In this era of reforms when development and growth are the magic mantras, the Raghubar government has been uttering these words. But what is significant is it is yet to define the module, the modicum and character of the development. Though the government is yet to define its political and economic agenda, one thing is absolutely clear that it has forgotten the original slogan of jal, jamin aur jangal (water, land and forest). Nevertheless one thing is clear that the focus would be on the urban middle class. Since 2000, when the state came into being, the agenda of development has featured prominently in various forms and also at forums. Jharkhand has a strong urban base. A number of plans were drawn up for the development of big industries and building a new state capital in place of Ranchi. But no tangible gain could be achieved.

However a closer look at the priorities of the BJP government and the style of the functioning of the state BJP gives the impression that the government would be guided by the wishes and dictates of the middle class. The BJP nurses the view that in the changed situation, the political perspective ought to be not given too much of importance rather than giving credence to the economic compulsions of the people. It is more important for the BJP to win over the Christian tribals than chasing the Hindu adivasis. In fact a closer look at the style and agenda of the party during the assembly election campaign made it explicit that the BJP was least interested to reach out to the Hindu tribal people. No doubt the electoral politics made it imperative for the BJP to nominate the tribal leaders for the assembly elections, the focus of the party was on consolidating the middle class and mainstream Hindu votes. This had more business perspective than merely catering to the electoral compulsions.

The RSS has highest stake in Jharkhand, more than it has in any other Hindi speaking state. One thing is quite noticeable that after BJP government coming to power in Jharkhnd, the number of RSS sakhas has mushroomed. Though it has been a national phenomenon, what is important in the case of Jharkhand is there is a conscious effort to involve the Hindu tribals. For last six decades the RSS has been active in the region, through Vanvasi Kalyan Kendra, Ekal Vidyalaya and other organisations but it could not emerge as the voice of the tribals. On the contrary the Christian missionaries have been quite successful in building their bases in the adivasis of the state. Element of trust deficit between the RSS and the tribals has been quite acute. Adivasi’s have been traditionally treated as outside the caste structure and are seen as entirely impure from within the Brahminic caste order. It is worth mentioning that the Adivasi societies consider themselves distinct from the majority Hindu population.

Following the directives of the RSS think tank, efforts are being made to take the Sangha to rural areas. In fact the rural expansion drive, which was decided at a three-day meeting in Agra in the first week of November 2014, is aimed at recruiting cadres at the village level. The RSS leadership feels this is the right time for the organisation to consolidate and build a base in the rural areas, particularly in the Hindu tribals villages. It is interesting to note that since Modi government came to power the number of RSS Shakhas across the country has gone up from 39,000 to beyond 45,000.

Interestingly the Sangh Parivar prefers to call adivasis as vanvasis (dwellers of forests). By not identifying them as Adivasis, an attempt is made to reduce the Tribals to a people without a history. The shift from ADI (original) to VAN (forest) is a change from having a history to a fixed location. This is part of the deliberate policy to deny the Tribals the status they deserve. The reason why the Sangh denies Adivasis the status of the original dwellers is that it runs counter to their Aryan history of a Vedic civilisation of the country, and who were supposed to be the original inhabitants of the land.

Of late the RSS think tank has also been contemplating to make the state government to bring a legislation banning the conversion. Though the issue was raised some five years back, the then chief minister Arjun Munda did not encourage the protagonists. This has turned the local RSS leaders hostile towards him. In this election, Munda, the three time CM having unblemished record, lost his traditional Kharsawan seat. It is alleged that neither the BJP nor the RSS put their might behind him. Munda had also reiterated this allegation. In fact the adivasi population had decided not to vote for the BJP. As such they did not vote for Munda and he lost the election. If Munda had won the seat, he would have been the natural choice for the chief minister. But under the plans of the RSS it was the time for a non-adivasi leader to head the government.

Now serious efforts are being made by the RSS to build its strong base in Jharkhand. Some time back the RSS spokesperson Ram Mdhav had confessed; “We have higher stakes in Jharkhand.” Though Madhav did not unravel the stakes the RSS has in Jharkhand, the fact of the matter is the RSS perceive Jharkhand as the gateway to the tribal land of the country. Notwithstanding the BJP having its governments in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh it cannot claim with confidence that the tribals of these two states are with it. Jharkhand still continues to be like the holy place for adivasis for most of the legendry tribal leaders were born in Jharkhand region. For the RSS continuation and survival of the BJP government in Jharkhand government is of utmost importance. Future ascendance of RSS in the entire eastern region depends upon the growth of the organization in Jharkhnd. Even Madhav had confessed, 'The continuation of the Bharatiya Janata Party Government would mean that the work being done by the RSS would continue undisturbed.'

According to the reports of Indian People’s Tribunal on Environment and Human Rights, a total number of 6.54 million people have so far been displaced in Jharkhand in the name of development. If the report of the Jharkhand Human Rights Movement (JHRM) is to be relied the state government has signed 102 MOUs. Vast tracks of land are required to bring these MOUs to reality, but the people’s opposition and various constitutional laws favouring people against land acquisition have always been impediments for the concerned corporate firm. In 2011, Arcelor Mittal had to pull out of a proposed project in Jharkhand due to people’s opposition. The corporate sectors have been trying hard to change the status-quo in their favour and in doing so they have adopted dubious means. A serious move is being made to change the Chota Nagpur Tenancy (CNT) Act 1908 which safeguards tribal land interest from being sold out to the non-tribals. This is the part of the economic reforms the government intends to pursue,. With the new land acquisition act, the BJP government would be able to suitably serve the interest of the corporate sector.

Since formation of the state in 2000, the successive governments have been laying the red carpet for industrial investment and offering sops. The Jharkhand government has granted 524 leases for mining minerals--206 of which have been granted for coal alone. In addition, 2,717 leases covering an area of 8,426 ha have been granted for extracting minor minerals in the state.

The RSS nurses the feeling that the tribals have been the support base of the Christian missionaries and are anti-Hindu. The RSS is getting ready to launch its mission of laying the foundation of a Hindu State in Jharkhand. The state for some time has been debating the issue of dual citizenship. This may acquire a fresh momentum and lay foundation of 'disaffection' between the tribal and non-tribals. Already some adivasi intellectuals and activists have started suspecting the intentions of the BJP. Jharkhand was carved out of Bihar to fulfill the ambitions and aspirations of the adivasis. This was the reason that since its inception in 2000 the state was having a tribal as the CM. But this rule of game was changed this time by the BJP. Racial discrimination of tribals by outsiders, the ‘dikus’ is at large. The demand for separate statehood was not merely to establish a distinct identity but also to do away with the years of injustice. But this concept has failed. There is a deliberate move to dilute demographic and political strengths of tribals so that they would not make up a sizeable share of population. (IPA Service)