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The INTERNET now has a personality. YOURS! See your Yahoo! Homepage.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
[ZESTCaste] Hon. Amar Ramteke honoured by Prasaran Puraskar at Chandrapur (India) on November 15, 2009
The INTERNET now has a personality. YOURS! See your Yahoo! Homepage.
[ZESTCaste] Dr K Jamanadas (India) offerring his written book to Dr Milind Jiwane on November 15, 2009
Dr K Jamanadas, Chandrapur (India) offering his written Book to Dr Milind Jiwane on November 15, 2009 Just i was in Chandrapur for paricipating as a " Chief Guest" in Birsa Munda Birth Anniversary function. On that time, i was met to Hon. Dr. K Jamanadas,an eminent Thinker and Writer. On our first visit, Dr K. Jamanadas offerring his written Book " Tirupati Balaji was a Buddhist Shrine" and welcomed me. On that visit, we discussed on different issues. Dr. Milind Jiwane |
The INTERNET now has a personality. YOURS! See your Yahoo! Homepage.
[ZESTCaste] Fw: APPEAL - Development of Dr. Ambedkar National Memorial, 26, Alipur Road, Delhi [1 Attachment]
[Attachment(s) from Dr. Milind Jiwane included below]
Dear Friends,
Please see the attached file for your information and
necessary action.
DR. MILIND JIWANE
* Chairperson of World Buddhists Conference 2006 at Nagpur (India)
* Organizer of World Peace Rally 2007 (India)
* President of Ashwaghosh Buddhists Foundation (India)
* President of Jeewak Welfare Society Nagpur (India)
* President of Civil Rights Protection Cell [ CRPC]
H.Q. : Naya Nakasha, Opposite Swastik School,
Laskaribagh, Nagpur 440017 M.S. (India)
Mob : +91 9890586822, 9225226922
Phone : +91 712 2633106, 3295622, 6521931
E Mail : drjiwane@gmail.
milindjiwane_
dr_jiwane@sify.
Web : www.jeewaksociety.
------------
--- On Wed, 2/12/09, sushma yadav <sushma_iipa@
> From: sushma yadav <sushma_iipa@
> Subject: Fw: APPEAL - Development of Dr. Ambedkar National Memorial, 26, Alipur Road, Delhi
> To: "Dr. Milind Jiwane" <milindjiwane_
> Date: Wednesday, 2 December, 2009, 5:27 PM
> Please
> find enclosed an Appeal for a cause which I am sure is dear
> to your heart, rather all of us. I am forwarding it to
> you for wider circulation and action.
>
> With warm regards,
>
> (Sushma Yadav)
------------
>
> --- On Wed, 2/12/09, viney paul
> <ambedkar.national.
> wrote:
>
> From: viney paul
> <ambedkar.national.
> Subject: APPEAL - Development of Dr. Ambedkar National
> Memorial, 26, Alipur Road, Delhi
> To: "sushma yadav"
> <sushma_iipa@
> Date: Wednesday, 2 December, 2009, 1:58 AM
>
> Dear
> all,
>
> Kindly find attached an Appeal for the development
> of the Dr. Ambedkar National Memorial at 26, Alipur Road,
> Delhi, where Babasaheb breathed his last.
>
>
> I request you to kindly share it with others also
> who can help Dr. Ambedkar Foundation in this
> Endeavour.
>
>
> Yours truly,
>
> Viney Kumar Paul
> Director
> Dr. Ambedkar Foundation
> Ministry of Social
> Justice & Empowerment, Govt. of India,
>
> 15, Janpath, New
> Delhi- 110 001.
> Tel. No.:
> 011-23320571, 23320589
> Fax No.:
> 011-23320582
> E-mail ID: ambedkar.national.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> The INTERNET now has a personality. YOURS! See
> your Yahoo! Homepage.
The INTERNET now has a personality. YOURS! See your Yahoo! Homepage. http://in.yahoo.
__._,_.___
Attachment(s) from Dr. Milind Jiwane
1 of 1 File(s)
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[ZESTCaste] ALTERING CASTE SYSTEM - Study claiming liberalization helped Dalits stokes debate
http://epaper.
ALTERING CASTE SYSTEM - Study claiming liberalization helped Dalits
stokes debate
B Y S ANTOSH K . J OY santosh.j@livemint.
