British rule replayed: BJP slams police crackdown on tribals on 'Hool Diwas' in Jharkhand

Ranchi, June 30 (IANS) The political temperature in Jharkhand soared on Monday following violent clashes between tribals and the police in Bhognadih village of Sahibganj district during the observance of ‘Hool Diwas’ -- a day commemorating the 1855 Santhal uprising against British rule.

Senior BJP leaders, including Leader of Opposition Babulal Marandi and MP Nishikant Dubey, strongly condemned the police action, alleging that the brutality witnessed was like colonial-era oppression. The leaders blamed the Hemant Soren-led state government for the incident and accused it of suppressing tribal voices.

Bhognadih holds deep historical significance as the birthplace of the Santhal rebellion led by Sido and Kanhu Murmu. Tensions flared when police and administrative officials attempted to dismantle a separate pandal erected by descendants of the tribal martyrs, who were planning a parallel event to the official government function. A violent confrontation ensued, during which police resorted to a lathi charge and tear gas shelling, leaving several people injured.

Terming the incident “barbaric” and “deeply unfortunate,” Marandi told the media, “The lathi charge and use of tear gas on tribals in Bhognadih on the sacred occasion of Hool Diwas is highly condemnable. Many villagers have sustained injuries in this brutal action.”

He said he had spoken to Sahibganj SP and Mandal Murmu, a descendant of Sido-Kanhu, and alleged that the crackdown was ordered at the behest of the state government.

In a strongly worded post on social media, Marandi wrote, “Today’s barbarity revives the horrors of British rule. Six generations later, the descendants of Sido-Kanhu are again being forced to protest against tyranny and injustice on the same land where the historic Hool revolution began.”

He further alleged that the Hemant Soren government, which he described as being in the “lap of infiltrators,” was trying to prevent Jharkhand’s tribal communities from drawing inspiration from their revolutionary past.

“This conspiracy will not succeed. Just as Veer Sido-Kanhu, Chand-Bhairav, and Phoolo-Jhano had shaken the British Empire, today's assault on tribals in Bhognadih will be the beginning of this government's downfall,” he wrote.

Godda MP Nishikant Dubey shared photos of injured villagers on X, claiming even women, children, the elderly, and Mandal Murmu were assaulted.

“Is this how you honour the legacy of freedom fighters? On Hool Diwas, the very descendants of Sido-Kanhu were beaten. Is this the government’s love for tribals?” he asked.

BJP leader and former Jharkhand LoP Amar Kumar Bauri called the lathi charge and tear gas firing in Bhognadih an “unfortunate and shameful act.”

He said, “On the sacred land of Sido-Kanhu, the government did not even allow the descendants of martyrs to hold a commemorative event. This is not governance, this is the suppression of tribal pride under the weight of political arrogance.”

--IANS

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