UP nerve centre of Dalit politics?
The ruling BJP in Uttar Pradesh might be in trouble with Dalit anger building against them. This is because of the continuing upper caste high-handedness in a village near Saharanpur last month, described as the communal lab of the country.
Dalit experts believe these oppressed and depressed classes are coming together in the wake of fresh eruption of Dalit-Rajput clashes following the appointment of Yogi Adityanath, also a Rajput, as the chief minister of UP. Dalit youth are angry and if the excesses against them does not stop, the chances of a civil war cannot be ruled out.
More than 120 organisations of Dalit youth across the state have come together to challenge the attack on their community. They have also begun using social media, taking strong exception to the increasing abuses against their icons, including B R Ambedkar and Mayawati.
It is argued that activists of the Hindutva lobby always had two enemies – Muslims and Dalits. The minority community has been fearful of the BJP regime which is now ruling both at the Centre as well as in the crucial and most populous state of Uttar Pradesh.
Dalits have consequently become easy targets. The Rajputs appear to be emboldened thanks to Yogi Adityanath’s chief ministership. It is apprehended their tormentors are back along with untouchability. Experts believe Western UP in particular could well become the nerve-centre of the country's Dalit politics in the future.
After the UP election results became known, with the BJP recording a stunning win and regaining power after 14 years in Lucknow, these experts apprehended trouble by Hindutva activists.
The disturbances were attributed to the upper castes which could not tolerate political empowerment of Dalits. They are now taking revenge and committing atrocities.
The upper castes also resent the ‘Jai Bhim’ slogan which is a symbol of the empowerment of Dalits. For a while in the wake of disunity among its ranks, the Dalit movement had weakened. With the community votes divided in different parties, they are now realising their political blunder.
This is particularly so after BSP supremo Mayawati had squandered Kanshi Ram’s legacy and caste atrocities against Dalits had increased under her rule.
Dalit aggression can provoke Muslims to retaliate. All this can affect Mayawati adversely who, as the flag bearer of the Dalits, was defeated lock, stock and barrel in both the general elections in 2014 and the recent assembly poll. Her stock has hit an all-time low. Recovering from this situation for Mayawati appears bleak.
The Bhim Sena has been afforded an opening to step in and make its presence felt. It is significantly linked to the declining representation of Dalit interests and ideology in the state apparatus, first under the SP and now with the BJP at the helm of affairs. The Bhim Sena is viewed more as following the Ambedkar tradition of politics.
The Samajwadi party as the other regional heavyweight in UP also came a cropper having been in power on its own for five years from 2012. Their truck with the Congress this time turned out to be an exercise in futility. SP patriarch had warned his son Akhilesh Yadav that the alliance with Congress will be a disaster.
The BJP’s strategy of wooing the OBCs among the Muslims as well as the Dalits paid rich dividends. Their gambit of polarisation succeeded much the same way as it did in the general elections of 2014.
However, Saharanpur is once again in the eye of a storm for all the wrong reasons. The clashes compelled the BJP brass to caution the chief minister impressing upon him to ensure that the Thakur-Dalit clashes did not spread to other districts in the state. The chief minister has been directed to ensure even handedness in administering the state. Any fresh Dalit-Thakur clashes can put the Yogi Adityanath government under strain.
The Dalits have alleged collusion between Yogi Adityanath and his Thakur brethren. There is fear among the Dalits that the dominant Thakur community will continue to harass and force them to leave the village. They drew attention to open threats being issued and Dalit women allegedly being eve teased in the open. The DM and the SSP of the area assured the Dalits that police had been deployed in the village and nobody would harm them. In the clashes, two people died and 40 people were seriously injured along with nearly 60 houses being burnt down. This happened last month on the fifth of May when the Thakurs took out a Maharana Memorial procession.
With the BJP indulging in majoritarian politics and continuing attacks on Muslims by the self styled 'gau rakshaks' in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Haryana – with all the three states being ruled by the saffron brigade—has created fear and discrimination against Muslims.
Dalits are reaching out to the Muslims for mutual support and solidarity. The Bhim Army, spearheaded by a young lawyer, Chandrashekhar, seen as a replacement for Mayawati, is seeking cooperation from the Yadavs, Valmikis and other OBCs. With deprivation and discrimination binding them, they see a common adversary in the upper caste led Lotus party.
Caste continues to be a central challenge for the BJP. If there exists any major contradiction in society which can be mobilised against the Lotus party, it remains the caste factor, insist Dalit experts.