NEW DELHI
The Dalits of Uttar Pradesh and, by extension, India, are better off
because of India's visible adoption of economic reforms in the early
1990s, according to a recent study that has set off a debate on
whether economic progress can structurally alter the country's caste
system.
The study, conducted by the Centre for the Advanced Study of India
(Casi) of the University of Pennsylvania, covered 19,071 Dalit
households in Bilariaganj and Khurja blocks in Uttar Pradesh, and
seeks to prove that many of these households have improved since 1990.
In terms of product ownership, between 1990 and 2007, the proportion
of Dalit households in the sample with a television set jumped from
0.8% to 34%. And the number of Dalits in the sample making a
livelihood by removing the carcasses of animals--considered impure in
most parts of India and, hence, a task once reserved for Dalits--has
fallen from 39.9% to 2.4% in the same period.
The study has its share of supporters including Narendra Jadhav, a
Dalit, and a member of the Planning Commission, and Dalit activist Ram
Kumar.
"The market changed it all.
The process of liberalization after 1990 brought with it a regime
which was blind to caste and religion. Talent and hard work mattered
above all. We saw the change happening. Things started improving back
in the village with the remittances sent by us," says Ram Kumar, who
was once thrown out of his school for daring to share water with his
socalled upper-caste classmates.
"We have seen the study and the results of this survey vindicates the
stand of many including me. Liberalization and the market economy gave
an opportunity to the untouchable of country to break the established
norms of villages and work with dignity. The process still continues,"
says Jadhav.
Not everyone agrees.
"Behavioural and lifestyle changes are natural with time and
circumstances,
for the Study of Social Systems, Jawaharlal Nehru University who adds
that the question of the impact of liberalization on the caste system
remains open. "The market ushers in the change for the sake of its
profit and for expanding its consumer base. The process of social
change cannot be left to the mercy of the market," he says.
Vivek Kumar also adds that Bilariaganj, one of the two locations where
the survey was carried out, has a high density of semi-skilled workers
and that the migration of such people to towns is a natural
phenomenon, irrespective of the process of liberalization.
The study was commissioned by Casi to a team of four, Devesh Kapur,
head of Casi, Chandra Bhan Prasad, a Dalit researcher and writer based
in Delhi, Lant Pritchett of Harvard University and D. Shyam Babu of
the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation.
"After my tenure as a visiting fellow in the University of
Pennsylvania, I started with this study which had a very
unconventional approach, which classical economist may not accept. We
asked every Dalit family of two blocks in Uttar Pradesh to respond on
the occupational and lifestyle changes between 1990 and 2007.
The methodology could be questioned but the change is evident on the
ground," says Prasad.
The Casi study was conducted in early 2008 and its findings are yet to
be released. Casi has also tried to strengthen its study by
juxtaposing with it the findings of an earlier study (conducted in
2008) that looked at the employees of three malls in east Delhi and
its environs.
That study had found that of 427 people surveyed, 76 were Dalits. And
just around one-third of people responsible for the cleanliness of the
mall--Dalits, most people in India still believe, are largely in
"cleaning jobs"--were Dalits.
"The notion of Dalits being the ones responsible for the cleaning jobs
is also shattered by this survey. Of the 151 cleaning staff among the
respondents, surprisingly, only 58 of them wereDalits while another 58
were from the general caste and 30 and five, respectively, of the OBC
(other backward classes) and ST (schedued tribes) class," says Prasad.
The findings of the Casi study were presented to the Planning
Commission in early November, but Jadhav says it is "too early" to see
if these have any impact on government policies.
Even as the debate over the study continues to rage, however, Dalit
activist Ram Kumar sees another side to the findings.
"Without skill development and proper stress on education, now there
is risk of Dalits in cities being treated worse than in villages," he
says. "The market is cruel and insensitive.
EMAIL
santosh.j@livemint.
The Dalits of Uttar Pradesh and, by extension, India, are better off
because of India's visible adoption of economic reforms in the early
1990s, according to a recent study that has set off a debate on
whether economic progress can structurally alter the country's caste
system.
The study, conducted by the Centre for the Advanced Study of India
(Casi) of the University of Pennsylvania, covered 19,071 Dalit
households in Bilariaganj and Khurja blocks in Uttar Pradesh, and
seeks to prove that many of these households have improved since 1990.
In terms of product ownership, between 1990 and 2007, the proportion
of Dalit households in the sample with a television set jumped from
0.8% to 34%. And the number of Dalits in the sample making a
livelihood by removing the carcasses of animals--considered impure in
most parts of India and, hence, a task once reserved for Dalits--has
fallen from 39.9% to 2.4% in the same period.
