The Ballot of Hope

Ask 65-year-old Maharaj Sahni, the man who fails to recall one single instance in his life when he had exer-cised his right to vote, freely and with-out fear. Every election, when Maharaj reached the polling booth, he was told that his vote had been cast. And almost dutifully, the landless agricul-tural labourer would retrace his foot-steps to his hut.

“I had lost hope. I believed that things will not change in my life-time,” says Maharaj. Resigned to his “destiny”, he did not even attempt to vote in the 2004 general election. But this time, at the patient cajoling of a fellow villager, he did again. When he reached the polling booth, he could not trust his eyes. “It was unbeliev-able. Central forces were guarding the booth and the poor stood in a long queue for their turn to vote,” recalls the old man, his eyes at the edge of tears. Sahni also stood in queue and after three long hours, emerged from the booth, wearing a smile that would do a war hero proud.

For the past two decades, a local Rajput landlord always suc-ceeded in keeping the mallahs and other poor voters away from the booths. But in the last Assembly elections, their money and muscleof Hope J.P. Yadav reports on how a village in Bihar finally realised its fundamental right to vote. power proved futile. They remained confined to their houses as the poor came out in irrepressible hordes and cast their vote. After 20 long years of misrule, Sitaram Singh had final-ly met his nemesis.

“I had never seen an election like this in my entire life. After Mahatma Gandhi, it was K.J. Rao (of the Election Commission) who liber-ated us,” says Bindheswar Sahni. He had lost out to the local Rajput mukhiya over securing a govern-ment lease to run boats to ferry peo-ple across the Chaknah. He was elat-ed to see the mukhiya and his men getting trounced by the poor.

Buoyed by the election expe-rience, the thirst for more has gripped the poor mallahs. “We want a school, roads, electricity in our village. If the new MLA and the government fail to deliver, we will revolt again,” declares young Rameshwar Sahni, bubbling with energy. He shows the bullet scar near his left eye and narrates how he fought against the Rajputs to turn witness in a case.

Bhagwanpur has more than 1,500 mallah families who belong to the extremely backward classes (EBCs), a section which has remained neglected socially, eco-nomically and politically across Bihar. More than 70 per cent of the mallahs here are landless and, as a result, 90 per cent of the youth in the village has migrated in search of jobs. They are scattered in cities across India, working as unskilled, unorganised labourers. The village has a thin muddy stretch that passes as its main road. It has a primary school, but the teacher hardly ever turns up. Most of the residents have red cards but they are yet to receive a single grain as part of the government’s programme for people below the poverty line. “We will not sit idle any more.

We are in majority here and if any-body wants our vote, he has to work for us,” declares Nirbhay. The EBCs, who played a key role in the victo-ry of Nitish Kumar’s JD(U)-BJP alliance, have come out to demand their due not only in Bhagwanpur but all over Bihar. The government has already reserved 20 per cent seats in the panchayat bodies for this section, which accounts for 30-35 per cent of the population.

The mallahs of Bhagwanpur have decided to join hands and peti-tion the new Chief Minister, who has rekindled their hopes. “We are preparing a petition demanding all basic facilities in our village,” says Nirbhay. For starters: an overhaul of the local administration. Announces Rameshwar: “People like the circle officer, block development officer and those from the police have always been at the beck and call of the dom-inant Rajputs. We want this system to change.”

Hope arrives in Bhagwanpur, in the Republic’s 56th year.