Chhattisgarh: No country for Adivasis

The apparent lack of concern around jal-jangal-zameen issues has resulted in apathy and deep-seated mistrust of the state across the tribal belt.

At a polling booth during the first phase of the election, in Dugeli village of Bastar district on April 19. Thousands of people flocked to cast their votes in villages across Bastar, a naxal-dominated district. | Photo Credit: IDREES MOHAMMED/AFP

The Lok Sabha election discourse in Chhattisgarh is centred around a model of governance and economic development upheld by the ruling BJP and the Congress. But it means little to the near invisible and silent section of Adivasis, who account for 30 per cent of the State’s population but find no party support for their jal-jangal-zameen (water-forest-land) issues.

According to Sunil Kumar, editor of Chhattisgarh, a Raipur-based daily, the State has seen the most tepid and listless election campaigning ever.

Speaking to Frontline, he said: “This is the most economical election that we have seen in Chhattisgarh to date. The candidates are barely spending money. It is all about 10 years of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rule at the Centre and five years of Bhupesh Baghel’s Congress rule in the State before the BJP came to power over three months ago.”

Most of the hoardings across the capital, Raipur, and multimedia advertisements feature Modi with claims of fulfilling the 2023 Assembly election promises, including direct cash transfers to farmers and married women.

A giant hoarding outside Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai’s house at Bhagat Singh Chowk celebrates the revocation of Articles 370 and 35(A) in Jammu and Kashmir. A hoarding at the bustling Jaistambh Chowk shows Modi in combat dress, boasting that “borders have become secure, terrorists are helpless”. Some hoardings swear legal action in alleged scams that took place under the Baghel government.

BJP campaign

But there are several issues in the BJP’s campaign that do not resonate with the people. “Both the BJP and the Congress work for corporate interests at the cost of peoples’ right over jal, jangal, zameen,” said Sudiep Shrivastava, a leader of the Hamar Raj Party (HRP), citing the example of the ongoing felling of trees in the biodiversity-rich Hasdeo Arand region, part of the Parsa East Kente Basan Phase II mining projects. The HRP is a political front of the Sarva Adivasi Samaj (SAS), an umbrella organisation for various tribal rights movements, and is contesting the election this time.

“The only difference between the two parties is that Congress is the BJP minus Hindutva playbook,” said Shrivastava, adding: “None of the 11 candidates fielded by the BJP and Congress can debate on the Constitution in the context of the rights of the indigenous people.” In fact, the claims of both the previous Congress and the current BJP governments around the purchase of forest produce from tribal people at remunerative prices do not ring true in many Adivasi villages.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi flanked by members of the Ramnami tribal community, during an election rally in Janjgir-Champa on April 23. | Photo Credit: ANI

The BJP’s campaign projects the party as a champion of militaristic nationalism, good governance, and Hindu supremacy. On the ground, the Sangh Parivar’s sustained campaign against Muslims and Christians has helped the BJP consolidate Hindu support. The Chief Minister has himself accused Christian missionaries of carrying out conversions in the garb of charity. Under attack by Hindutva organisations, Christians in many areas have often found it difficult to even bury their dead.

Outside the BJP’s headquarters in Raipur, huge hoardings celebrate the Ram temple consecration in Ayodhya. Two noted spiritual leaders from Chhattisgarh’s Ramnami tribe were with Modi at a rally in Janjgir-Champa on April 23. The members of this tiny community are known for tattooing Ram’s name on their bodies, including on their face and eyelids. Referring to the Congress turning down the invitation for the pran pratishtha in Ayodhya, Modi asked: “Is it not a disrespect for Chhattisgarh? It is Lord Ram’s maternal home.”

At an election rally in Kanker on April 22, Union Home Minister Amit Shah blamed the Congress for poverty in Chhattisgarh. He also credited Modi with designating Birsa Munda’s birth anniversary as “Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas” and allocating over Rs.200 crore to build 10 museums across the country to honour Adivasi freedom fighters who fought against colonial rule. (Birsa Munda, a folk hero, was a 19th century tribal freedom fighter.)

