Unified Civil Code: BJP's challenge to tribals in Jharkhand vote

In India's current local election round, votes are also being cast in the state of which Ranchi is the capital. Prime Minister Modi's Hindu nationalists aim to win back the government by promising ‘equal rights’. But local ethnic groups fear that their identity and traditions will be erased.

Milan (AsiaNews) - Along with Maharashtra, local elections are currently underway in India in the state of Jharkhand, a north-eastern state with a strong tribal presence, in the service of whose communities Fr Stan Swamy, the Indian Jesuit who died in 2021 after a long imprisonment on unjust charges of terrorism, also spent his life. The elections are being held in two rounds: in some districts people voted on 13 November, and will go to the polls on 20 November to elect a total of 81 members of the State Legislative Assembly.

Competing for victory in Jharkhand are mainly two political forces: the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) - representative of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) - and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Hindu nationalist party of which India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the leader. In the last elections in 2019, the JMM had won 30 seats, forming a government with the support of the Indian Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal, electing Hemant Sorent as the state's felicitous leader. On that occasion, the BJP had won 25 seats, while the Congress just over 15.

The electoral programmes of the parties running in this election focus on a series of reforms to overhaul the state's governance model in order to foster its development. The NDA proposes to ‘drive out the infiltrators’, i.e. illegal immigrants from Bangladesh residing in Jharkhand. It also promises to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), while promising to protect and safeguard tribal communities and their rights.

Jharkhand, which came into being as a state in 2000 following the separation from Bihar, is characterised by its very diverse demographic composition, consisting of tribal and non-tribal groups, representing a complex socio-political landscape. With their very strong insistence on the Uniform Civil Code, Hindu nationalists say they aim to provide a cohesive legal framework, promoting equality among all citizens. This proposal, however, has provoked contrary reactions among tribal groups in the state, who fear that the introduction of the UCC will lead to the erosion of individual tribal traditions. In particular, the leaders of these communities have expressed concern about the loss of their autonomy and especially their customs, which would undergo a process of cultural homogenisation.

The NDA's position of wanting to protect tribal people while supporting the adoption of the UCC therefore seems somewhat contradictory and paradoxical. In Jharkhand, the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code would be far from straightforward, causing tension and resistance especially in rural areas, where knowledge of legal rights is scarce and limited.

While almost all election programmes address the issue of tribal rights, the JMM has also proposed reserving 33% of government posts for women, along with other points in agriculture and education. The Congress, currently ruling the state together with the JMM and the Rashtriya Janata Dal, promised free electricity, a caste census and filling all vacancies in government institutions.

Ahead of the Jharkhand elections, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted a message on X (formerly Twitter), urging voters to vote: ‘Today is the first round of voting for the Assembly elections in Jharkhand. I urge all voters to vote and participate in democracy.’ After its overwhelming victory in the northern state of Haryana through the NDA, the BJP hopes to replicate its success in Jharkhand and Maharashtra, where elections will be held on 20 November. The counting of votes cast will take place in both states on 23 November.

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