Bombay dreams

Promising quotas in the private sector for dalits, minorities and the poor among the upper castes, she alleged that her appeals to the Congress and BJP-led governments in Delhi had fallen on deaf ears as such parties were anti-quota. Mayawati’s formula is to universalise, not end, quotas.

But despite the brave talk on Sunday, the BSP could find it tough going in Maharashtra. This is because of the state’s demographic differences with UP, for one. And the presence of the faction-ridden Republican Party of India (RPI).

Brahmins are just three per cent in Maharashtra as compared to 13 per cent in UP. Buddhists, former untouchables who converted to Buddhism alongwith Ambedkar in 1956, who follow the RPI, are seven per cent of the population of the state which has a Scheduled Caste population of 10.5 per cent. Hence, at the BSP rally on Sunday, the dais and its backdrop were decorated with a (poor) replica of the gate of the Sanchi stupa. Besides, Mayawati did not utter a word against the leaders of the factionalised RPI.

As in other states, dalits in Maharashtra are scattered and are not concentrated in geographic locations. It is difficult for them, therefore, to elect their representatives on their own (except in slum pockets in some towns and cities where they seldom succeed as there are too many aspirants). They must seek the support of other sections of society. Realising this, Ambedkar wanted to form a party that would unite all the deprived classes against the rich and powerful. Unfortunately, when he died on December 6, 1956, he had not yet realised his dream. Ten months after his death, on October 3 1957, the RPI was floated by his close lieutenants. However, they remained largely confined to Buddhists and did not broadbase the party. Moreover, their bitter criticism of Hinduism deterred other classes from joining the RPI. This resulted in classes such as the OBCs as well as the nomadic and denotified tribes supporting other parties. Ambedkar’s grandson, Prakash, did attempt a dalit-OBC alliance with considerable success in Akola district, but could not replicate it elsewhere. Hence, Buddhist leaders in Maharashtra have been lending their support to parties like the Congress and the NCP in return for a few ministerial berths and other sops.

The BSP faces an enormous task of wooing the Buddhists. Without their support it would not be possible for it to make a substantial political dent in the state. As always, religion is a major hurdle, though RPI leaders have mellowed considerably vis a vis their criticism of Hinduism. Apprehending that the BSP might eat into its rank and file, Lok Sabha MP Ramdas Athavale, who heads the RPI faction with the largest dalit following, has already pulled out the religious card by accusing Mayawati of taking the dalits back to the ‘manuwadis’ (brahmins) by substituting Buddha’s ‘bahujan hitaya’ with ‘sarvajan hitaya’.

Instead of the dalits teaming up with the Congress or NCP, the BSP wants them to ally with the OBCs, who are scattered among various parties, and the upper caste poor and unemployed. The BSP’s social engineering in Maharashtra aims to tie up the Hindu and Buddhist dalits with OBCs and minorities. The covert aim is to isolate the Marathas, who dominate the politics of Maharashtra and are largely the ‘haves’. To bring in the OBCs, the BSP hopes to rope in the brahmins as it believes that the OBCs who are firmly entrenched in Hindu rituals are influenced by brahmins. It has chosen Mahant Sudhirdas of the Kalaram Temple in Nashik as its mascot for OBCs as well as dalits. The mahant is the grandson of Ramdasbuwa pujari, who had shut out Ambedkar in 1930 when the latter demanded temple-entry for dalits.

To consolidate her position among migrants in cities like Mumbai and to counter threats from parties like the Shiv Sena and its offshoot, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, Mayawati promises them ‘dignity’. Significantly, of the annual 33 lakh migrants into the state, 28.5 lakh are from UP alone.

Mayawati’s gesture is being viewed with some anxiety by the major political parties in Maharashtra. To counter the BSP, the Congress has promised OBC status for kunbis (peasants), while the NCP has withdrawn cases filed against RPI activists during the riots after the Khairlanji massacre and the desecration of Ambedkar’s statue at Kanpur.

rakshit.sonawane@expressindia.com