The study has its share of supporters including Narendra Jadhav, a
Dalit, and a member of the Planning Commission, and Dalit activist Ram
Kumar.
"The market changed it all.
The process of liberalization after 1990 brought with it a regime
which was blind to caste and religion. Talent and hard work mattered
above all. We saw the change happening. Things started improving back
in the village with the remittances sent by us," says Ram Kumar, who
was once thrown out of his school for daring to share water with his
socalled upper-caste classmates.
"We have seen the study and the results of this survey vindicates the
stand of many including me. Liberalization and the market economy gave
an opportunity to the untouchable of country to break the established
norms of villages and work with dignity. The process still continues,"
says Jadhav.
Not everyone agrees.
"Behavioural and lifestyle changes are natural with time and
circumstances,
for the Study of Social Systems, Jawaharlal Nehru University who adds
that the question of the impact of liberalization on the caste system
remains open. "The market ushers in the change for the sake of its
profit and for expanding its consumer base. The process of social
change cannot be left to the mercy of the market," he says.
Vivek Kumar also adds that Bilariaganj, one of the two locations where
the survey was carried out, has a high density of semi-skilled workers
and that the migration of such people to towns is a natural
phenomenon, irrespective of the process of liberalization.
The study was commissioned by Casi to a team of four, Devesh Kapur,
head of Casi, Chandra Bhan Prasad, a Dalit researcher and writer based
in Delhi, Lant Pritchett of Harvard University and D. Shyam Babu of
the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation.
"After my tenure as a visiting fellow in the University of
Pennsylvania, I started with this study which had a very
unconventional approach, which classical economist may not accept. We
asked every Dalit family of two blocks in Uttar Pradesh to respond on
the occupational and lifestyle changes between 1990 and 2007.
The methodology could be questioned but the change is evident on the
ground," says Prasad.
The Casi study was conducted in early 2008 and its findings are yet to
be released. Casi has also tried to strengthen its study by
juxtaposing with it the findings of an earlier study (conducted in
2008) that looked at the employees of three malls in east Delhi and
its environs.
That study had found that of 427 people surveyed, 76 were Dalits. And
just around one-third of people responsible for the cleanliness of the
mall--Dalits, most people in India still believe, are largely in
"cleaning jobs"--were Dalits.
"The notion of Dalits being the ones responsible for the cleaning jobs
is also shattered by this survey. Of the 151 cleaning staff among the
respondents, surprisingly, only 58 of them wereDalits while another 58
were from the general caste and 30 and five, respectively, of the OBC
(other backward classes) and ST (schedued tribes) class," says Prasad.
The findings of the Casi study were presented to the Planning
Commission in early November, but Jadhav says it is "too early" to see
if these have any impact on government policies.
Even as the debate over the study continues to rage, however, Dalit
activist Ram Kumar sees another side to the findings.
"Without skill development and proper stress on education, now there
is risk of Dalits in cities being treated worse than in villages," he
says. "The market is cruel and insensitive.
__._,_.___
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MARKETPLACE
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[ZESTCaste] Calling the world’s attention to the caste issue in India
http://worldfocus.org/blog/2009/12/01/calling-the-worlds-attention-to-the-caste-issue-in-india/8579/
December 1, 2009
Calling the world's attention to the caste issue in India
For more on the Indian Prime Minister's visit to Washington D.C. last
week, Worldfocus spoke with Ramaiah Avatthi, a professor at the Tata
Institute of Social Sciences in Mumbai.
Currently a Fulbright Scholar at Columbia University, Ramaiah contends
that Manmohan Singh has largely ignored the issue of caste-based
discrimination and atrocities.
The caste system is the traditional South Asian hierarchy that
consigns people, based on their birth, to ranked social classes.
Worldfocus: Do you think Prime Minister Singh avoided certain issues
during his U.S. visit?
Ramaiah Avatthi: Before Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's meeting
with U.S. President Barack Obama, human rights organizations such as
Amnesty International urged Obama to persuade Singh to address the
human rights concerns, particularly caste violence against Dalits
(formerly known as Untouchables). This group, also known as Scheduled
Castes, constitutes around 165 million in India — and up to 250
million in South Asia.
The two leaders focused on Afghanistan/Pakistan, the fight against
terrorism, global warming, economic development and nuclear
proliferation. Thus the scope for discussion of caste was very
limited.
