The past three weeks have witnessed considerable disquiet in both Parliament and among the commentariat over atrocities committed on Dalits, particularly in the village of Una in Gujarat. The anger has acquired a political dimension following revelations that the perpetrators of the attack in Una were members of a self-professed gau rakshak samiti (cow protection organisation), an identification that has seen the protests being directed at the BJP, believed to be the ideological progenitors of the vigilante brigade.
The political outrage has been sharply focussed. Opponents of the Narendra Modi Government have been delighted that the unfavourable publicity and the counter-mobilisation by Dalit organisations have put a temporary halt to the BJP’s ambitious scheme to rally Dalits behind the party. Read with the lewd comments of a BJP office-bearer at BSP supremo Mayawati, an impression has gained currency that the BJP is incapable of widening its social reach and has remained a prisoner of those forces comfortable with the hierarchical nature of caste stratification. Certainly, Mayawati has capitalised on this one unfortunate comment to try and regain the initiative in Uttar Pradesh, with State Assembly elections due in a year’s time.
It would hardly be inaccurate to say that the turmoil over atrocities on Dalits caught the BJP on the wrong foot. Neither in Parliament nor the mainstream media has the party succeeded in disabusing the impression that it is helpless. Maybe the resignation of Anandiben Patel as Chief Minister of Gujarat had indeed been on the cards since she turned 75 — the unofficial retirement age for elevation into the ranks of the non-functioning Margdarshak Mandal — but the undeniable reality was that her resignation was triggered by her inability to contain social unrest, including the Dalit stir against the Una incident.
There are two issues involved in the present stir. The first one centres on the role of cow protection vigilantes.
It is undeniable that the victory of the BJP in 2014 was seen by those avowedly promoting ‘Hindu’ interests such as cow protection, as the trigger for a wave of triumphalism. Following the additional stringency with which the beef ban was imposed by the newly-elected BJP Governments in Haryana and Maharashtra, the belief that zero tolerance of beef (in all its forms) had state blessings acquired currency. The mushrooming of cow protection squads that took upon itself the task of detecting violators of the beef ban was a direct consequence of the 2014 events. However, unlike the period between 1900 and 1947 when the cow protection movement enjoyed the sanction of Hindu notables and even had direct links with the Congress organisation at the grassroots, today’s vigilantism lacks social depth. They have become a natural home for rowdy elements in the localities who seek fulfilment by menacing the so-called beef eaters. Socially speaking, the very same class of people that constitute the extortionist ‘syndicates’ in West Bengal have flocked to the gau raksha brigades. The over-zealousness and heavy-handedness that have followed as a consequence are inevitable.
All political parties plug into the lumpen network in the localities, using them as unofficial private armies. Just because someone flaunts a saffron scarf doesn’t make them champions of a considered Hindutva, just as waving red flags in the Bengal of the past didn’t make pre-Durga Puja extortionists committed Marxists. To cite another example, faith and sacrifice seem subsidiary concerns of the kanwaria pilgrims to Haridwar. For a large number of them, swagger and muscle flexing are central to their pilgrimages. likewise, in many places where they have mushroomed, the gau rakshak vigilantes are undesirable people that political parties should shun. A failure to dissociate may lead to serious political embarrassments.
The second issue revolves around the question of Dalit empowerment. Broadly speaking there are two trends at work. There is, first, a strong movement that seeks the full integration of Dalits in Hindu society, free from all social disabilities. Intellectually linked to the social reform movements of the 19th century and Mahatma Gandhi’s endeavours, this current sees state-backed affirmative action as one facet of a larger project. The much more important aspect lies in ensuring that Dalits are integral to the larger trends that influence Hindu society.
Parallel to this are various offshoots of the Ambedkarite movement, including those who believe that Dalit emancipation must go hand in hand with the decimation of Hindu society. Then there are the Christian and Islamic evangelists that have pushed hard for Dalits to completely repudiate their Indic inheritance. Dalits have always been special targets of the proselytisers and this has often caused more social tension than the skinning of hides of dead cows.
It is apparent that the BJP sees its own fortunes as being intimately linked to the tensions and shifts within Hindu society. Many leaders of the RSS too have intervened in the battles over the status of Dalits in Hindu society and shaped the larger outreach programmes. However, there appears to be insufficient awareness in Hindu society of the dangers posed by those who want to drive an extra wedge between Dalit communities and the so-called mainstream.
This is tragic but also understandable. A large part of the Dalit movement has been hijacked by those who are determined to create a deep schism in Hindu society. These include the gau-rakshaks who can be called agent provocateurs. On its part, the BJP must make it clear that it has nothing to do with such people.