Mayawati's Shoes And Dalit Empowerment
By Farzana Versey
09 February, 2011
Countercurrents.org
Dalits are beaten up. Dalits are raped. Dalits are humiliated. In
Uttar Pradesh. In the past few days. Did you hear anyone complain
about the feudalism of the perpetrators of the crime? No. Now, they
have woken up.
Mayawati's chief security officer and the state's Deputy
Superintendent of Police (DSP) Padam Singh bent down to clean her
shoes with his handkerchief when the chief minister was on an
inspection tour.
The Opposition that remains silent over serious issues has raised its
voice. What is the reason? If the objection is to a senior officer
performing a menial task, then they themselves reveal an obsession
with status quo. Don't we have shoeshine boys everywhere, not to speak
about government quota for Grade 1V jobs that no one else will do? Go
to any village and the zamindar will wait for the servant to bring his
slippers; sometimes, the womenfolk in the family are supposed to
perform this as part of their household duties. It is a contemporary
version of preparing for conquest reminiscent of the kings of old who
were handed over the sword by their regal consorts.
In India we have a strange relationship with the soil and the concept
of Mother Earth. What is known as the cow belt (the cow, again, has
holy symbolism as 'gau mata', the goddess-nurturer), a Dalit in power
upsets the hierarchy. Mayawati was sanctified as a 'Dalit Goddess'
because that was one way in which to make her acceptable. That did not
alter the ground reality, and in this case the ground has its own
metaphorical resonance. The backward castes are dragged through the
mud, they as bonded labourers get submerged in the soil, they are
pummelled and pushed on the floor, and they cannot step on hallowed
territory.
Today, Mayawati is stomping on this very terrain. Her feet and shoes
become a subject that is more manifestly potent of power-reversal.
When she was sworn in as chief minister, the Brahmin MLAs refused to
touch her feet, a practice that has become fairly common.
Surprisingly, some of them went ahead and touched her Brahmin minister
Satish Chandra Misra's feet. Therefore, she may have striven to take
the Dalit agenda ahead but due to the nature of our society her own
attitude had to change. Her brashness could well be part of her
personality and nothing to do with her caste, but there is no denying
that some of it is a response. Her exaggerated projection of herself
and her ideology is clearly an indication. The statues of herself, a
ridiculous granite park, the portrayal of herself as the inheritor of
Ambedkar via Kanshi Ram are at odds with the commonly-held view of the
backward classes. It is this that shakes the citadel.
It unnerves those who would not blink had a high-born been the
recipient of such obsequiousness. They would put the onus on the
person performing the task. In this case, she has to bear the brunt.
Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan said, "It all reflects feudal
mentality of Uttar Pradesh chief minister, who believes in reliving
the royal monarchy. It appears that the security officer had some
serious compulsions that made him perform the shameful act. I would
suggest Mayawati appoint a separate contingent to take care of dust
along her route and to do such errands as cleaning of her sandals."
Was the security officer trying to please? Are there no coteries? Did
the Mulayam Singh government not run like a private limited enterprise
with its nobility – the Bachchans, Anil Ambani and Amar Singh?
There is a peculiarly devious tactic employed by smart politicians to
fake humility for public consumption. The padayatras through dusty
trails are part of this image-building. Nobody asks questions about
who cleans those shoes inside the privacy of the neta's domain. When
Rahul Gandhi did his stint with Dalits, his shoes too must have got
soiled. Rajiv Gandhi's Gucci loafers became a symbol for India
marching towards the 21st century, a wholly simplistic totem. The
savvy Omar Abdullah has been quoted as saying, "I won't let my
security chaps carry my briefcase, but I guess to each their own." His
statement itself reveals a certain amount of arrogance, that he can
hand over his briefcase to his staff anytime he wishes. And by
emphasising each to her own, there is an element of being above such
acts performed.
Congress state president Rita Bahuguna Joshi said, "Mayawati should
resign. On the one hand, she claims to fight for the rights of Dalits
and, on the other, she disrespects a Dalit in such a manner."
This Dalit was a President's gallantry award winner and stayed with
Mayawati even when she was not in power. Did she order him to clean
her shoes? Or do they have a problem with someone of rank bending
down? In that case, what about politicians who genuflect before
godmen? What about the very ethos that expects ministers to bow before
their seniors?
It is culture-specific and acceptable in those situations, but should
political leaders do so? Does the Congress party have problems when
young ministers, especially from erstwhile royal families, have people
rush to touch their feet? What about South India where the form of
complete devotion is to lie flat on the stomach and pay their
respects?
Buta Singh had to clean the shoes of worshippers at the Golden Temple
as penance for a political act that rubbed the religious leaders the
wrong way. We cannot pretend to be non-committal towards tradition and
faith. It is there around us in every sphere.
Padam Singh, the man in the news, said, "Yeh to manavta ke nate kiya
that (I did that on humanitarian considerations)."
The problem here is humanitarianism is a class issue. Have you heard
about Dalit humanitarianism? You are not supposed to. This 'act of
grace' has been taken over by the higher castes and classes, sometimes
garbed as philanthropy, tax exempted of course.
Mayawati may be aggressive, greedy and feudal. She may do nothing for
the Dalit cause at the micro level, but the large picture sends out a
clear message and reveals the true face of the high-born opponents.
Even if inadvertently, she ends up thinking on her feet.
Farzana Versey is a Mumbai-based author-columnist. She can be reached
at http://farzana-versey.blogspot.com/
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