Purulia (West Bengal): “By the time I was old enough to understand politics, we’re talking about class struggle and the ideological battle between the oppressor and the oppressed. Now I all I see is the fight over race and religion. I never wanted this to happen," says Madhusudan Mahato, a historian and artist from Ranibandh in Bankura district.

Bankura and three other districts, Purulia, Jhargram and West Medinipur, which collectively form the Jungle Mahal region in West Bengal, have once again transformed into an epicentre of political upheaval. However, in a departure from the previous movements led by Maoists, the ongoing one has largely to do with identity politics and is led by the Kurmi community.

From 2005 to 2012, the area made news daily as the centre of intense Maoist rebellion and retaliatory violence by security forces, resulting in a total of 698 deaths – 544 civilians, 75 security personnel, and 88 Maoists. With the Trinamool Congress assuming power in 2011 through a sweeping victory over the Left Front, the insurgency gradually declined.

The Kurmi community holds the largest demographic presence in the region, making up 65% of the population of Purulia, 42% of Jhargram, 17% of West Midnapore, and 18% of Bankura. However, due to the absence of a similar movement in the past, the power held by the community within the political structure has gone largely unnoticed. This has been despite the fact that Kurmi leaders hold key positions within all political parties.

The current agitation by the Kurmi community revolves around two long-standing demands:

They seek official recognition as a Scheduled Tribe community. At present, they are among the Other Backward Classes.

Secondly, they demand recognition and acceptance of their unique religious practices, known as sari and sarana, which involve worshiping nature without idols in a sacred place called guram or than.

The TMC had secured emphatic victories in the assembly constituencies of the Jungle Mahal both in 2011 and 2016. However, the party's inability to fulfil its promise to the Kurmi community and rampant corruption otherwise has resulted in discontent by a substantial portion of villagers in the Jungle Mahal.

The Left, once powerful, had been decimated already in the region.

Seeing the resulting void at the grassroots level, the Bharatiya Janata Party seized the opportunity and provided a platform for opposition forces that transcended ethnic boundaries. It received support from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, which has been active in the region since 2011. 

The Mamata Banerjee government, sensing the change in mood, initiated the West Bengal Cultural Research Institute, a state government body dedicated to the welfare of indigenous tribes. The Institute sent a favourable report on granting ST status to Kurmis to the Union government, but it was rejected.

Leaders of the Kurmi community claim that the institute or the state government have both dragged their feet when it came to submitting a comprehensive report to the Union government and that this has hindered the process of recognition. This delay has become a point of contention.

Also read: Can North Bengal Afford Another Political Unrest Even as BJP Fuels Statehood Demand?

Kurmi leader Ajit Mahato says, "For 73 years, we have been victims of deception, and we have now taken to the streets due to the lack of progress on numerous applications!"

A car belonging to Trinamool Congress minister Birbaha Hansda – which was following that of TMC general secretary and CM Mamata Banerjee's nephew Abhishek's car – was recently attacked by agitators as it passed through the area. 

However, the agitators have not been particularly in favour of opposition leaders either, as clashes have taken place between them and BJP supporters. BJP MP Dilip Ghosh's bungalow has also been attacked.

Meanwhile, a number of tribal communities in the state are also vehemently opposing Kurmis' demand for ST status. On June 8, a blockade was organised by the United Forum of All Tribal Organisations, which accuses Kurmis of belonging to Hindu society and thus being ineligible for tribal status.

But opinions among Kurmi leaders on the above claim vary on the basis of their affiliation with the Sangh Parivar. One faction strongly identifies as non-Hindu and adheres to tribal customs, including that of revering nature. Symbolic representations of animals showing strength, speed, and power are primary in their rituals. 

This group accuses the BJP of exploiting their vulnerabilities by attempting to assimilate them into Hinduism. In 2010, the Sangh initiated Ganges bathing and ancestor worship in temples in Rampurhat, Birbhum, in the presence of Praveen Togadia. For a section of Kurmis, this was a definite method of encroaching upon their tribal traditions. 

And yet the Jungle Mahal has had a strong connection with the Tribal Welfare Branch of the Sangh Parivar for over a decade. The Sangh proved particularly useful for the BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections as it helped secure victories in Bankura, Bishnupur, Jhargram, Midnapore, and Purulia for the first time. The support of the Kurmi community, which accounts for 38% of the voters in Jungle Mahal, played a pivotal role in this electoral success.

Interestingly, a section of 'upper' caste BJP leaders at the grassroots level are dismissive of the Kurmi agitation as well. Debashis Kundu, BJP's Jhargram district president, says, “Let the CRI (Cultural Research Institute) report first pass in the assembly before it is sent for Union government intervention.” Kundu appeared to be indicating that the basis of the demand does not pass muster.

Trinamool Congress MLA of Jhargram, Birbaha Hansda, who is a member of the Santhal tribal community, responded to this line by saying, “The CRI report was already sent to the Union government in 2017 by the state government. It is the Union government which did not take positive action.”

Communist Party of India (Marxist) politburo member Dr. Ramchandra Dom accuses the BJP of deliberately sowing division and conflict between tribals and Kurmis and warns against falling into their divisive political tactics.

Also read: BJP’s Communal Politics Has Deepened Historical Conflicts in Manipur

“The Union and state governments should talk to the agitators. Let there be an amicable solution. This is a familiar tactic used by the BJP to up their political game. They are implementing the same tactics they used in Manipur here. We must fight this conspiracy with caution and vigilance.”

Kurmi leaders have issued a boycott call for the upcoming panchayat election, asserting that their movement has garnered the support of over a hundred thousand individuals and that they will not retreat.

Joydeep Sarkar is an independent senior journalist with over 20 years of experience in covering Bengal politics.

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