OPINION » LEAD
March 26, 2014
In 2014, Hindutva versus caste
VARGHESE K. GEORGE
The question in this general
election is whether Hindutva will triumph over caste. There are at least three
factors clearly nudging politics towards Hindu consolidation
Of the numerous public
appearances by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) prime ministerial candidate
Narendra Modi over the last year or so, two have been strikingly inconceivable.
Both happened in Kerala, often projected as a politically progressive State. In
February 2014, Mr. Modi addressed a meeting of Pulayas, a Dalit community that
has been for years a bedrock of support for the Communist parties. In April
2013, Mr. Modi was chief guest at the Sivagiri Mutt, founded by Kerala’s
legendary social reformer, Sree Narayana Guru who led the backward Ezhava
community to social awakening. The Ezhavas too have been largely supporters of
the Left. At both the platforms — events separated by more than a year — Mr.
Modi made a similar pitch. “Social untouchability may have ended, but political
untouchability continues,” he said, referring to the continuing isolation that
he faces from various quarters.
“The next decade will belong to
the Dalits and the backwards,” he said, emphasising his own lower caste
origins, at a rally in Muzaffarpur in Bihar on March 3. That event too was
significant as he was sharing the stage with Lok Jansakti Party chief Ram Vilas
Paswan, who returned to the saffron fold 12 years after he quit it over the
Gujarat riots. And there is more to it. Dalit leader Udit Raj, who has been
fashioning himself as the new age Ambedkar, joined the BJP. So did Mr.
Ramkripal Yadav, who has for years been a shadow of Rashtriya Janata Dal chief
Lalu Prasad Yadav, a champion of backward class politics in Bihar.
The BJP’s efforts to overcome
caste barriers in its project to create an overarching Hindu identity are
showing signs of success, though it is still far from being a pan-Indian
phenomenon. “Mr. Modi has broken the stranglehold of caste. The affinity of
these Dalits and backward leaders for the BJP is a clear indication of his
acceptance among them,” says Mr. Dharmendra Pradhan, BJP general secretary.
The issue of caste identity
Among the several factors that
slowed down Hindutva politics in India, caste identity has been prominent.
Politically empowered sections of the backwards and Dalits viewed the Sangh
project of a unified Hindu society with suspicion, as its insistence on
traditions implied sustenance of the hierarchical social structure that
disadvantaged them. One of the most pronounced examples of this was Dr. B.R.
Ambedkar, who concluded that Dalit emancipation would not be possible while
they remained within the Hindu social order. In turn, Baba Saheb — portrayed
with considerable fulmination in Arun Shourie’s book,Worshipping False Gods —
has been a villain in the Sangh discourse. But in 2013, an article in
theOrganiser, the mouthpiece of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS),
portrayed the Dalit icon as someone who contributed to Hindu unity.
The Hindutva project tried a
combination of aggressive integration, sometimes accommodating Sanskritising
demands from below and constantly working on the fear of an “Other.” But until
they hit upon the idea of replacing a mosque in Ayodhya with a temple, all of
this could not gather enough strength for the BJP to win a majority in any
region of India. But coinciding with the Ayodhya movement was also a great
upsurge of backwards, triggered by the implementation of the Mandal Commission
report. Subsequently, caste and religion alternated as the prime moving force
of politics, depending on the particularities of the time and place, in parts
of northern and western India. The BJP gained power in several States. But
except in Gujarat, the debate has not been settled conclusively in favour of
Hindutva.
The question, therefore, in this
election is whether Hindutva will triumph over caste. There are at least three
factors clearly nudging politics towards Hindu consolidation.
