For more than two decades, they butchered each other by the hundreds. Today, the Dalits and upper castes walk hand-in-hand as political allies, reflecting the social churning and shifting political dynamics of a new Bihar.
For the better part of the ’90s, the central part of the State comprising half-a-dozen districts was famously described as the “flaming fields” of Bihar. The region periodically hogged media limelight due to violent caste wars between private armies of upper caste landlords and the Naxalites. Dalits and Yadavs formed the backbone of the two prominent Naxal formations, Party Unity and Maoist Communist Centre (MCC), during those troubled times when guns and screams often shattered the silence of the eerie nights.
The scenario has drastically changed now. Bhumihars, who unabashedly patronised Ranvir Sena and its dreaded chief Brahmeshwar Mukhiya to script one massacre of the Dalits after another, are today holding hands of their foes. Casteism may still be the bane of Bihar and the battle cry of upper caste vs backward caste may still dominate the campaigns of RJD chief lalu Prasad, but the chemistry of caste polarisation is changing. The Mandal-I phenomena that brought Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and Dalits under one umbrella is history.
lalu’s call of Mandal Raj-II is relevant for only the Yadav-led OBCs. A major portion of the Dalits have shifted to the BJP even though it remained dominated by the upper castes (the BJP has fielded 85 upper caste candidates out of 243).
The shift may be largely due to the BJP’s alliance with Ram Vilas Paswan and Jitan Ram Manjhi, but it has changed the political discourse in Central Bihar. Gone are the days when elections used to bring the fear of hell in Dalit hamlets and keep the upper caste people awake through the night, alert to every distant sound and every flicker of light. Today, there is no talk of Naxals or Ranvir Sena in central Bihar. The discussions have moved to normal topics associated with election campaigns.
“I am not going to vote for Nitish Kumar at any cost because he has joined hands with lalu Prasad, but he will always be remembered for giving peace to this region,” said Rakesh Sharma, at Pola in Kutumba Assembly segment of Aurangabad district, once notorious for horrific Naxal menace.
The return of peace to central Bihar started after the JD(U)-BJP Government came to power in 2005. Both the allies were determined to put an end to the cycle of violence in the “flaming fields” and directed their support base to practice restraint. At the same time, the decline of lalu Prasad demoralized a section of the ‘Red Brigade’ which was dominated by the Yadavs. The absence of political patronage and effective policing led to a decline of both Ranvir Sena and Naxal formations in the State.
Talking to people of different castes and class across Gaya, Jehanabad, and Aurangabad gave the distinct impression that society was going through a massive churning and the upper castes were desperate to mend fences with the so-called ‘untouchables’, who could not have imagined sharing a ‘hooka-pani’ relation with their tormentors of the past.
“To the last man in our caste, we will vote for the BJP,” says Umesh Bhutan, a Mahadalit. His choice is Rajput leader Ramadhar Singh.
Undoubtedly, Manjhi and Paswan have played a big role in bringing the Dalits closer to the BJP, but had the relation between the upper castes and the Dalits not been harmonious at the ground level, perhaps the two could not have been able to herd their supporters towards the kamal.
The BJP may have announced it will not make an upper caste its Chief Minister, but the disproportionately large number of seats it has given to the Bhumihars and Rajputs shows its dependence on the Upper caste votes. With lalu Prasad turning the elections into a battle for establishing Mandal Raj-II in Bihar, the upper castes are looking for a saviour in Dalits.
A section of the Dalits and Mahadalits will still vote for the Nitish Kumar-led alliance, but the major chunk is set to walk in the sunshine of a major change.