. Of these, 40 belonged to the indigenous Adivasi communities.
Malnutrition is even more widespread. As per the National Family and Health Survey, 57% children in Jharkhand are malnourished. The Jharkhand Social Welfare Department’s own data puts this figure at 5.5 lakh children. Looking closer, 56.5% of children aged below five are underweight and 70.3% are anaemic. Anaemia affects 78.2% girls, of whom 64.2% are school-going, and 70% women. Among indigenous tribes, 64.3% children aged below five are underweight, and 80% are children and 85% women are anaemic.
In the Indian Labour & Employment Report 2014, prepared by the Institute for Human Development, Jharkhand stood sixteenth in the country on the Employment Situation Index. According to the report, “Hurdles like poor education infrastructure, alleged exploitation of mineral reserves, poor public health system, displacing people involved in menial jobs are some of the factors claimed to have halted the state’s march on the road of development. Also, discrimination between big corporate houses and Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises is seen...as the reason for the state’s poor performance of ESI index.”
A recent report prepared by the Ranchi-based human rights organisation, Network of Advocate for Right and Action, documents that custodial police torture killed 41 people in the last 10 years.
Fixing responsibility
Who is responsible for this state of affairs? The Congress and the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, many would have us believe. But a look at party-wise regimes tells an altogether different story.
Over the last 14 years, the BJP has been at the state’s helm in one way or the other. The first and second chief ministers were from the BJP. Of the five chief ministers the state has had, the two from the BJP had the longest tenures (BJP’s Arjun Munda was in power thrice covering a period of more than six years). A third non-BJP chief minister held the post with the BJP’s support. The JMM ruled the state for less than three years over four stints, including the ongoing one. In all these years, the Congress never ruled the state directly.
Clearly then, blaming the plight of the Jharkhandi people on Congress and JMM alone, while absolving BJP of all guilt, is a barefaced lie.
Munda and his party leaders accuse Koda and Soren for the current state of affairs, forgetting that these two enjoyed BJP’s support. It was not surprising to hear BJP President Amit Shah sympathising with Koda while speaking in Lohardaga during the election campaign. According to a news report, “Shah said, ‘No one from the Congress, which supported Koda, had gone to jail, but the poor adivasi had to go to jail.’ Though he added that he was not supporting Koda, Shah’s attack was targeted solely at the Congress.”
Backtracking from promises
The cheerleaders of the BJP, and especially of Modi, ignore these facts and argue that the party could not solve Jharkhand’s problems because it never received a clear mandate. Whenever the party tried to do something substantial to alleviate the people’s plight, the alliance partners did not cooperate. That is why this time around, they are asking for a clear and decisive mandate. “Give a clear mandate to the BJP in Jharkhand and I promise development of the state,” said Modi at a rally in Chaibasa last month.
In all this, a crucial question is not answered: what is the guarantee that a clear mandate will necessarily lead to development? Even a cursory look at the last six months of the Modi government at the Centre informs us that, in the BJP’s case, landslide mandate does not always lead to the path of development.
This is so evident that even Modi’s noted cheerleaders like Arun Shourie, Tavleen Singh and Madhu Kishwar have publicly expressed their discontent with the way the Central government is operating and backtracking from its election promises.
Development for whom?
Even if the BJP succeeds in delivering the promise of development, how is it going to ensure sabka vikas? Especially since its model is neither inclusive in nature nor scope.
Over the years, the exclusive nature of the Gujarat Model has been exposed by journalists and researchers, proving that it has marginalised more people – especially Muslim, Dalit and tribal – than empowering them. Moreover, Modi’s repeated references in Jharkhand to “rich land” hints that he is more interested in exploiting the state’s natural resources than anything else. If that is the case, it will further worsen the state’s problem of displacement.
Remember, the issue of displacement is critical in Jharkhand. The state has displaced 80% of the tribal population from their land and forests for the sake of “development” and relocated only 4.5% of them. The rest of them are wandering in big cities for their survival.
Several reports by civil society organisations and human rights groups say that in the decade from 2000, around 30 lakh people had to migrate from the state. Of these, five lakh are women, now primarily working as house help in metros. According to a Delhi-based research and advocacy centre, the Indian Social Institute, 54.78% girls and women who shifted from Jharkhand to Delhi are working as housemaid. Of these, 70% had to migrate before the age of 18, and 72.1% could not marry because of the nature of their work.
Modi and his party leaders have only made a lot of promises during the campaign. These assurances, if the past is any clue, are likely to produce more questions than answers.
Mahtab Alam is a civil rights activist. He has previously worked in Jharkhand with people’s movements. His Twitter handle is @MahtabNama.