Worldfocus: How would you assess casteism in India today?
Ramaiah Avatthi: The Dalits are subjected to inhuman torture and
humiliation when they try to live with dignity like other citizens of
India. Their assertiveness is often met with dire consequences.
There have been incidents in the recent past in which some Dalits were
forced to consume human excreta and urine. Some were blinded by
pushing needle into their eyes. Dalits have been raped and murdered
and sometimes paraded naked.
Some non-Dalit families, particularly in states like Haryana, choose
to kill their daughters for their "crime" of falling in love with
Dalit boys. They are denied the minimum wage and forced work for
generations as bonded labor. Most child labor also belongs to Dalit
communities. This is not a thing of the past but is very much a part
of day-to-day reality in most parts of rural India.
Worldfocus: What concrete policy changes should PM Singh implement?
Ramaiah Avatthi: There are a number of Constitutional safeguards to
protect Dalits from injustice and exploitation. But we need more
welfare measures to improve their educational and economic condition
and to ensure representation in decision-making bodies.
Worldfocus: Has the international community taken note of the Dalit situation?
Ramaiah Avatthi: With the relentless efforts of Dalit activists and
civil society organizations in the last 50 years, the issue of caste
has come to center stage at the UN. Yet, violence against Dalits
continues.
According to our National Crime Records Bureau, the number of crimes
against Dalits increased from 26,887 in 2004 to 27,070 in 2006. Even
brutal crimes such as rape and murder are on the increase. For
instance, the number of Dalits reported to have been murdered by
non-Dalits was 654 in 2004 and 674 in 2007.
Similarly, the number of reported cases of Dalit women being raped by
the non-Dalit men was 1157 in 2004 and 1349 in 2007. Why do crimes
against Dalits continue unabated, despite powerful laws against
atrocities? Is the law ineffective — or the government?
It is interesting to note what Martin Luther King said in 1955: "You
have never had real peace in Montgomery. You have had a sort of
negative peace in which the Negro too often accepted his state of
subordination. But this is not true peace. True peace is not merely
the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice. The tension we
see in Montgomery today is the necessary tension that comes when the
oppressed rise up and start to move forward toward a permanent,
positive peace."
It is also interesting to note what the Indian Prime Minister said in
his speech at the White House on November 23: "India and the U.S. are
bound by democracy, rule of law and respect for fundamental human
freedoms." This was a response to President Obama's declaration that
the relationship "between the U.S. and India is one of the defining
partnerships of the 21st century."
The crux of the matter is whether such statements will remain merely
rhetoric — or will actually promote justice for oppressed communities
in both countries.
Watch the Worldfocus signature video: One woman fights for members of
India's lowest caste
http://worldfocus.org/blog/2009/03/31/one-woman-fights-for-members-of-indias-lowest-caste/4720/
Watch the Worldfocus signature video: India's "untouchables" trudge
through the sewers
http://worldfocus.org/blog/2009/03/30/indias-untouchables-trudge-through-sewers/4699/
Read more in Worldfocus Perspectives: Indian nationalism begins to
challenge caste destiny
http://worldfocus.org/blog/2009/04/03/indian-nationalism-begins-to-challenge-caste-destiny/4786/
- Ben Piven
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[ZESTCaste] ‘No reservation for converted Dalits’
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/no-reservation-for-converted-dalits/543049/
'No reservation for converted Dalits'
Express News Service Posted online: Wednesday, Nov 18, 2009 at 0257 hrs
Lucknow : Former Bharatiya Janta Party MP from Gujarat, Ratilal Verma,
has demanded that Dalits who have converted to Islam and Christianity
should not be given reservation along with the others.
The former chairperson of the Rashtriya Anusuchit Jati Evam Janjati
Prakoshth of the Union government said such reservation will hamper
the development of Dalits. Verma said this while addressing
mediapersons in Lucknow on Tuesday.
"Dalits who have adopted other religions have done so to get benefits
and social security. But by giving them reservation under the SC/ST
quota, the UPA government will do injustice to those who are already
marginalised," said Verma.
"We have collected around 5 lakh signatures against this move, which
has already been submitted to President Pratibha Patil," he added.
Verma claimed Dalits already have a very small share in the
development agenda. "They have a very small quota and this should
majorly focus on them. Those who have converted have lost their
identity as Dalits. Hence, it is unfair if they ask for reservation as
Dalits," he said. The SC/ST cell of the BJP, along with other
organisations working for the development of Dalits, will continue to
protest against this move, Verma added.
