Every evening hundreds of Lucknowites, with their guests from outside Lucknow, proudly throng the Ambedkar park built by the former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Mayawati. Many might not express it in words but their gleaming eyes and fallen jaws say it all! That the scenes at the parks are breathtaking! ‘It is like walking in a foreign country,' somebody remarked. In a city with narrow lanes and congested and crumbling old structures, Dr. Ambedkar Park is a breath of fresh air. To an ordinary man walking on those shining expensive stones is more like a treat; for a moment one feels as if one was walking in ‘Heaven.' For a proud Dalit, it is like treading the path to dignity and power.
Colourful fountains are awesome and in the evenings they cool the whole surrounding and accentuate the beauty of the place. Crowds register their appreciation in silence, in keeping with the proverb, ‘actions speak louder than words.'
Having a park in his vicinity is nothing new for a common Lucknowite; a park is just an addition to the numerous parks built by the previous rulers. It is there in the history and culture of the city. It is a reflection of their keen sense of beauty and aesthetics. After all, the Taj Mahal, one of the ‘seven wonders of the world,' is U.P.'s gift to the world.
The Ambedkar park and other parks act as lungs to the city and are well qualified to be a tourist destination. Envious States and Opposition parties are loud in opposing the parks, which have only added to the beauty of the city of Nawabs. They directly or indirectly are urging the present Chief Minister to open hospitals and schools in the parks. It is more like opening a hospital at Qutub Minar. Aesthetics and utility seldom go hand in hand.
This is not the first time that an attempt to beautify any place has taken place. From time immemorial structures were built by rulers. Then why now, when a woman is behind the building of those structures and that too the ‘thrice discriminated' Dalit woman, the hue and cry over it? Mayawati has only followed the tradition set by her predecessors but unfortunately even with her riches she is unable to wash away the stigma of being born an ‘untouchable'.
In some parts of India, huge temples of film stars are built; these certainly would not have been made free of cost! But everyone refrains from questioning their source or utility. In Madam Tussauds Museum, ‘living' Bollywood stars have their wax models. No Dalit could find a place there, not even the maker of the Indian Constitution Dr. Ambedkar.
It is easy to understand the mind of a Dalit woman getting her own statue built because, leave alone statues, if there were no constraints of law, no upper caste people would like to see the face of a Dalit from morning till evening. Then how is it expected that Dalits will be given space or their statues are going to be built? ‘Dalits are neither to be heard nor seen but are expected to perform their duties silently and ungrudgingly'.
For the first time in Indian history, amid the winds of regionalism blowing threateningly strong, a Dalit woman has dared to raise the statues of Dalit icons hailing from different parts of India. Earlier, many parties ruled over Uttar Pradesh but no one really cared to give those icons space. Mayawati has broken the tradition and showed that elites need not monopolise the spaces and that the marginalised and those who have worked for the uplift of Dalits too deserve equal respect. She has made a significant statement about democratisation and national integration and it has to be ‘sensitively' grasped by her opponents.
Statues and stones have had a special significance in Indian culture and tradition. Every stone under the sun gets its due share of respect provided there is a convincing story revolving around it! And it takes only a few days to have concrete structures built around it to house it. No eyebrows are raised, even if it becomes a major cause of traffic dislocation or law and order problem. There seems to be no end to such expansion, nor the spaces the statues cover, government or non-government, or the ‘question campaign' on how much money goes into making them or where from the money ‘pours in' to complete them!
Now is the time to focus on the core issue of systemising the administration, an uncomfortable position from which every ‘good politician' chooses to run away. They politicise trivial issues, blowing them to unimaginable enormity for everyone to take notice. Thus they are spared the trouble of addressing age-old problems of unemployment, poverty, corruption etc. It is high time politicians learnt to become good administrators. And as good administrators they ought to first strengthen the basic structures and learn from the mistakes committed in the past, with a clear objective of actually working for the welfare of the people and without playing one section of society against another. India has had enough of the ‘Divide and Rule' policy. It is time to act with a difference and show the world that ours is a ‘Living Democracy' and ‘Best Administered Country'!
(The writer is Head, Department of History, BBAU, Lucknow. shuradarapuri@gmail.com)
