THE elder’s bushy beard is silver-grey, the son’s has some pepper in it. The father is in a close-fitting white kurta, the son in a loose, bright mauve one. This photo of Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren seeking the blessings of his father Dishom Shibu Soren, popularly called Guruji, before the elections heat up in the state got some 3,000 likes in three minutes on Instagram. The father-son duo knows the power of this image.
When Hemant Soren was arrested in February this year for his alleged role in a land scam, a large-size banner came across Jharkhand’s capital Ranchi, carrying similar photos; to drill it into the people that the man going to jail was the son of Guruji, the architect of the Jharkhand statehood movement. The banner also carried the slogan—Jharkhand Jhukega Nahi (Jharkhand will not bow down), a nod to the resilience of a people who never gave in, even under British rule.
This pride in the people’s resilience and nostalgia of the struggle for statehood are once again the major themes in these elections for the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM). The distinction between the indigenous and outsiders (commonly known as diku) is gradually getting delineated. “They come from outside of the state. They don’t know our culture, language, or spirituality. They try to break us. But we will never let it happen,” says Kalpana Soren, Hemant Soren’s wife and MLA from Gandey.
For her, the ‘outsider’ is the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). For the BJP, the ‘outsider’ is the alleged Bangladeshi illegal immigrant. “Infiltrators are the vote bank of Lalu Prasad’s RJD, Rahul baba’s Congress and Hemant Soren’s JMM. I promise to drive out illegal immigrants. The time has come to show the corrupt JMM dispensation the exit door. We want to change Jharkhand,” says Union Home Minister Amit Shah at a rally in Sahibganj, marking “rampant infiltration” as one of the major issues of the state.
The Identity Question
This story is from the November 11, 2024 edition of Outlook.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the November 11, 2024 edition of Outlook.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Soft Ruins
'Soft Ruins' is a chapter within the long-term ongoing project \"When Spring Never Comes\", an expansive exploration of memory, identity and displacement in the aftermath of exile within contemporary global politics. It reflects on how the journey as an asylum seeker in Europe mirrors the instability and threats of life under dictatorship, amidst rising right-wing movements and shifting power dynamics, where both certainty and identity are redefined
Building Beyond Homes: Provident Housing's Transformative Approach
Provident Housing leads in crafting thoughtfully designed homes that cater to modern homebuyers' evolving needs. With a focus on timely delivery, sustainability, and innovative, customer-centric solutions, the company sets new benchmarks. In this exclusive interview, Mallanna Sasalu, CEO of Provident Housing, shares insights into the company's strategies, upcoming projects, and vision for India's housing future.
Syria Speaks
A Syrian graffiti artist-activist's tale of living through bombings, gunshots and displacement
The Burdened
Yemen, once a beautiful land identified with the Queen of Sheba, is now one of the worst ongoing humanitarian disasters of modern times
Sculpting In Time
Documentaries such as Intercepted and Songs of Slow Burning Earth grapple with the Russian occupation beyond displays of desolation
The Story Won't Die
Is Israel's triumphalism over its land grab in Syria realistic? The hard reality is-Israel now has Al-Qaeda as a next-door neighbour
Against the Loveless World
In times of war, love exists as a profound act of defiance
Soul of My Soul
What does it mean to continue to create art during a genocide?
in Dancing the Glory of Monsters
By humanising the stories of those affected by war, poverty and displacement, Buuma hopes to foster empathy and inspire action
All the President's Men
Co-author of All The President's Men and one of the two Washington Post journalists (the other was Carl Berntstein) who broke the Watergate scandal that brought down the President Richard Nixon administration in the United States in 1974, Bob Woodward's recent book War was on top of The New York Times Bestseller list, even above John Grisham.
