The political atmosphere in the state of Uttarakhand is heating up. With assembly elections slated for early next year, devbhoomi Uttarakhand and its people are concerned about a variety of issues, most important among them being immigration into the state from Muslim-dominated areas in the neighbourhood. Another important issue, which is fast emerging in the state as a crucial poll plank is that of land grab and encroachment. Somehow, both these issues are interconnected, and show that the people of Uttarakhand are increasingly growing wary of immigrants gobbling up their state and taking up vast swathes of land, subsequent to which, they will begin destroying the Hindu culture of the state.
Parts of Uttarakhand, particularly in Udham Singh Nagar bordering Western Uttar Pradesh are expected to become Muslim-majority regions by 2061. Between 2001 and 2011, Uttarakhand has seen a rather astonishing rise in the share of the Muslim population from 11.9 per cent to 13.9 per cent, a growth of 2 percentage points.
As a matter of fact, the rate of population growth in Uttarakhand’s Haridwar and Udham Singh Nagar – where Muslims form a significant chunk of the population, is double that of the average growth of population in the state. At a time when the state’s overall decadal growth has been estimated to be around 17 per cent, for three districts with a significant Muslim presence to record an abnormally high growth of population points towards the demographic threat which stares Uttarakhand in the eye. Between 2001 and 2011, the decadal rate of growth in the population of Udham Singh Nagar was a staggering 33.40 per cent. In Dehradun – the state’s capital, the figure stood at 32.48 per cent. In Haridwar, the decadal rate of growth was estimated to be around 33.16 per cent.
The Muslim population growth rate in Uttarakhand is more than that of the Hindu population across most states. Uttarakhand, Kerala, and Haryana are among the larger states where the share of the Muslim population increased by more than 1 per cent. Assam recorded the highest change followed by Uttarakhand, which recorded a 2.03 per cent change. If Uttarakhand is anywhere near Assam on demographic metrics, the future does not look very promising for the state unless drastic steps are taken immediately to prevent a takeover of devbhoomi.
Elections in Uttarakhand have three main contenders, although the contest really, like all elections in the past, is between the incumbent BJP and the Congress. In a rather short span of time, the BJP has changed three chief ministers in Uttarakhand – showing that it too is on a sticky wicket currently. But the solution for the BJP is rather straightforward. If it can promise the people of Uttarakhand that their state will be freed of illegal immigrants, it will win the upcoming elections.
Chances of Trivendra Singh Rawat being made the chief ministerial face of the BJP for the polls is unlikely, since he was removed from the post by the party’s top brass owing to discontent in the state unit over his leadership. Next came in Tirath Singh Rawat, who would have made a good chief minister had he not been faced with constitutional problems. Nonetheless, the party might just make him its campaign face in the state. And then, there is current chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, who stands the best chance of making chief minister after next year’s elections.
However, the contest for the chief minister’s chair is not just ongoing within the BJP, but even the Congress is looking to put on a fight in the polls, with Harish Rawat poised to become the party’s chief ministerial candidate once again. The Aam Aadmi Party is pretty enthusiastic as well, and has already announced its CM candidate in the form of Col Ajay Kothiyal (Retd). Besides, Arvind Kejriwal has also announced that AAP will make Uttarakhand the spiritual capital for Hindus across the world. The party also plans to adopt its ‘freebie’ populist strategy in the state.
But all parties seem to be missing the pulse of the state. The biggest issues today are illegal immigration and land grab. The party and leader who promise to free Uttarakhand of illegal immigrants will hands down win the election. When it comes to the controversial Uttarakhand (Uttar Pradesh Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Act, 1950) Amendment Act, 2018, the Pushkar Singh Dhami governement is said to be preparing a slew of amendments to calm tempers of the people, and it is highly unlikely that the BJP will allow the same to become a poll issue.
That leaves us with the issue of immigration from Muslim dominated regions of Western Uttar Pradesh, and even Kashmir. The people of Uttarakhand fear their state is being overrun by illegal immigrants, and that their very culture faces a tremendous threat.
The effects of this brazen population rise of one particular community in Uttarakhand have begun manifesting in many forms. The most recent of which, of course, would be the murder of Nidhi Paswan in broad daylight. In 2018, TFI had reported how 60 Hindu families had left the village of Dhanpura in Uttarakhand since 1994 due to harassment and under pressure from the Muslim community. The remaining villagers back then had resorted to a hunger strike against harassment by the ‘minority’ community and had demanded immediate security from the government. There were barely 20 Hindu families left in the village in 2018.
As reported by TFI recently, Muslim clerics are now staking claim over the Badrinath Dham, claiming Badrinath to be a religious place for Muslims. Islamists have begun claiming that the holy Hindu site is not a temple, but instead, is Badrishah, a religious place belonging to Muslims, and that it should be handed over to the community. A video had gone viral last month in which a cleric wearing an Islamic skull cap is seen claiming, “Hindus have no knowledge of history…. It is not Badrinath but in the name of Badruddin Shah. Merely adding ‘Nath’ at the end of the name will not convert this place into a religious place for Hindus. It is a holy place for Muslims. It is our religious place; we will go and capture it.”
After the video surfaced, the long-pending demand for bringing a ‘land Law’ in Uttarakhand has intensified. Locals have been demanding land laws i.e., domicile law in the state for a long time. The members of the ‘Land Ordinance Act Campaign Uttarakhand’ have demanded the state government make strict land laws in the state on the lines of Himachal Pradesh. To save the state from the clutches of Islamists and the land mafias, the enactment of the land laws is important, now more than ever. Whichever party can promise to rid the state of Islamists will end up winning the elections next year.