Opinion Legacys end
Ambedkarites have lost all political bargaining power in his home state....
As the country observes the 53rd death anniversary of Dalit icon Babasaheb Ambedkar on December 6,the outcome of the recent Lok Sabha and legislative assembly elections has signalled the beginning of the end of the brand of politics followed by Ambedkarites in his home state of Maharashtra.
For the first time since the state was formed,the Congress-NCP chose not to ally they didnt need to without any of the major Dalit factions,divided into the dozen-odd splinter groups of the Republican Party of India (RPI). The election results have pushed the likes of Ramdas Athawale into political wilderness. He had formed a state-wide third front after losing the Shirdi Lok Sabha seat for the assembly polls,but his party drew a blank despite contesting 106 seats.
The Congress-NCP trick in the assembly polls was to eliminate the need for RPI leaders,who used to act as middlemen in harnessing the Dalit vote. Ruling parties approached the voters directly and convinced them to vote for them. Athawales candidates could neither mobilise resources nor the fighting spirit among Dalits resulting in the defeat of leaders like noted poet and founder of Dalit Panthers,Namdeo Dhasal.
Two RPI groups shunned the third front one led by Prakash Ambedkar (that fought independently and won two assembly seats in Akola) and the other led by Rajendra Gavai (son of Kerala Governor R.S. Gavai),who broke away to back the Congress. The RPI leadership failed: educated middle-class Dalits do not patronise their brand of politics and the poor,after having seen a few leaders prosper,have become cynical. Consequently,RPI leaders have lost their bargaining power.
How did they get here? After embracing Buddhism in October 1956 with his followers,to escape the socio-economic caste oppression of orthodox Hindus,Ambedkar wanted to launch a political party that would represent the distressed,irrespective of caste or religion. He had written to some prominent socialists and leftists about his plans.
The need to broad-base his movement lay in his experience in the labour movement. He floated the Independent Labour Party in 1936,but could not garner adequate support. Later,in 1942,he formed the Scheduled Castes Federation (SCF) to consolidate his position among Dalits which won only two seats in 1952,prompting the desire to broad-base the organisation. The SCF became a constituent of the Samyukta Maharashtra movement in Maharashtra that included the communists,the Peasants and Workers Party and the Praja Socialist Party (and even Bal Thackerays father Keshav alias Prabodhankar Thackeray). The mega alliance was fighting for the formation of the Marathi linguistic state of Maharashtra with Mumbai as its capital.
This helped the SCF to win nine Lok Sabha seats (including six in Bombay) and 15 assembly seats in state elections the next year. The BSPs social engineering actually started with Ambedkar.
Ambedkar was throughout a bitter critic of the Congress,which always used politicians from the cobbler community against him. However,the RPI,formed after his death in 1956,chose to join hands with the Congress in newly-formed Maharashtra,when then Chief Minister Yeshwantrao Chavan promised reservations for Dalits who had embraced Buddhism along with Ambedkar. (The conversion was aimed at liberating Dalits from the caste system by giving them a new identity,and urging them to leave for cities. But only Hindu Mahars were recognised as a Scheduled Caste and thereby eligible for reservation; Buddhists were not.) The Congress in Maharashtra grabbed the opportunity,and RPI leaders were eager to fall in line in return for crumbs of power ministerial berths or political appointments.
Besides,the RPI became bitterly divided over the leadership issue,resulting in a presidium that later broke into factions. Ambedkar had died without naming his successor; he ensured that institutions formed by him (like the Peoples Education Society) were not controlled by his family members,such as his son Yeshwantrao,and there were too many ambitious leaders waiting in the wings.
The scramble for spoils led to amoebic division of the RPI. Its leaders confined the movement to Buddhists,without reaching out to other communities to fulfil Ambedkars dream. Besides,the conversion to Buddhism became a hurdle in unifying Dalits,as other SC communities like the Chamars and Matangs chose to stay within the Hindu fold. The schism was exploited by parties like the Shiv Sena,which even campaigned with Hindu Dalits by accusing Buddhists of grabbing a major share of the SC quota. The Congress,on the other hand,ensured that Buddhist politicians within its fold got elected and were appointed ministers.
Ambedkarites in Maharashtra have outlived their utility for
the Congress. Unsurprisingly,despite winning two assembly seats independently,Prakash Ambedkars MLAs have backed the government.
rakshit.sonawane@expressindia.com
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