In October 1956, not too long before his death, Dr B R Ambedkar converted to Buddhism. He saw it as a means to end the caste system, one that has oppressed the Dalits in India for centuries. On Ambedkar’s 125 birthday anniversary, April 14 this year, Rohit Vemula’s family did the same thing, they converted to Buddhism, claiming that they were now free from the yoke of oppression that Hinduism proffered to them.
The BJP, which clearly bit off more than they could chew with the Vemula incident in Hyderabad recently, has started to attempt to endear themselves to the Dalits. On April 14, Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave a speech in Mhow, Ambedkar’s birthplace in Madhya Pradesh. He lambasted the Congress for not doing more to honour Ambedkar in the past. The Congress in turn, through Sonia Gandhi, compared Ambedkar to party legends like Mahatma Gandhi, Nehru and Sardar Patel. The BSP were not far behind. Mayawati organized a rally in Lucknow, where she criticized the BJP and the Congress for exploiting the Dalits.
This appropriation is not unusual if you look at what kind of a votebank the Dalits hold in India. They make up 16 percent of the country’s population and are widespread across India, apart from just a light concentration in the central and north east states. In Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, they have the highest concentration, 32 percent and 21 percent of the population respectively. In fact, during the 2014 Parliamentary elections, Dalits made up 24 percent of the BJP’s vote share, up from 12 percent in 2009.
The Dalits make up a majority of the poor and uneducated population of the country, which means they can be easily exploited with promises of reservations, economic progress and more. This is what the political parties are counting on. By lauding Ambedkar they are hoping to latch on to the legacy of the man the Dalits practically consider a god. He was responsible for whatever amount of freedom they possess today. Because of Ambedkar, the Dalits have constitutional and political rights. Modern day politicians know this, which is why the garlanding of his statues took place across India.
But all this is mostly eyewash. To appease and woo this community, one would have to do a lot more. According to the 2011 socio-economic and caste census, about 73 percent of Dalits are the most deprived among rural households. In fact, according to a 2014 report, Dalits form half of primary school drop outs. If this community has to be empowered, parties would need to do more than just garland statues.
But that would mean looking at them at more than just a votebank. The RSS seems to think this is appropriate as they have been advocating the doing away of the caste-based reservation system. Whether this will help the Dalits or hinder them even more is the question. There has been a spate of atrocities towards Dalits in recent times and there is no indication of this slowing down. The BJP would have to modify policies like its anti-beef one, if there is ever hope of wooing this community.
Incidentally, on April 14, while Ambedkar’s statues were being garlanded and loads of praise was going his way from politicians across all parties, a Dalit rally at Jantar Mantar in Delhi, made up of manual scavengers, sewer cleaners and other Ambedkar followers, where they were demanding better rights for their profession, was ignored. Political parties may engage in rhetoric when it comes to Ambedkar, but they have failed to appropriate what he was really known for “ action.
