During the past five decades, the dwijas (upper castes) had vacated rural India, its assets and institutions and moved over to urban India, establishing their monopoly over assets and institutions there. In 1950-51, the secondary and tertiary sectors contributed 44.5% to India’s total GDP, and by 1993-94, the share. of these two sectors had gone up to 70.20%. While in 1951, the urban population constituted 17.30% of India’s total population, it went up to 25.70% by 1991.
URBAN MIGRATION
The decadal expansion of urban population in 1951-1961 was 43.20%, followed by 25.30% in 1961-1971. During the 1980s, the urban population expanded by 46.8%. While the dwijas tend to migrate to urban centres on a permanent basis, and at faster rate, vacating all their stakes in rural India, the Dalits and BCs, tend to migrate to urban centres at a slower rate, that too temporarily. The dwijas, who remain in rural India, become powerless as the social police [lower castes), become masters of rural assets and institutions. These changes had decisively altered the nature of social contradictions in the countryside.
WHY BRAHMINS LOVE DALITS
While by 1947, we talked about dwijas versus the rest by 1991 that battle was being waged between Dalits and BCs in rural India. In urban India, there is a tussle between dwijas and Dalits. Educated Dalits confront the dwijas on a day-to-day basis. But, since the majority of Dalits live in rural India, they are confronted with the BCs. Since dwijas are politically
upstaged by BCs, they tend to join hands with Dalits to protect their political relevance. By another decade, say by 2011, these contradictions would have sharpened further and the Dalits and dwijas, for their own separate reasons, would find themselves under a common political umbrella.
The alliance, regulated by social realities, is just an indicator of the future politics of India. Ambedkarites may get infuriated and think that I am distorting the “Dalit perspective” and legitimising the Hindutva nazi upsurge.
SOCIAL FASCISTS
That is why the Dalits in UP see BJP as the party of Brahmins, who despite their ugly past are now social moderators. The three socio-religious minorities Brahmins, Dalits and Muslims have for decades voted on one common election symbol. That coalition broke in 1990 when the Congress was seen hobnobbing with Mandal or the social fascist forces.
SHUDRA AS ANTI-MUSLIM
Dalits went to the BSP, Brahmins to BJP and the Muslims, guided by Mandal forces, joined V.P. Singh’s Janata Dal, whose entire legacy was inherited by Mulayam Singh’s Samajwadi Party in UP. Since Mandal, all the above three minorities have been voting on three different election symbols, giving UP hung houses. Tired with their respective experiences, all the three minority groups now want to reunite politically.
The BJP has replaced the Congress in UP, but is unable to promote a Congress-like social coalition. First, the BJP can’t accommodate Muslims due its rabid anti-minoritism. In the RSS’ religious project, shudras who form the largest [above 46% of India’s total population] social group, are considered flag-bearers of Hinduism in the long run. The RSS is caught in a dilemma. The Brahmins’ brand of Hinduism pertains to retaining basic features of the Chaturvarna order.
To the shudras, a violent anti-minority stance becomes a pre-requisite towards proclaiming its kind of Hinduism, or hindutva, to define it correctly. The shudras, particularly the upper layers, have historically claimed Kshatriyahood in the social realm and militant hindutva in the religious realm. The Gujarat riots are a case in point. The Brahmins are not compatible with either promoting shudras or accepting their brand of Hinduism. But, they are still with the BJP in UP as they have become suspicious of the Congress’ hobnobbing with Mandal forces.
The Hand, has after all, held the Third Front governments at the Centre and continues to support Laloo Prasad Yadav in Bihar. Second, the “Brahmin-Dalit-Muslim arrangement in the Congress wasn’t negotiated in the sense of who would get what.
LOHIA WAS FASCIST?
Dalits and Muslims were reconciled to whatever the Brahmin leadership offered to them. Also, Dalits were aware of the fascist nature of the Lohia-Charan Singh-led BC upsurge. So the Congress seemed a safe shelter.
But, the new Dalits in the 1980s. began asking for more, which the Congress leadership could not understand. The Brahmin lobby within the BJP sensed what the Dalits were seeking. Hence the alliance with the BSP, But, a mere Brahmin-Dalit alliance is, electorally, not a winning combination. The BJP needs other social groups. Under the larger saffron umbrella, the BCs and Brahmins are poised against each other. The BJP has to lose one of them, and in the just concluded Assembly elections in UP, it lost the BCs.
NOVEL SOCIAL ALLIANCE
The Brahmin lobby is now attempting a novel social script. Under this project, the BSP is to bring along a sizeable section of Muslims, and artisan-BCs while Brahmins themselves will retain Kshatriyas and Vaishyas, and thus end UP’s hung House syndrome.
This can halt the march of BCs and their hindutva.
SUBWAY FOR MUSLIMS
Under Mayawati, the ideological leadership of Brahmins will remain. The political power and its resultant benefit will be shared with Dalits and Muslims.
For Muslims, it is difficult to associate with the BJP. The face-saving formula has come in the form of BSP, a subway to reach the Brahmin-Dalit platform.
Social realities in the cow belt are regulating political arrangement, and Mayawati is emerging moderator. Those who do not want to understand this changing nature of social contradictions in UP, are not theo-retically organised enough to correctly comment on the polity. It is in-deed ironic that while we live in a varna/caste-based social order, political parties are not willing to con-sider caste-based contradictions.
What is happening in UP is inevitable. So instead of condemning the main players, let us appreciate the choices people are making.
If the BCs are not checked in UP and Bihar, the Muslims of this region may have to experience a Gujarat-like scenario by 2050.
Always remember, after establishing their economic and political control, BCs tend to seek social power, turn ultra-brahminical, and target Dalits. Once they establish their social hegemony, they seek control over Hinduism and thus, the shudra Hinduism turns into hindutva.
