Ahead of the second phase of Vidhan Sabha elections in Jharkhand, a video of a Muslim man acknowledging the trend of marrying Adivasi women to buy land and contest polls has surfaced on social media.
The viral video is a snippet of an interview by e-Organiser journalists Subhi Vishwakarma and Azad Nishant with a Muslim resident of Barhait Assembly constituency.
In the video, the man is heard saying, “Barhait Vidhan Sabha, for instance, is a seat reserved for Scheduled Tribe (ST). You can contest any election from this. And this is why we marry Adivasis, with her consent, of course.”
You have heard of '#JamaiTola' throughout the Jharkhand Assembly Elections, but did you encounter any instances?
— Subhi Vishwakarma (@subhi_karma) November 16, 2024
We (@eOrganiser & @azad_nishant) travelled to Barhet, where Muslims endorsed the concept of Jamai Tola, stating, "We marry tribal women only to buy land and… pic.twitter.com/T8OQQ6RSWO
He further conceded that such marriages (involving conversion of Adivasis to Islam) are carried out for the sole purpose of contesting elections.
Such inter-faith marriages (popularly known as Jamai Tola) are also meant to buy lands, which only Adivasis could otherwise do.
In a tweet, Subhi Vishwakarma informed, “The current Jila Parishad Chairman from the Rajmahal Constituency, Monika Kisku married Umaid Ali before becoming chairman; after his death, she remarried Ejaz Ali, his brother. We went to her house, met the family, asked questions and more. This is one of many cases that the BJP claims are occurring at an alarming rate in #Jharkhand.”
