Film buff8217;s guide to Rajput politics

If Ramesh Sippy ever decided to make an updated, politically realistic version of Sholay, what would it turn out like? Jai and Veeru would p...

If Ramesh Sippy ever decided to make an updated, politically realistic version of Sholay, what would it turn out like? Jai and Veeru would probably be reincarnated as rakish, small town Bajrang Dal activists, kept company by Basanti, the motor-mouth saadhvi. The Thakur and Gabbar Singh the OBC would almost certainly bury the hatchet, joining hands to form a coalition government in Uttar Pradesh.

Unmindful of any similarities between Mulayam Singh Yadav8217;s 98-member ministry in Lucknow and 1970s style bandit dramas, the Rajputs of Uttar Pradesh are celebrating. For over a year now, Mayawati was on the rampage, using Dalit sympathy and a combo of Muslim and Brahmin district officers to isolate key Thakur politicians. Rajputs, traditional aggressors in rural Uttar Pradesh, were on the backfoot like they8217;d never been.

Expect them to bit back, encouraged no doubt by the fact that rarely have so many Rajputs been in so many positions of influence, whether in New Delhi or in the states.

Caste loyalties are a given in Indian politics but no group takes them to the zealouus extremes the Thakurs do. When Bhairon Singh Shekhawat stood for the vice-presidency as the BJP candidate, Rajputs from a whole host of decidedly non-saffron parties canvassed for him. Chandra Shekhar, former prime minister, perennial future prime minister, Socialism with a Thakur Face, even issued a televised appeal that such elections 8216;8216;be kept above politics8217;8217;.

Rajput solidarity best defines itself in opposition to a perceived foe. Today it8217;s Mayawati, once upon a time it used to be Brahmins. The Brahmin-Rajput rivalry in the cow belt is a bit like the Karunakaran-Antony feud in Kerala: never ending, extremely boring and caught in a time warp. It inspired Hindi cinema too. The Vinod Khanna-Kabir Bedi starrer Kacche Dhaage 1973 was about a war between Rajput dacoits and Brahmin dacoits.

Today neither Brahmins nor Rajputs lead the social coalitions in Uttar Pradesh or Bihar or even Rajasthan for that matter. It8217;s the time of Mandal, the era of social engineering. So they8217;ve found new allies to continue an ancient conflict. Mayawati8217;s Dalits co-opted Brahmins; so Mulayam8217;s Yadavs and upper OBCs made common cause with Rajputs. The more things change8230;