The BJP has also been lauding itself for installing Droupadi Murmu as India’s first Adivasi President and Vishnu Deo Sai as the State’s first Adivasi Chief Minister. However, activists campaigning for jal-jangal-zameen said the State government had “forcibly” evicted protesters from at least 19 dharna sites across the State ahead of the election. At one such site along the bank of the Chhota Betia river in Kanker district, the bamboo shelters still stood wearing a deserted look on April 22.

Protest sites

“The security forces asked us to leave the place, telling us that we are protesting at the behest of Naxalites,” said Ajit Nareti, who is associated with the Bechaghat movement that the SAS has spearheaded for the past two years. The protesters want the removal of Border Security Force camps and the revocation of proposals to develop tribal areas as tourist destinations.

Many activists believe that the government is constructing transport infrastructure in the area to facilitate reckless mining, ignoring the natural rights of the Adivasis over water resources, land, and forests.

In the Antagarh block of Kanker district, a Naxal stronghold, although the railway line has been laid up to Tadoki village under the protection of paramilitary forces, villagers at Bechaghat told Frontline that their protest had led to the cancellation of the contract for a highway meant to connect mines and military camps. The highway would have resulted in large-scale displacement of the Adivasi population from thickly forested areas across the Chhota Betia river.

Distrust of state

A visit to the densely forested area straddling the Kanker-Narayanpur border in Bastar division’s Abujhmaad revealed that the government’s writ does not run in the area. The apathy of the Adivasis towards elections and their deep-seated distrust of the state was loud and clear. As recently as April 16, at least 29 Maoists were killed in a fierce encounter deep inside the forest hills straddling Kalpar in Kanker district and Kumudgunda in Narayanpur district. In fact, polling for the 11 Lok Sabha seats spread across the first three phases coincides with an all-out offensive against Maoist insurgents in the State. At his Kanker rally, Amit Shah said: “Since Shri Vishnu Deo Sai became the Chief Minister and Shri Vijay Sharma assumed the role of Home Minister, over 90 Naxalites have been eliminated in just four months. Additionally, more than 123 have been arrested and 250 have surrendered.”

Former Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel during a campaign in Paangri village, on April 19. | Photo Credit: SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA

Asserting that Naxalism has been rooted out from Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Madhya Pradesh, Shah said: “We will eliminate Naxalism from Chhattisgarh within two years.”

In 2019, BJP’s Mohan Mandavi won the Kanker Lok Sabha seat. This time, the party has fielded Bhojraj Nag, who is known for his aggressive campaigns against Adivasi conversions in Bastar. In the first phase, Bastar recorded a 68 per cent voter turnout, up from 66 per cent in 2019. However, several tribal villages boycotted the election.

Congress factionalism

As for the Congress, it has been struggling with factionalism even as Baghel was targeted by the Enforcement Directorate for allegedly receiving proceeds from the illegal Mahadev betting app. He is contesting from Rajnandgaon, which the Congress last won 17 years ago. In the 2023 Assembly election, the Congress won five of the eight Assembly segments in this constituency. One of the Assembly segments is represented by BJP leader Raman Singh, who was Chief Minister for 15 years.

On the campaign trail, Baghel has held meetings at the village level, explaining the welfare schemes that the former State government launched under his leadership. He talks about reductions in the quota of food rations distributed among the poor under the BJP’s rule and reminds farmers of the Rs.9,000 crore worth of farm loans he waived after taking over as Chief Minister.

In response to the BJP’s “Lakhpati Didi” scheme, he too is talking of an annual financial assistance to women and a daily wage of Rs.400 under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. In the past, Baghel has contested and lost two Lok Sabha elections. While seeking votes, he emphasises the need for a strong opposition in the country.