Violence against Dalits, inward migration may determine HP polls

The RSS is trying to reach out to the Dalit voters and is in touch with several religious leaders like Baba Nirmal Das.

to the development of Himachal Pradesh,” Chauhan told The Sunday Guardian.

As per the Socio-Economic Caste Census-2011, after Punjab, Himachal Pradesh has the largest population of Dalits in the country—over 25.49%—but their literacy rate is alarmingly low and they have only 13.7% land holdings in the state.

Manindra Nath Thakur, a professor and political commentator from JNU, told The Sunday Guardian: “The Dalit population comprising almost one-fourth of the electorate has been facing casterelated violence in Himachal Pradesh, but politicians in the state have been ignorant about this fact.”

Dalits in Himachal Pradesh have started mobilising against caste-based discrimination under several Dalit social movement groups.

Manjeet Verma, an office bearer of the Dalit Shoshan Mukti Sabha, a social movement group working in the state, said: “Dalits have realised that numbers are important in a majoritarian form of democracy and, therefore, they have started mobilising on the ground. Now, Dalit youths are aware of the benefits of caste-based politics and no one can make a fool of them.”

With 17 seats reserved for Scheduled Castes in Himachal, the Dalits are mostly concentrated in districts like Sirmaur, Kullu, Mandi and Solan. “The Dalit fac- tor is going to be crucial for the Assembly elections in Himachal. Unlike earlier occasions, when local and regional issues dominated the scene, the Dalit factor could impact the election’s outcome this time,” Verma added.

On the face of it, the BJP, while mobilising its core supporters among the Brahmins and Thakurs, is also trying to woo the Dalit voters in Himachal. A local BJP leader said: “Along with parivartan yatras, which the BJP is taking out across the state, the party is also holding Dalit swabhiman sammelans to garner sizable votes from this segment of population. In order to reach out to Dalit voters, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is also in touch with several religious leaders like Baba Nirmal Das who has a great following in Himachal.”

Besides the issue of Dalits, the other issues which are being discussed by political observers include the rapid inward migration and the development gap between the upper and lower regions in the state.

Virender Chauhan, who teaches political science in Himachal University, told The Sunday Guardian: “The hill state is divided into upper and lower Himachal. The electorate in the old Himachal and newly merged parts of the state differ in their political and economic development, and social mobilisation.”