Debate on Muslim reservation
Hindutva politics in Gujarat rode
on violent anti-reservation agitations spearheaded by the Akhil Bharatiya
Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) in the 1980s. Though the agitation was against the
reservation for backwards, the targets were Dalits. Almost immediately after
the agitation, Hinduvta politics struck roots, co-opting vast sections of the
lower castes into its fold, even as a rising portrayal of Muslims as the
“other” unified them. But the trajectory in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar that
together elect 120 members of Parliament has been different, as strong backward
politics suspected the RSS on the question of reservation and found Muslims as
allies. Ironic as it is, quota politics is dividing them now. The lower castes
see the demand for Muslim quotas as detrimental to their interests. The case
for affirmative action for Muslims is strong, no doubt, but the politics over
it has played out much to the advantage of the Hindutva project. A social
coalition that has been a bulwark against Hindutva in U.P. and Bihar for the
last two decades is showing signs of unravelling.
The Dalit participation in the
Muzaffarnagar riots in U.P., and the numerous Yadav versus Muslim skirmishes in
Bihar over the last two years have strained the solidarity among the poor and
the disadvantaged. Lower caste movements that challenged caste structures have
also had a streak of Sanskritising aspirations that seek a better place within
the Hindu hierarchy. When the image of the “other” is clearer, this streak
becomes prominent.
Willingness to concede leadership
The lower caste sympathy towards
the Hindutva project has been matched by a willingness among the upper castes
to be content under the leadership of the lower. The turning point was the 2005
Assembly election in Bihar, when the BJP-JD(U) alliance sought a mandate, with
Mr. Nitish Kumar being declared as the chief ministerial candidate. Only six
months prior to that, when the alliance vacillated over projecting him —
because the upper caste segments were not comfortable with the idea of a
backward caste CM — it could not win and there was no clear majority for any
formation. In 2007, the upper castes voted for Dalit leader Ms. Mayawati in
U.P. who won a clear majority, the first for any since the Ayodhya movement. In
2010, the rainbow caste coalition voted for Mr. Nitish Kumar again; in 2012,
another variant of the coalition voted for backward caste leader Mr. Akhilesh
Yadav in U.P.
This change in the upper caste
attitude can dramatically turn round the fortunes of the BJP. The BJP has been
responsive to the leadership ambitions of the backwards and Dalits, but the
upper caste support to leaders such as Mr. Kalyan Singh and Ms. Uma Bharti has
been tentative. “We have the so-called backwards and lower castes standing up
and wanting to be counted as Hindus. Sangh has empowered them. Even the communist
movements could not accommodate these sections of the society in their
leadership,” says Mr. Ram Madhav, senior RSS leader. “In 1998, the BJP had 58
MPs who were SCs and STs, possibly the highest for any party ever as a
proportion of its strength,” he says. With Mr. Modi at the helm and the change
in upper caste attitudes, the Sangh’s efforts have got a major fillip.
Media-propelled popularity
A third factor that has developed
over the last decade is the dramatic popularity achieved by several lower caste
gurus, aided by the visual media. To cite two examples, both Swami Ramdev, who
was born a Yadav in Haryana and Mata Amritanandamayi, born in a fisherman’s
community in Kerala, have attained such a huge following that their caste
origins have been eclipsed. TV evangelism, as opposed to scriptural Hinduism
controlled by priests, has enrolled a large section of poorer and lower caste
people into thinking as Hindus. This may be a rerun of how TV serial “Ramayan”
contributed to the Ayodhya movement; and lower caste Hindu gurus are not
unprecedented. What makes it all extremely potent is the context of a certain
level of economic prosperity among the lower castes, media penetration and the
Sangh propaganda.
The terms of engagement between
the state and the poor, between the upper and the lower castes, and between
Hindus and Muslims could change further in the emerging scenario. “Lalu and
Mulayam had managed to command backward castes support with a the promise of
share in power. Mr. Modi’s politics for backwards and Dalits is not based on
doles and welfare schemes, but overall development,” says Mr. Pradhan.
Keywords: Hindutva, Lok Sabha
polls 2014, Narendra Modi, BJP, Hindutva politics, backward castes, caste
identity, Narendra Modi campaigns,
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