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[ZESTCaste] Low-cost houses for Dalits soon
http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/fullNews.php?headline=Low-cost+houses+for+Dalits+soon&NewsID=197315
Low-cost houses for Dalits soon
Last Updated : 2009-12-01 11:29 AM
The Himalayan Times - Saved Articles(s)
Himalayan News Service
KATHMANDU: The government will abide by its social responsibility to
Dalits and marginalized communities, said Finance Minister Surendra
Pandey. "We are going to build 3,000 low-cost houses for Dalits of
Siraha, Saptari and Kapilvastu districts," he said in a press meet
here today.
In the first phase, 320 houses will be built in Dom villages of
Saptari district, he said adding construction will start next month.
The government has developed two models of low-cost houses which cost
Rs 60,000 and 1,20,000, respectively.
Finance secretary Rameshwor Khanal said the government will provide
subsidy on compost fertilizer. "We have taken this initiation to
enhance soil productivity," said Khanal. As per the plan, the Ministry
of Finance (MoF) will provide 50 per cent grant in establishment of a
compost fertilizer plant and 15 per cent subsidy
on the product.
Moreover, the government will provide work to over 20,000 people in
development projects in the fiscal year 2009-10. The new budget has
promised to provide 100
days work to 50,000 people. MoF is studying mega projects to meet the
target, said Pandey.
However, the government has not achieved all economic targets set for
the first four months of the fiscal year. "Development projects are at
a satisfactory level and we can meet the target by this fiscal end,"
he told the media about progress in the first four months.
FM Pandey said price hike stepped down by one digit, which was two
digits since last year. Export reduced but import grew significantly.
"It is a challenge to increase the export volume," he said, Foreign
exchange reserve has also gone down in the period.
The government expended Rs 45.72 billion until November
27. However, the capital expenditure is limited to Rs 7.12 billion.
MoF has collected Rs 50.38 billion revenue, which is 34.3 per cent
more than the preceding fiscal year.
Inauguration of a fast-track road between Kathmandu and Nijgadh,
embankment in Bagmati, Kamala and Triyuga rivers and Upper Tamakoshi
hydropower are achievements of the government. It has selected 919
projects in conflict-affected zones, among which 409 are in operation.
The government has also finalized the initial process of distribution
of bio-metric identity cards for Nepalis.
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[ZESTCaste] Caste politics and the future of BSP
http://www.india-seminar.com/2009/596/596_seminarist.htm
Caste politics and the future of BSP
SEMINARIST
IMAGINE a society where 10% of the people are self-appointed Brokers
of God – who thus occupy the top social slot. Another 10% are held to
be born-to-rule, who do little else for a living except to appropriate
for themselves the right to rule, all the time decorously holding the
ornate sword and enjoying the exclusive right to ride the white horse,
but never fight themselves – as Brokers of War, they employ 'other
backward castes' to be their fighting foot-soldiers. Yet another 10%
just buy and sell, traders sitting on their backside to make money out
of worker's sweat.
Add to the above, two sets of 40% and 30% respectively, the working
backbone of old Indian society – who however have been historically at
loggerheads with each other. The first set of 40% are the hardy
farmers who hold the plough – but who also become either respectable
foot-soldiers of state power or goonish lathaits of feudal landlord
power.
The other are the bottom 30%, who as artisans are the original working
class of India, the tillers of land, cobblers, blacksmiths,
silversmiths, goldsmiths, ironsmiths, potters, weavers, carpenters,
barbers, sweepers, and so on – the whole gamut of human working
activity. Without this working class, the remaining 70% simply cannot
live.
But this working class of artisans was kept outside the pale of
society – ritually 'untouchable' (even though their women were liable
to be 'touched' by the glad-eyed amongst 'upper' caste men). Whenever
these Scheduled Castes happened to defy oppression, the Brokers of
both God and War kept them in place by a complicated set of nonviolent
rituals (designed by Brahmins) or by elemental violence (executed by
lathaits).
Imagine, hence, a society where these community positions are kept
humanly inflexible, though presented as ordained by God – viz. the
holy Manusmriti. (Isn't it noteworthy that all social exploitation
claims a holy sanction?)
And then comes the twist of the 20th century. After centuries of
social placidity, we are suddenly exposed to the modern inputs of
education, urbanization and democracy, and all in one heap. Education
teaches us why all human beings are, or at least should be, equal.
