THINK about this. Barely six months ago when BSP leader Mayawati gave 86 tickets to Muslims and romped home as the second largest player in UP politics, there was no end to the accolades from politically correct circles. Last fortnight, when Mayawati as the UP Chief Minister invited Deputy PM Lal Krishna Advani to the Dhikkaar Rally at Lucknow there was no end to the criticism from the same circles. One can go on debating endlessly whether Mayawati is right or wrong. The moot point is that ever since Independence, Dalit leaders have always faced this cruel paradox: either ally with mainstream parties to come to power and risk losing their identity, or go it alone but remain in the margins. The Political Paradox What is the principle reason for this dilemma? Paswan has the clearest answer: ‘‘The spread of Dalits thoughout India is such that they are by themselves always in a minority. In a democracy, they can only benefit from an alliance with other social groups.’’ Moreover, Paswan feels that the electorate has never seen him as a Dalit politician but as a national leader. He claims that he has always secured votes from all communities, and uses the metaphor of the palm to explain his philosophy of ‘social harmony’. Like the five fingers of a palm, different communities including Dalits must forge an alliance to hold the body politic together, he says. Maya’s strategy Mayawati has a way out of this dilemma. ‘‘Give representative politics its due’’, is her simple and effective strategy. In the last UP assembly polls, Mayawati benefitted enormously by providing disproportionate representation (more than their percentage population) in the distribution of tickets to Muslims and upper castes. The poll alliance among these communities has not only provided the BSP its highest number of seats in UP but helped Mayawati become CM. Her answer to those who argue that taking the support of the Muslims and BJP at the same time is opportunistic and contradictory is: ‘‘Well, despite the BJP support, I have more Muslim ministers in my cabinet than Mulayam Yadav ever did.’’ Symbolic Power Dalit leaders, however, see it as nothing more than opportunism. A senior Dalit intellectual of Delhi says: ‘‘Such an alliance provides symbolic power; it does not benefit the Dalit masses but only provides some Dalit leaders ministerial positions. This is in total variance with Ambedkar’s notion of ‘terminal power’, of endeavouring to end all hierarchies between purity and pollution.’’ Mayawati’s most vocal critic, Udit Raj lashes out: ‘‘She is dishonouring Ambedkar by allying with the Hindutva forces.’’ (See interview). Udit Raj believes in forging alliances wih ‘‘like-minded communities suffering from similar problems’’, like Dalit Muslims, Buddhist associations and socially backward groups. Asserting that one must not be impatient to make bahujan into sarvajan overnight, a Dalit professor says: ‘‘Dragging Pochamma (the southern Dalit Goddess) behind Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh, as Mayawati is doing, is not desirable.’’ Ambedkar’s ideal ‘‘Ambedkar dreamt of a moral conception of society based on the Buddhist ideal of dhamma,’’ adds Professor Gopal Guru of Delhi University. ‘‘Despite facing defeat he had the moral stamina to endeavour to end all social hierarchies whereas today’s Dalit leaders are rushing to forge alliances with anybody and everybody for the sake of power.’’ Economics Professor Sudhir Goel, however, disagrees: ‘‘The problems of Dalits are under-representation and socio-economic backwardness, not a clash with Hindutva. Only in power can Dalit politicians help the masses.’’ Goel further argues that ‘‘even in an alliance with the BJP, the BSP continues to follow its own agenda in politics — say welfare for the Dalit residents of Ambedkar villages.’’ Southern states Even though the southern states have a longer history of political movements aimed at social transformation, only Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu have seen the emergence of effective Dalit political parties. In Kerala, Karnataka and in TN, during the early years, the Communist parties were the political platform for Dalits. The Dalit-based parties in TN — the Putiya Tamizhagam led by Krishnansamy and the Dalit Panthers of India of Thirumavalavan — became visible only in the 1980s and 1990s, like the BSP in UP. Their alliance with the DMK in the last assembly elections, however, drew a blank in terms of seats. Lack of autonomy Surendra Jondhale of Pune University says there has been no autonomous Dalit politics in Maharashtra in the past two decades as Ambedkar’s followers ignored his message.‘‘They did not realise that left-of-centre parties were their natural allies,’’ says Jondhale. Forget electoral politics, even the land grab movement initiated by Dadasaheb Gaikwad, a follower of Ambedkar, was appropriated by the Congress. Agrees Sujata Patel of Pune University: ‘‘There is no longer a Dalit movement but a Dalit voice. Dalit politics has become totally ingrained in mainstream politics.’’ Meanwhile, the harsh reality is that notwithstanding marginal improvement in their well-being, a majority of Dalits continue to be little better than untouchables. Reality bites Take a look at the Census statistics: while the literacy rate in the countryis 52 per cent, that among Dalit males still hovers around 37. It is even lower among Dalit females. Dalits still constitute 48 per cent of those below the poverty line. While less than 20 per cent of the landless labourers belong to the general category, and 33 per cent are from the STs, over 49 per cent are Dalits. Massacres of the Dalit poor continue to be as frequent in Bihar and UP, as in TN and AP. In rural Rajasthan it still takes the form of violence over entry into temples, while urban areas practise ‘‘subtle forms of untouchability’’, says Guru. But if the reservation policy has had limited gains, the globalisation policy, Dalit leaders fear, will only replace it with pain. Perhaps the answer lies in what BSP leader Kanshi Ram said during the Dhikkaar rally: ‘‘Dalit leaders from Phule to Sahuji Maharaj believed that education is the only liberating vehicle for the Dalits. By dint of his education and intellect, Babasaheb became the father of the Constituent Assembly.’’ Udit Raj concurs. ‘‘Give us mandatory education,’’ he says, ‘‘and take away the policy of reservation.’’ That may take them back once more to the centre-stage far away from the margins.
