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Journalism of Courage
Last month, Bhim Army leader and Azad Samaj Party chief Chandrashekhar Azad was shot at in the Saharanpur district of Uttar Pradesh, with four assailants belonging to the Rajput community later held for the incident. Recuperating from the gunshot wound to his abdomen, Azad spoke to The Indian Express on why he thinks the attackers had the support of the establishment, his relationship with Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati, and if he would ally with the BJP. Excerpts:
Azad: I am a politician working for the equality of people who have been discriminated against for centuries. This riles those who have benefitted from inequality. Sexual harassment of women from the depressed classes, making men (Dalits) dismount from horses, shaving off their moustaches, forcing them to drink water from shoes and peeing on them — these are all too common.
Azad: The police are not probing the case the way it should be. The accused fled the shooting spot towards a Gujjar village. This is strange since a Rajput village is just on the opposite side. There could be a ploy to have a Gujjar-Dalit or a Muslim-Dalit riot through this incident. We must remember that the BJP benefited from the Muzaffarnagar riots.
Azad: The kind of speeches that BJP leaders make, slogans of ‘desh ke gaddaron ko, goli maaro saalon ko (Kill the traitors of the country)’ influence their supporters. There are attempts on the life of politicians; a businessman is killed by police in Lucknow; another is killed in his room (in Kanpur) by the police. How are the police getting the impunity to do this?
When the (Uttar Pradesh) CM (Yogi Adityanath) himself uses a certain kind of language in the Assembly and his supporters on the ground echo it, then it is not a big deal for a person like me to be murdered on the road. There is no rule of law in UP. It is jungle raj, the CM the king of that jungle.
Azad: We are first focusing on 2023. We are working on the ground in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Telangana. We recently held massive political rallies in MP and Rajasthan. We are hoping to do well in MP, where depressed classes are not very happy with the BSP.
Azad: We are looking at having an alliance with smaller parties that are working for the marginalised. For the 2024 polls, which are still far away, we will continue our alliance with the Samajwadi Party and the Rashtriya Lok Dal, with whom we fought the nagar panchayat elections (in UP) recently. Our support to the alliance in the recent Khatauli bypoll resulted in a massive win for the Opposition, despite the incumbent BJP government having a clear advantage. However, a lot will also depend on the performance of various parties in the 2023 polls.
Azad: Despite multiple efforts from my side (to align with the BSP), Behenji has always humiliated me and even called me an agent (of the BJP). I always wanted us to work together. But the bitter truth is today’s politicians want yes-men. Leaders of established parties are not looking for educated young men who have risen from the grassroots.
Azad: The decline of the BSP has not happened in a day. The depressed classes have kept voting for the party despite its constant decline since 2012. But the party has done little on the ground. People’s hopes have been dashed. They are convinced that under this leadership, they will not succeed. Caste atrocities have only increased in this period, while the leadership has stayed home. The community is now looking at the Bhim Army with hope.
Azad: Kanshi Ram would often say, ‘Jinka dal nahi hota, unka bal nahi hota/ Aur jinka bal nahi hota, unki samsyaon ka hal nahi hota (Those who are not organised, have no strength. And those without strength cannot find solutions to their problems)’.
There are multiple issues in the country. Because of privatisation, government jobs are decreasing by the day. Agricultural land is being given to industrialists. There is an attempt to circumvent reservations. We are sure the society will eventually come together and stand with us to fight for these issues.
Azad: It is a misplaced analysis that Dalits are voting for the BJP. Why did they lose West Bengal and Karnataka? The BJP is largely getting the votes from the people it is working for. Members of the Dalit community might be voting for them due to a lack of awareness in society and some economic benefits given by the government. The BJP has tried to buy support through these schemes. If the BJP is defeated in the future, it will be the Dalit community which would have defeated it.
Azad: There are no long-term friends or enemies in politics. But despite acts of washing feet of Dalits and sharing food with them, they (the BJP) consider us lowly. The day Dalits lose their right to vote, no one will come to our colonies. These acts are actually patronising and aimed at looting our votes. But society can see through them. There can be no friendship between fire and water. We can never have any understanding with a party that promotes social inequality.