Urbanization wipes out untouchability. And democracy helps to
operationalize equality. This is where India stood in 1947. But equal
opportunity never comes by mere signature or even statement of intent
– it has to be institutionalized. That is why B.R. Ambedkar fought for
separate electorates (in voting) and separate posts (in jobs) for the
former untouchables. Gandhiji christened them Children of God
(Harijans, a term that the modern-day dalit detests), but failed to
realize that they needed the human institution of constitutional
protectionism.
So, both sociologically and constitutionally, our Scheduled Caste
communities have historically been kept separate to aid oppression,
and now for protection.
Politically, as long as the Indian National Congress professed (and
indeed also managed) to represent all castes and communities, the SCs
(via iconic leaders like Babu Jagjivan Ram) were with the Congress in
regions where the left had no presence (which was most of India). But
by the mid-sixties, the Congress umbrella had begun to leak,
ultimately copiously – with each exit of a vote bank punching in a
hole beyond repair.
Land reforms inaugurated in 1956 did weaken the feudal classes that
had opposed the freedom struggle and, after 1950, found shelter in the
retrogressive but powerful Swatantra Party. But implementation of land
reform rules did not empower the land-tilling poor peasantry (largely
SCs and STs); it only benefited the plough-holding middle peasantry,
the feared 'other backward castes', once disparaged as kulaks (who as
lathaits violently opposed the SCs at the paid behest of the
feudalistic landlords). This new economic arrangement mobilized the
OBCs and gave them increasing political power, as also respectability
by rechristening them as 'secular' (since their ritualistic
antagonists, Brahmins and Thakurs, were largely with the 'sectarian'
Jana Sangh/BJP). Led by an iconic DMK in Tamil Nadu, the TDP's Kammas
in Andhra Pradesh, by Chaudhary Charan Singh in North India, their
political rise signalled the exit of OBCs from the Congress fold.
Meanwhile, the Punjabi Suba agitation in Punjab succeeded by the
mid-sixties in dividing the Sikhs between Congress and the Akali
Party.
Family planning excesses in North India during the Emergency years of
1975-77 further crystallized the exit of the Muslim vote bank from the
Congress in the Hindi belt, best symbolized by the stranglehold of the
Shahi Imam on this vote bank, and his repetitive, but negotiated (or
haggled?) periodic jumps across various political formations.
The sequential exit of each of these vote banks from the Congress not
only left gaping, leaking holes in the Congress umbrella, the process
also fuelled their subterranean movement (by piecemeal negotiation)
across various political formations. The brokers of these vote banks
negotiated different quid pro quo with the 'secular' Congress, the
'sectarian' BJP, and the 'progressive' leftists – all in an open and
transparent pursuit of electoral power.
The point to note is that barring the leftists and their touching
faith in progressive politics to transcend community identity, all
other political formations have in practice persisted with, if not
relied on, communitarian politics. The Congress may have tried to
represent all communities and the BJP all Hindu castes, but in
electoral practice their choice of candidates has invariably been
governed by community considerations, not ideology.
This is no different from the age-old practice of buying up the
village elder or the community leader to influence an entire village
or community during election time. In this arrangement the leader
usually assumes a 'victim status' – that is, 'buy me, please me,
pander to my whims, enrich my (extended) family – because I am the
symbol of historic oppression, I have the right to enrich myself in
the name of my caste/community/region.'
Imagine, herein, the Indian political scenario after Independence. The
Congress, as the harbinger of our freedom struggle, swept the general
elections of 1952, 1957 and 1962 – being the umbrella that sheltered
all castes and communities. But the rise of the Akalis in Punjab, the
OBCs all over the country, and the exit of the North Indian Muslim
vote bank, coupled with tribal alienation (and the rise of Naxalites)
left the Congress umbrella so badly leaking that it soon began to
embrace the same Raja elements it had earlier opposed during the
freedom struggle and taunted during the post-1947 integration of
'princely' states.
Barring the leftists, all other political parties too have always
adopted castes/communities as vote banks to seek political power. And
the three modern inputs of education, urbanization and democracy have
helped open the eyes of our hitherto submissive working class – the SC
communities – to grasp the political tenet that self-inclusive
integration is the first essential step towards political power.
