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'Thakur' Amar Singh for Rajput resurgence in Indian politics!
Submitted by admin4 on 29 January 2010 - 10:56am.
Articles India Politics Indian Muslim
By Adnan Alavi,
The decline in influence of Thakur leaders in Indian politics has been
a cause of concern among the once-dominant Rajput community.
And Amar Singh's visible haste in moving away from Samajwadi Party and
Mulayam Singh, is an indication that the suave-socialite now wants to
play the pivotal role for Rajput resurgence.
He is already one of the most prominent faces of the community in the
country. The fact that major North Indian states where Thakurs earlier
used to hold political clout, have undergone a sea change in
post-mandal politics, and there is a void in the leadership of the
Rajputs seems to have stirred Amar.
It's difficult to predict whether he will succeed. However, Amar Singh
seems to have taken the plunge and has burnt his boats. He may not be
a leader of grassroots but has certain qualities, to which we will
come later in this blog post.
WHITHER THAKURS
Once Bollywood was so fixated that in every other Hindustani movie,
the Thakur was branded as a villain and for decades shown as an
oppressor. [Of course there were exceptions like the heroic Sanjeev
Kumar playing the pro-poor Thakur in Sholay.]
In fact, Thakur got more than their share of blame. But never in the
past Thakurs seemed so concerned about the lack of tall Thakur leaders
in the country. And it is indeed ironical that the tallest Thakur
leader VP Singh became instrumental in changing the Indian political
scenerio.
Singh, during his brief term as Prime Minister, implemented the Mandal
report, which changed the complexion of Indian polity.
Thakurs, who aren't numerically a strong force, lost the political
space. Backwards like Yadavs and Kurmis, Dalits, Tribal and other OBCs
who were much more numerous soon took over.
Chandra Shekhar became Prime Minister for four months. Arjun Singh was
one of the strongest Thakur leaders and came close to becoming Prime
Minister.
The days of Vir Bahadur Singh, who was Chief Minister of UP, and
Digvijay Singh ruling Madhya Pradesh [or Virbhadra Singh in Himachal
Pradesh] are gone.
Of course, Raman Singh is at the helm in Chhattisgarh but his
influence is limited. The number of Rajput MLAs and MPs has gone down
significantly in the last two decades.
Thakur stalwarts like Bhairon Singh Shekhawat and Arjun Singh have
been either shunned or sidelined in their respective parties. Jaswant
Singh and Rajnath are also gone from the scene. Do we even hear of
Karan Singh these days?
KSHATRIYAS+EBCs
It is in this context that the need for Thakurs to play a part in
politics is being felt dearly. It is quite clear that Kshatriya
organisations at district and town levels are giving such feelers that
they would back Amar Singh wholeheartedly.
After all, it is not possible for a Thakur in dynasty ruled Congress
to play a major role. Amar Singh, with his manoeuvres, connections and
other qualities, can either head a political party supported by
Thakurs or lead a loose group of Thakur MPs.
If one does focus on his statement published in a post on his blog,
then it's crystal clear that Singh aims at forging an alliance of
Extremely Backward Castes (EBCs) or Most Backward Castes (MBCs) who
abhor the OBC dominance.
Yes, SP rule was perceived as Yadav raj and BSP rule appears Dalit
monarcy. But can he get the necessary support. Amar Singh now says
that he would dedicate himself to Kshatriyas and Nishads, Rajbhars,
Nonia, Vishwakarma, Pal, Teli and caste groups like Kashyap, Kumhar et
al.
It may appear a fantasy but there are signs that his community members
want him to play a pan-Indian role. Given the strong sense of clanship
among Thakurs, even if they belong to diverse political spectrum, this
is a possibility.
However, electoral victory is not easy. Thakur population is
relatively small and given the feudal influence, there are still
resentment among Thakur leaders in rural areas. The million dollar
question that how Amar can act as magnet to the neglected
micro-minuscule groups that number 1-3% each? [Now he doesn't talk
about Muslims, naturally.]
Brahmins had also suffered electorally after Mandal commission report
but because they are a strong caste group, numbering around 9% in UP
and 5-8% in other North Indian states, their alignment can benefit any
coalition and thus they are again being wooed.
Singh has some strengths. Apart from the ability to recall and recite
couplet for any occasion, he even otherwise has a way with words and
knows how to stay in news. Sections of Muslims praise him as he was
the only man who spoke courageously after the Batla House encounter,
at a time, when no Muslim leader was visible on the streets.
It is a fact that he stands by his friends and has certain
characteristics which endear him to others. Otherwise there are many
more cash-rich and connected persons in this country but none of them
can boast of dedicated friendships of the likes of Anil Ambani,
Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Prada and Sanjay Dutt among others.
Especially in the class of celebreties where people have huge egos and
nobody bothers much for the other, he goes the extra mile and takes
care for his friends, which attract them towards Singh. Samajwadi
Party leaders and workers seem happy that Singh is gone. But the SP
has a tough battle ahead.
For Amar Singh. He is testing waters and is touring UP, gauging the
support of his community and other groups before taking a decision. It
may not change the shape of Indian politics but Thakurs are poised to
support him in his move.
We've just heard of Kshatriya Chetna Jagran Rath Yatra. Many more
might follow soon. UP has seen AJGAR [Ahit, Jat, Gujar and Rajput] &
MY [Muslim-Yadav] formulae in the past. Will Amar's caste calculations
work? Let's wait and watch this interesting man.
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