Some names are more political than others. More so in Uttar Pradesh, where names are often an expression or reflection of caste hierarchy, political ideology, social mobility or rejection or acceptance of values. Many people belonging OBC castes incorporate the customarily Kshatriya title “Singh”. Some Dalits adopt more authoritative surnames like Chaudhary, or use Buddhist titles like Siddharth or Gautam as a sign of rejection of Brahmanical ideals. These are just a few examples.
This context played large on my mind when a couple of months ago, while travelling for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly election, I was introduced to Moti Chand Rajbhar. He and I met at a litti-chokha stall in Ballia on the eastern fringes of the State. He belonged to the Rajbhar community, a most backward caste, but preferred to be called Moti Mandal.
We soon got debating the electoral mood in the State. To be honest, however, I was more enticed by his name. Mandal was not his birth name.
In the Hindi belt, Mandal more often than not evokes the legacy of B.P. Mandal of the Mandal Commission. As tribute to him, many pro-reservation scholars and leaders have even added Mandal to their names. Given Mr. Mandal’s strong views on identity politics, I assumed there were lofty ideals behind his adoption of the name.
Mr. Mandal was campaigning for the Samajwadi Party but he had started out his politics by forming the Jai Suheldev Party, named after the medieval Bhar icon whom the BJP is trying to appropriate as a Hindutva figure.
The party aspired to ignite aspiration and identity among the Rajbhars. Over time, he merged his forces with another Rajbhar leader, Om Prakash Rajbhar, giving rise to the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party. The partnership did not last though. Among many things, Mr. Mandal says, he was miffed by Mr. Rajbhar’s insult of Mayawati, whom he himself considered to be a Bahujan icon.
To my disappointment, Mr. Mandal spoke more about Mr. Rajbhar than about himself. And soon, it was time to part. I was not letting him go without quenching my curiosity. I thought it now best to ask directly. "Do you take the name Mandal after Mandal politics?" I asked.
His response, however, proved to be a bit of an anticlimax. The name had nothing to do with ideology, he told me. While working with his previous party, SBSP, Mr. Mandal was in-charge of the Varanasi administrative division. In Hindi, division translates to mandal. “That’s how I got my name,” he said with a smile.
