Shibu Soren's Broken Legacy: How 'Jamai Tolas' Now Pose Existential Threat To Tribals
Once upon a time, freedom hero Bhagwan Birsa Munda's fiery slogan 'abua dishom, abua raj" (our land, our rule), used against colonial British rule, fired up Jharkhand's tribal politics of the 1970s, '80s, and '90s. Shibu Soren, then a young man with a flowing, sadhu-like beard, led movements like Dhan Katni to reclaim adivasi land from moneylenders.
Soren was Dishom Guru, or Guide of the Land, for Santhals and other local tribes. He was not just a politician. For Jharkhand's tribal population, Soren was a revolutionary, a guru, and almost like a spiritual guide. He was the embodiment of their identity and aspirations, defender of their rights. A man who had no qualms about having the local drink, Haria, with his people, even as a chief minister or union minister, so deep was his connect.
But when Soren passed away last week at 81, he left a legacy for Jharkhand, and especially its tribals, which is far from perfect. In fact, despite his redoubtable positive contributions, he has left an existential threat looming over his state and its people.
The illegal influx of Bangladeshi and Rohingya Muslims is wrecking Jharkhand's demography, gobbling up the same tribal land that Soren once fought to protect. In spite of being in power for a couple of decades, he and his son (current CM Hemant Soren) ignored the dangerous demographic takeover for narrow political gains.
As a result, an affidavit filed by the Centre in the Jharkhand High Court showed a 16 per cent decline in the tribal population of Santhal Pargana, or the tribal belt. The tribal population slipped from 44 per cent in 1951 to 28 per cent in 2011. Simultaneously, there has been a significant increase in the Muslim population (by an estimated 20-40 per cent) and a staggering 6,000-fold rise in the Christian population across six districts, namely Deoghar, Dumka, Sahibganj, Pakur, Godda, and Jamtara.
In a report submitted to the union home ministry in September 2024, the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) said that Bangladeshi infiltration was playing havoc with the demography of Jharkhand's Santhal Pargana.
A division bench of the Jharkhand High Court, hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Danish Daniel on illegal immigration, directed the Hemant Soren government to check the land records and domicile credentials before issuing identity documents like Aadhaar card, voter's ID, and ration card to people. The court directed the Hemant Soren government to identify illegal immigrants.
The demographic change in the tribal areas has been systematic. Illegals enter from Bangladesh through West Bengal, initially working as labourers.
These illegal immigrants, mostly males, come and settle on the periphery of a tribal village. They soon establish relations with tribal women, marry them, and settle more permanently as 'jamai" or sons-in-law. They illegally squat on both tribal and government land.
They then bring in more illegals till the demography begins to change. These colonies, or 'jamai tolas", keep growing. The hills that traditionally belong to the Paharias and the plains to the Santhals keep shrinking for the very people they provided for and protected for centuries. Crime and conversions grow, according to police reports.
Shibu Soren presided over this degenerative process. His son Hemant is in denial. But at some point, the tribal voice will be loud enough to force the CM to heed. But perhaps it will be too late to fix Shibu Soren's broken legacy.
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First Published:
August 08, 2025, 21:49 IST
News opinion Opinion | Shibu Soren's Broken Legacy: How 'Jamai Tolas' Now Pose Existential Threat To Tribals
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