Ravi Raj Baghel, who unsuccessfully toiled to become an IAS officer operating from his rented flat in Mukherjee Nagar in Delhi some years ago, is a busy man yet again.
His furniture-free third-floor flat in New Rani Bagh in Indore bustles with activity past midnight, as a group of Bhil youth brainstorm to make their organisation JAYS (Jai Adivasi Yuva Shakti) test the electoral waters by backing about 80 independent candidates in the upcoming Assembly polls.
Adivasi politics, revolving around the State’s 20.3% tribal population, has seen a revival of sorts, and JAYS is a household name. Though there is nothing new about the politics, it is more diverse now. And more divided too.
In 1991, the Gondwana Ganatantra Party (GGP) was founded to seek a Gondawana State in the Mahakaushal region, the home of the Gond tribe.
It tasted modest success, weaning away tribal youth from the Bahujan Samaj Party, which was looking to expand in MP.
“I was a member of Kanshi Ram’s BAMCEF, DS-4 and the BSP,” reminisces an ageing Gulzar Singh Markam, GGP’s national coordinator. “But we tribal youth shifted to the GGP when it was founded. We wanted a larger share in the BSP’s State leadership, but it promoted only Dalits of Mayawati’s caste.”
The GGP posted modest electoral victories, unsuccessfully sought alliances, saw splits and mergers, and is yet again in the fray, fielding close to 100 candidates.
Yet, the GGP and the fledgling JAYS have failed to close ranks.
Gond and Bhil
If GGP is primarily a party of the Gond tribe of the east, the JAYS is a social movement with roots among restless Bhil youth, found mainly in the western region of Malwa.
Both the GGP and JAYS have attempted to strike an alliance with the Congress, but things haven’t worked out yet.
The GGP and JAYS share some common beliefs: that forest rights be upheld and displacement of tribals for development projects be arrested.
However, while the ageing GGP leadership exudes a romance for tribal lifestyles, the youthful JAYS talks more of material issues.
Also, while the GGP celebrates tribal co-existence with nature as a distinctive trait, the JAYS leadership seeks employment, rural development, schools, hospitals and rehabilitation of displaced tribals through employment in development projects that deprive them of their home and hearth.
Distinctive identity
“We are not against development projects, but the tribals must get employment [in these projects]. This isn’t happening,” JAYS leader Hiralal Alawa told The Hindu .
Both GGP and JAYS, however, assert that the tribals have a distinctive identity and that they are neither Christian nor Hindu, even if both religions have sought to assimilate them.
The divide
“If Hiralal Alawa contests the poll, we will field a candidate against him,” asserts Mr. Markam, whose GGP is offering about 20 seats to the Arvind Mujalda faction that is seen as having broken with the JAYS.
The GGP sees Mr. Alawa as a “Congress prop”. The latter says he will contest if the Congress agrees to back him. Else, he will campaign for the JAYS-backed independents.
The two tribal outfits may, therefore, dent each other rather than close ranks. They are unlikely to disturb the State’s prime parties — the BJP and the Congress.
There are hints of a Gond-Bhil faultline here. “The GGP talks only about Gonds,” Mr. Alawa asserts. The GGP on its part says it speaks for all tribals. However, it sees itself and the Gonds as the vanguard of tribal politics.
“Hindutva has left the Gonds almost untouched, as our party has made them identity-conscious. The BJP and the RSS have made inroads among the Bhils, but we will wean them away from Hindutva and return them to their tribal roots,” Mr. Markam said.
