Because Ambedkar sells in the vote bazaar
I repeat here what you all must have heard or read umpteen times.
Caste and caste alone sells in Indian politics. Or else why do
political parties scramble for political space on Ambedkar Jayanti
while keeping Gandhi Jayanti a low-key affair?
Sadly, the Father of the Nation does not fetch votes in the vote
bazaar as Ambedkar does.
Come Ambedkar Jayanti and all parties get into an overdrive –
processions, speeches, garlands. People vote for Ambedkar, they
identify with him, his caste, not with Gandhi.
Circa 2008: Union Minister Sharad Pawar unveiled a 17ft-tall statue of
Ambedkar in Nagpur. A few kilometers away in the infamous Khairlanji
village where fellow villagers had butchered four Dalits in September
2006 people celebrated a weeklong Bhagwat Saptah to mark the return of
social harmony in the village.
The irony was that the only surviving dalit family remained within the
four walls of their home during the week. Despite round-the-clock
police vigil since the incident, the family members of Durwasji
Khobragade lived an isolated and insecure life.
Few perhaps remember that the incident had sparked off caste clashes
in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh.
The statue that Sharad Pawar unveiled did not give them any sense of
security or dignity.
Come to 2010. Both the Congress and the BSP vied with each other for
the Dalit pie. Rahul Gandhi went to Ambedkar Nagar, flagged off ten
yatras that would tour all the 403 assembly constituencies in the
state for full 90 days.
The ruling BSP, that claims to enjoy Ambedkar's legacy, refused
permission to Rahul to garland his statue. So he garlanded his
portrait.
By now the yatra has already got stuck in controversies with nautch
girls taking the centrestage at some places, throwing the party's
dalit agenda into the backyards.
Mayawati also roared, refusing to get cowed down by opposition's
propaganda against the memorials and parks built by her. She also went
down accusing the Congress of denying Bharat Ratna to Ambedkar till
the 1990's. The message was clear; "Ambedkar got his rightful place
only after the BSP's emergence on the state's political horizon."
Thus, the BSP is the only party in the state that could safeguard the
interest of his followers too.
Thereafter, Mayawati went on an aerial survey of the celebrations
while her constituency of dalits fought for basics like water and
power on the ground.
The Congress exploited them, showed them dreams—- the same dreams
Mayawati is showing them today.
I wonder who will be the next!
Posted by Sunita Aron on Tuesday, April 20, 2010 at 6:06 pm
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