Uttarakhand: Dhami Govt’s 3 Years Almost a Replica of Modi in Gujarat

Dehradun: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, the new young poster boy of the ‘Hindutva’ movement, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), marked his third year in office this week.

Once a protégé of former Uttarakhand Chief Minister and ex-Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshiyari, Dhami has rapidly ascended the political ladder to become a favoured leader within the Modi-Shah dispensation. His recent success in securing all five Uttarakhand’s seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections has further solidified his standing.

Dhami is known for his close association with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, often invoking Modi in his speeches anywhere and everywhere and emulating his style and preferences. This was evident during Dhami's visit to the ‘Adi Kailash’ pilgrimage last month, where his attire and rituals mirrored those of Modi during his visit there in October 2023.

Dhami's political strategy in Uttarakhand has also closely followed Modi's 'Gujarat Model' of governance, marked by a strong Hindutva stance and anti-Muslim rhetoric. Elected as MLA from the Sitarganj Assembly segment without prior ministerial experience, Dhami was unexpectedly chosen by BJP to succeed Trivendra Singh Rawat and Tirath Singh Rawat as Chief Minister in 2021, amid his rising unpopularity ahead of the 2022 Assembly polls.

Upon assuming office, Dhami, while pushing RSS’s ideology, immediately initiated an anti-Muslim agenda, ordering a survey of land deals to prevent 'Land Jehad'—a narrative suggesting that Muslims were buying land to alter Uttarakhand’s demographics. Although this claim proved unfounded, it set the stage for the BJP-RSS's campaign for the 2022 elections.

During the Assembly election campaign, BJP stoked fears of Muslim influence, reminiscent of Gujarat’s electoral strategies over the past two decades. The Congress party was accused of Muslim appeasement, with former Chief Minister Harish Rawat being portrayed as another Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, founder of Aligarh Muslim University, in speeches and even in photographs. Rawat’s photograph was morphed with a beard to look like Sir Syed Ahmed Khan to deliver the political message of Congress being a ‘Muslim party’.

Dhami also promised to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) as top priority on being elected.

The BJP, with its new strategy of polarisation in the hill state that has a majority upper caste Hindus, managed to break the trend of alternating power with Congress in Uttarakhand by winning 47 out of 70 seats in the Assembly 2022 elections. Despite losing his own seat of Khatima to Congress candidate Bhuvan Kapri, Dhami was reinstated as Chief Minister by Modi and Shah, sidelining other BJP leaders.

During his tenure, Dhami has pursued the RSS agenda vigorously. His first cabinet meeting saw the formation of a committee to draft the UCC, led by retired Supreme Court Justice Ranjana Desai. The UCC has since been passed by the Uttarakhand Assembly.

His administration has continued to target the Muslim community, which constitutes about 15% of the state's population, residing mostly in plains districts bordering Uttar Pradesh.

Following the success of the 'Gujarat Model', Dhami coined the term 'Mazar Jehad' and initiated actions to remove illegal shrines, predominantly targeting Muslim sites while sparing Hindu ones. Similar crackdowns have been carried out against ‘Madrasas’ and the issue of 'Love Jehad' remains a recurring theme, used to oppose inter-religious relationships across the state.

After ‘Land Jehad’ and ‘Mazar Jehad’, the issue of ‘Love Jehad’ gets repeated push from ‘Hindutva’ forces, wherever there is a love affair, elopement and even attempt to register an inter-religious marriage by couples belonging to Hindu and Muslim community.

Communal tension peaked in incidents like the Purola unrest in May-June 2023, where Muslim shopkeepers were threatened, and the Banphoolpura violence in February 2024, which resulted in six deaths during police action against a mosque demolition. Over a hundred people, including women, were detained under stringent laws.

During the 2024 Lok Sabha campaign, Dhami addressed over 60 meetings nationwide, drawing criticism for his absence during severe forest fires in Uttarakhand. Upon returning, he ordered police verification of 'outsiders'.

Reflecting on his three years in office, Dhami pledged to continue working for the state's development while taking a firm stand against 'appeasement' and 'forced conversions'. He emphasised his efforts to maintain Uttarakhand's identity as 'Devbhoomi' and praised Modi's leadership for the state's progress.

In contrast, the Uttarakhand Congress criticised Dhami's tenure as damaging. Party spokesperson Garima Dasuani accused Dhami of tearing apart the state's social fabric and failing to establish a Lokayukta, resulting in rampant corruption and bureaucratic dominance.

The writer is a senior journalist based in Dehradun. He has worked with The Indian Express and The Tribune newspapers in past over three decades. The views are personal.