The rise of an assertive Dalit politics needs to be read in this
context. From the integrationist stance of Babu Jagjivan Ram and the
Congress, to the aggressive but self-contained behaviour of Kanshi Ram
and the BSP – both in fact creations of B.R. Ambedkar's constitutional
reservations, the Dalits have been organized politically to match
their constitutionally ordained 'separate' status.
The Dalit rise has coincided with the progressive dismantling of the
all-pervasive Congress breaking into various caste/community based
political parties. Significantly, this has also been accompanied by
rising corruption in politics, bureaucracy and judiciary.
In this churning of the Indian political scenario, the Congress
umbrella seems to have been torn beyond repair (25 years have passed,
but the great 'national' party has not been anywhere near a majority
in the Lok Sabha); the OBCs are moving back and forth across the
political landscape; many disparate forces are forever trying to
convert the Muslims into a packaged vote bank; and institutional
values of propriety are getting eroded everywhere.
Such a decline in public practices has undeniably been affected by the
politics of 'upper caste' power. In the melee, the BSP, with its firm
grip on the huge SC vote bank, and open exhortation to its supporters
to adopt such 'upper caste' malpractices to grab electoral power, has
seen a steady rise. With its solid vote bank, it has the ability to
play a spoiler given its three to nine per cent share of votes polled
in multiparty contests. Unsurprisingly it is wooed by all.
In the UP elections of 2007, the BSP to everyone's surprise openly
tied up with the Brahmins. Having already won the support of poor
Muslims, it became the first party in two decades to obtain a full
majority in the UP Vidhan Sabha. This is the age-old Congress winning
formula of the 1952, 1957 and 1962 elections. To the consternation of
all, the BSP now boasts that this combination will also take it to
victory in the Lok Sabha.
The question is, will such a consequent dilution of its aggressive SC
posture (by joining hands with Brahmins) but without any remedial
ideology to help the poor, diminish the appeal of the BSP? Starkly
put, can such ideology-less politics ever prove lasting for a party
that claims to be egalitarian?
Again, do such electoral consolidations (the ultimate raison d'etre of
a political party to win democratic power) have a bearing on both
governance and its own core character?
The BSP rose on such chilling slogans as Tilak taraaju aur talwar,
inko maaro joote char, audacious in content and yet tactically helpful
in enabling the SC communities to substantially discard their fear of
the 'upper castes' such that they can now think of raining blows on
their historical oppressors. Again, 'Vote hamara, raj tumhara, nahin
chalega, nahin chalega' opened their eyes to the unfairness of their
votes serving to help consolidate the power of their historical
oppressors. The party's politics was best summed up by the pithy
slogan 'Vote se lenge PM/CM, arakshan se lenge SP/DM' – the ultimate
contribution of Baba Saheb B.R. Ambedkar.
But by 2002, it was clear that while exclusivist SC politics makes BSP
a major player, it would not give it majority power. Hence by 2007,
they openly cobbled up a multi-caste coalition – 'Jiski jitni sankhya
bhaari, uski utni bhagidaari', i.e., the share in power should be in
direct proportion to vote bank strength.
In essence, the BSP is doing nothing different from what the Congress
has tried to do all through – represent most if not all. So, while a
dilution of its aggressive SC sloganeering gives it the appearance of
increased appeal across the board, an analysis of its last two years
of governance suggests that it has not dropped any of its SC
programmes.
Hence, to compare it with the Congress, the BSP will be as egalitarian
or corrupt as that party has been, even though different in style. If
the 'social movement' aspect of the BSP is increasingly degenerating
into power-hungry politics, it is only mimicking the 'national
movement' of the Congress which degenerated into 'India is Indira' and
pioneered the trend of dynastic succession which has since infected
all political formations except the Left and the BJP.
On the other hand, Congress enjoyed the advantage of a sober national
consensus as its basis. The BSP, in contrast, began on an aggressive
anti-caste mode. The 'Thakur, Brahmin, Bania chor, baki sab hain DS4',
(The three upper castes are robbers; the rest are with us) soon
progressed to the audacious 'Tilak, taraazu aur talwar, inko maaro
joote char' (Shower kicks on the three upper castes).
But post-2007, the BSP has made up with the upper castes to herald a
'bhaichara' (fellow feeling) way to grab power, of course, decorated
with criminal chieftains from all castes and communities to make the
electoral contests more manageable.
Will this tendency destroy the egalitarian beginnings of the BSP?
Moreover, will it then take even less time than the Congress to begin
unravelling?
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