A day after the protest by Dalits against the demolition of a Ravidas Temple in Delhi’s Tughlakabad turned violent , Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Thursday said such incidents were uncalled for and asserted that her party had nothing to do with the damage to public property.
“The BSP always honours the Constitution and the law, and any struggle held by it is within the boundaries of law,” Ms. Mayawati said, adding that unlike her party, it was common for other organisations and parties to take law into their hands.
She also urged BSP supporters to not violate Section 144 and “not forcibly go to the site [of the demolition], unlike other parties and leaders” to avoid having protesters targeted by vendetta.
The BSP chief distancing herself from the aggressive agitation is in line with her party’s non-confrontational approach under her leadership.
Veiled warning
However, her emphasis on other outfits and leaders appears to be a veiled warning to Dalits to refrain from following the steps of Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad , who was arrested after the demonstration turned violent when protesters attempted to march towards the temple.
While Ms. Mayawati’s mistrust towards the Bhim Army and other such fledging Dalit and Ambedkarite outfits is well-known, partly due to her own political insecurity, questions arise on whether the latest demonstration in New Delhi will churn into any sort of political movement against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, whom the protesters have held responsible for the demolition.
While the charismatic Bhim Army chief caught the usual limelight at the event, reports suggest that the protesting Dalits and Ravidas followers reached the Ramlila Maidan in response to the call by several outfits, and they lacked a ‘single face’. Whether the agitation will have a lasting political impact depends on its logical end, which is not clear as of now.
Two main strands
There are at present two main strands of non-BJP Dalit politics in north India, with outfits like the Bhim Army filling in the social vacuum left by the blunting of mainstream parties like the BSP, and their failure to address issues like atrocity, unemployment, land distribution and real empowerment of the oppressed classes despite seizing political power.
However, the current demonstrations don’t appear to be having any major political impact, as of now, largely because they are not organised and lack the resources to sustain themselves in the long run in the absence of guided political support, such as what the BSP could have offered.
Nevertheless, the anger within the Dalit community, in particular among the followers of Ravidas, is perceptible, and this issue has the potential to halt the BJP’s expansion among the Jatavs in Uttar Pradesh.
Chandrashekhar Azad has another opportunity to develop himself as a strong social voice of the Dalits, especially in and around west U.P., by using the issue as an anchor to pitch aggressive Dalit politics in areas where they are in good numbers.
Huge following
The Bhakti poet Sant Ravidas, who stood against institutionalised caste hierarchy, has a huge following among Dalits in Punjab and U.P., and over the years, political parties and leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, have tried to appease his followers before elections.
But the lack of organisation behind the protest, and internal squabbling, with many of the Dalit protesters accusing the Bhim Army of distracting the focus onto itself, showcase the challenges of a direct organised movement.
Mahesh Prasad Ahirwar, a Dalit professor at the Benaras Hindu University, does not see much political mileage coming out of such episodes.
He says the outpouring of protesters at the Ramlila Maidan was not due to any political call but due to the “emotional attachment” Dalits have towards Sant Ravidas. “Whenever such crowds assemble, it is because people have an emotional attachment. It [such a gathering] has people of all political ideologies and there is hardly any political benefit that comes out of it,” he said. “This anger does not convert into a vote bank.”
‘Soon die out’
Mr. Ahirwar says the events and agitations by Dalits over the past five years, such as the Rohit Vemula suicide, April 2 bandh and the Una thrashing case, have shown that such agitations did not affect mainstream Dalit politics.
“[Late BSP founder] Kanshi Ram used to say that these small organisations spur like mushrooms every once in a while but soon die out. Such movements won’t become political alternatives to mainstream parties,” said Mr. Ahirwar.
