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Journalism of Courage
IN SEPTEMBER 1982, BSP founder Kanshi Ram came out with a book called Chamcha Yug. The thrust of the book were the people he defined as chamchas, or the “tools, agents and stooges of High Caste Hindus”.
Wrote Kanshi Ram: “The oppressed and exploited people of India who are about 85 per cent of India’s total population are a leaderless lot. The High Caste Hindus have succeeded in creating leaderless-ness amongst them. Such a situation is most conducive for creating chamchas out of these castes and communities.”
Kanshi Ram, who would go on to launch the BSP in April 1984, predicted the end of ‘Chamcha Yug’ in 10 years.
The BSP chief achieved what he had promised when it came to the Scheduled Castes, with the movement he founded leading to awareness of rights among the SCs, the rise of a line of leadership among them, and the concession of space for them in other parties too.
As the incident of urination on a tribal in Madhya Pradesh prompted swift reaction from Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in the poll-bound state, it underlined the absence of real political power with the tribals in the state – beyond their voting power from election to election.
The washing of feet by Chouhan was reminiscent of the February 2019 incident when Prime Minister Narendra Modi had washed the feet of sanitation workers employed at the Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj. In 2009, back when he was still the CM, Modi had done the same in Gujarat.
The symbolism of Chouhan washing Dashmat Rawat’s feet and sharing a meal with him as “atonement” for the urination incident apart, the BJP – which has been ruling MP now almost continuously since 2003 – is as culpable as others in not having any strong tribal leaders.
In a state where they comprise nearly 21% of the population, the tribals have never had a CM from among them, from either the BJP or the Congress. As many as 47 of its 230 Assembly seats and 6 of its 29 Lok Sabha constituencies are reserved for STs.
The past few years have seen the ascendance of OBCs in MP politics, who comprise the largest chunk of the population in the state. All the three past CMs of the BJP have been OBCs (Uma Bharti, Babulal Gaur and Chouhan).
The short-lived (2018-19) Kamal Nath-led Congress government in MP also tried to woo the OBCs by increasing reservation for them in state government jobs from 14% to 27%, a move struck down later by the Jabalpur High Court.
However, even while promoting other castes, the parties have been cognizant of the blowback of SC/ST anger. In 2018, facing widespread protests in MP over a Supreme Court ruling that was seen to have diluted the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, the BJP-led government at the Centre had brought in amendments to reverse the changes. The amendments ruled out any provision for anticipatory bail for a person accused of atrocities against SC/STs, notwithstanding any court order.
Chouhan, then seeking to be re-elected, went on to declare: “Koi maai ka lal SC/ST reservation nahin chheen sakta (No one dare take away SC/ST reservation).”
However, the BJP had lost power, but by a small margin, to the Congress. A year later, it returned to form the government after a split in the Congress engineered by Jyotiraditya Scindia.
Then, just ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, to even out the upper caste resentment over concession to SC/STs and soothe their ruffled feathers, the Central government had brought in reservation for Economically Weaker Sections.
The Centre’s calisthenics underscore the importance of the ST vote nationally as well. As per the last Census, conducted in 2011, STs numbered over 10.45 crore, with more than 14% in MP alone.
However, when it comes to political empowerment, perhaps the real driver of change, the BJP is seen to have often shortchanged tribals. In Chhattisgarh, carved out of MP and with a larger share of the tribal population, the BJP had chosen non-tribal Raman Singh to be its CM when it formed a government in the state. Later, the Congress did the same, with Bhupesh Baghel.
In ST-dominated Jharkhand, the BJP’s appointment of non-tribal Raghubar Das as CM had cost the party the state. The BJP has now gone back to tribal Babulal Marandi as its Jharkhand chief.
The one thing the BJP is counting on, is its success in electing the first tribal President of the country in Droupadi Murmu. However, ahead of the 2024 polls, the growing drumbeat of a Uniform Civil Code has now sent unease down tribal ranks.
The Opposition, which has positioned itself as the antithesis to the BJP’s “divisive” politics, has now included “Inclusive” in the name INDIA (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance) for its 26-member grouping. It has also made caste census one of its main demands.
Will this take politics over backward castes beyond symbolism? Only time will tell.
