(This is the latest edition of the Political Line newsletter curated by Varghese K. George. The Political Line newsletter is India’s political landscape explained every week. You can subscribe here to get the newsletter in your inbox.)
Political Line is returning after a break. The author spent some time in the United States meanwhile, which included a road trip through some key battleground States that will decide the outcome of the 2024 Presidential election, which is now between Republican Donald J. Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris. I have written a few pieces on the evolving political scene in the U.S., and hope to write more in the coming days. Do watch this space.
In recent days, at least two BJP politicians have called for carving out new administrative entities from West Bengal. Nishikant Dubey, a BJP MP from Jharkhand, wants parts of West Bengal and Bihar to be constituted as a Union Territory to stop the movement of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh into tribal regions. Mr. Dubey said in the Lok Sabha that Bangladeshi immigrants — Muslims — were intermarrying with tribal communities in Jharkhand, and the character of the State was being altered. Mr. Dubey wants Murshidababd and Malda districts in West Bengal, and Kishanganj and Katihar in Bihar, to be declared a Union Territory to deal with the challenge.
Union Minister of State for the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) Sukanta Majumdar, who is also the West Bengal BJP president, has suggested that north Bengal could be “included” in the Northeast. He later explained that his proposal was not to carve out the region from the existing State but to include it in the developmental plans of the Northeast. But that has not calmed the frayed nerves in the State, with the ruling Trinamool Congress seeing a BJP conspiracy to divide West Bengal. Mr. Majumdar’s proposal has also renewed the demand for creation of a separate State of Gorkhaland.
Bengal was partitioned twice: in 1905 and then again in 1947, when two nations — India and Pakistan — were formed by the partition of the subcontinent. In 1905, Bengali Hindus were opposed to the Partition, which gave a new impetus to the evolving national movement. But in the decades that followed, Muslim nationalism grew stronger and the electoral and representative process, and political landscape of Bengal changed. Jan Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mookerjee became a strong votary of dividing Bengal, and opposed the idea of a separate country of united Bengal. The Hindu majority regions became part of India, but no division can be clean — and partition continues as a long process till date.
As of now, there are multiple demands from within West Bengal for separate political or administrative units. While the demand for Gorkhaland is more known, there are also Statehood demands for the Cooch Behar and Jangalmahal regions.
The BJP is stronger in the northern parts of the State, and it has political incentive to carve out that region, and Muslim majority regions into separate units. Mr. Dubey’s demand is tied to the BJP’s strategy for Jharkhand, which will be going to polls later this year. The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), a tribal party, opposes demographic changes in the State due to the influx of people from outside. Migrants are the key vote bank of the BJP. As the JMM and its partners, including the Congress, are trying to mobilise tribal communities, the BJP is blaming Muslims from Bangladesh, as opposed to people from Bihar — both Hindus and Muslims — for the demographic changes in the State.
In fact, such demands for reconstituting the administrative map of India could get louder in the coming decade when a new census and the corresponding delimitation of Lok Sabha constituencies will turn the spotlight on the massive demographic changes that are under way in the country.
Federalism Tract: Notes on Indian Diversity
Jobs for locals, and all
Talking of movement of people and managing demographic changes, the controversial move by Karnataka to carve out job quotas for natives is indicative of a larger problem — that there are fewer jobs and more job seekers. Apart from demographic reasons, changes in the nature of capitalism and advancement of technology make human labour less required at a time when there are more humans seeking it. This piece by Ruchi Gupta discusses that.
Distress caused by unemployment and underemployment is a huge political challenge and the Union Budget last week takes this factor into account, but the special consideration given to two States — Andhra Pradesh and Bihar — is causing some heartburn, and raising some questions about how to equitably share the resources and wealth of the nation.
Mineral Balance
The Supreme Court has said States have unlimited power to tax mineral rights, unless and until it is specifically barred by a central law. The SC held there is no such law currently in existence, and rejected the Centre’s position to the contrary. In a second intervention, the SC has agreed to examine whether Governors — by indefinitely delaying approval for Bills passed by State Assemblies and sending them to the President, who is bound to act as per the decision of the Union government — were subverting federalism.
Sixth Schedule
We discussed disputes and debates about the territorial organisation of the country earlier. The Union government may form a committee to resolve the issues that have been holding up the Constitution (125th Amendment) Bill, 2019 intended to grant more financial, executive, and administrative powers to tribal autonomous councils under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.
The assurance was made to the chiefs of the 10 tribal autonomous councils under the Sixth Schedule in Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Tripura in a meeting with Home Minister Amit Shah.
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