Last Updated:
The tribal resentment is over the two decades old law brought by the NDA government that prohibits cow slaughter and beef consumption, which Hemant Soren promised to repeal but he didn’t
Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren during a public meeting ahead of the state Assembly elections, in Khunti. (Image: PTI)
As Jharkhand votes on Wednesday, the focus on 43 out of 81 seats will remain on tribals as most of the constituencies voting fall under the Kolhan coal belt, the tribal-dominated South Chotanagpur and the northern Palamu regions. While in the national narrative, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP’s) infiltrators barb in Santhalpargana made headlines, the tribal issues are seldom more nuanced. Like many states of India, cows are back as an election issue just ahead of the first phase. While it doesn’t benefit the BJP, it certainly stands a chance to harm Chief Minister Hemant Soren — who is seen to be taking tribal votes for granted.
The tribal resentment is over the two decades old law brought by the NDA government that prohibits cow slaughter and beef consumption, which Hemant Soren promised to repeal when he came to power in 2019. However, he did not keep his word.
Jharkhand Bovine Animal Prohibition of Slaughter Act, 2005, which was brought by the BJP-ruled NDA government in Jharkhand, bans the slaughter of bovines, prohibits their transportation for slaughter, restricts their export, prohibits their sale or purchase and allows the administration to enter, search and seize under suspicion. The law has a maximum sentence of rigorous imprisonment of 10 years with a fine which many in the tribal belt felt was arbitrary.
While the legality and often animal rights, too, are at odds with the tribal sentiments, rituals like Dangri Puja or Sohrai in Jharkhand are examples of how bovines have been sacrificed so far. The Act makes it a crime now.
The Dangri Puja ritual is performed by the tribals of Jharkhand and involves sacrificing an ox. It is conducted infrequently, and only when there is an urgent need. In 2015, eight men from Jatni Toli in Jharkhand’s Khunti district had to spend three months behind bars for this. Similarly, Sohrai is a cattle festival celebrated during the Amavasya of the month of Kartik, and coincides with Diwali. During the festival, people fast, bathe their cattle and offer sacrifices to the cattle deity in the evening.
In this Lok Sabha election, although the BJP won eight out of the 14 Lok Sabha seats in Jharkhand, it failed to win even one of the five seats reserved for Scheduled Tribes. Ever since, the BJP deputed Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma work on this as he is known to have worked wonders in the North East. The BJP knows it can’t be flexible on promising to change the law. So it raised the other big concern of tribals of Santhalpargana — infiltrators marrying tribals and diluting tribal norms. The BJP went all out to promise they would protect them, with assurances coming from Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
But even after waiting for five years and voting en masse for Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, riding high on sympathy factor after the Enforcement Directorate arrested Hemant Soren, something happened in May this year, after the election results came in. In a shocking case, a 60-year-old man was allegedly stripped and dragged while being tied to a motorcycle by three men on suspicion of cow smuggling. The incident occurred around 275 km from the state capital Ranchi. It brought a sense of urgency to press on Hemant Soren that he cannot take their vote for granted, even if he is the son of Shibu Soren.
The 28 seats reserved for the tribal community are pivotal to the emerging tussle between the ruling JMM-Congress and the BJP that hopes to unseat them. The answer to whether that will happen remains on which side the Adivasis lean towards.
