DNA of Dalit Movement

Universal adult suffrage, electoral politics and social deepening of Indian democracy have culminated in the visibility of subaltern movements, among which dalit movement has been one of the most powerful ones. Today it has emerged as a major pressure lobby as can be witnessed in the case of Ambedkar cartoon row or the manner in which Asish Nandy was hounded for making supposedly anti dalit remarks. However despite its fury and thunder on the streets, the movement has not been able to alter the course of Indian polity on its own as dalits constitute around 17-18 percent of our population which are evenly dispersed. Moreover the joint electorate system has managed to nullify the politics of identity & exclusion of the dalit leadership. Dalits have suffered immensely due to the institution of caste and yet, they are not ready to dispense away with it and instead, have managed to consolidate/mobilise their constituencies around caste. This baffles many political commentators who feel that dalit leadership/intelligentsia have used the caste plank to play politics of victimhood and secure concessions from the state. Reservation has failed to ameliorate the socio economic conditions of majority of the dalit population but the dalit leaders are willing to continue with it. The leadership of the movement has been in the hands of the minority urban dalits for whom reservation and perceived insult to dalit icons by non dalits matter more than the deplorable conditions under which rural dalits are living deprived from land assets. Skewed distribution/landlessness of dalits has forced them to work on the farms of the non dalits restricting their autonomy and voice. Benefits of reservation have gone to about 10-20 percent of the relatively well off dalit population. This has led to dissatisfaction among the marginalized within the dalit castes who are now openly advocating for sub reservation for the left out dalit castes, creating fissures within the dalit ranks in the process. The neo economic reforms have reduced the scope of public employment for the dalits and curtailed public expenditure on programmes like social security, education, welfare and health but rather than analyzing the impact of these on the vulnerable sections of our population, the dalit leadership wants reservation in private sector. It lacks articulation of a proper economic perspective that can lead to betterment in living conditions of the dalits. Dalits need quality education, skill development programmes, cheap bank educational loans and proper career counseling to take on the forces of globalization. But as is its wont, the movement thinks only reservation can help the dalits in this liberalized global economy. The historical animosity between the communists and the dalit leadership on the dichotomy of caste and class continues to linger on providing space for the growth of right wing Hindutva. Hindutva, with its emphasis on one nation, one culture, one language and one religion, is an anathema to the politics of identity and sectarianism as espoused by the dalit movement. The dalit leadership and intelligentsia fear that too close proximity with the rightist forces may lead to a loss of dalit agenda and identity. The mandalites and the dalit leadership have not yet been able to forge a unity of purpose and their inter relationship has been marred by mistrust and suspicion. In some of the states like Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, frequent skirmishes have occurred between the dalits and the backwards. The social justice plank has weakened or in other words, it can be said that a plateau has been reached from where the law of diminishing return has set in. Dalit bid to rewrite history by creation of its own symbols and putting them on display in public places has been discussed in this book. Though the dalit monuments and statues of dalit icons have given a sense of pride to the dalit masses, they have raised the eyebrows of the non dalits simultaneously. Cat has been set among the pigeons and now, all the castes and communities want the statues of their leaders to be set up. The media reports have blamed the dalit leadership for splurging public funds on constructions that have not brought any improvement in the human development indices of dalits. The dalit leadership/intelligentsia thinks that they hold patent rights over Ambedkar. Ambedkarism, for them, is a mere tool to hit at others and keep the poor dalit masses ghettoized and segregated from the national mainstream. The original Ambedkar has never been decoded. Dalit movement’s opposition to the middle class movement has nothing to do with the issues of reservation in Lok Pal or an affront to Ambedkar’s constitution but there was an underlying purpose to it. The middle class call for removal of corruption and governance deficit as well as championing of secular issues that affect day to day lives of the commoners can bring it closer to the masses, sounding a death knell to the politics of casteism & identity as propounded by the mandalites and the dalit leaders. The recent Assembly Election Results in Delhi where Aam Aadmi Party gets the chance to form the government is a pointer to the events that may unfold in the future. The politics of identity and forging of community linkages to boost electoral prospects did not work to the advantage of the traditional political parties. The book also talks about the ideological vacuum that has plagued the dalit parties as can be seen by their alliances and dalliances with the forces of left, right and mandalism. The dalits may call it political pragmatism but for the observers of Indian polity, these are acts of political opportunism. The dalit emancipation project and the much talked about social revolution have been relegated to the background; capture of political power by hook or crook has become the end in itself. The leadership appears to be cut off from the masses and more concerned about their personal aggrandizement.