DNA Edit: Dalit Politics 2.0

Power and its corridors often have a way of lulling politicians into complacency. Who would have thought that such would be the fate of BSP supremo Mayawati, who had stormed to power in the 2007 UP elections securing the first-ever majority in the state in the past 16 years?

Just a decade down the line, Mayawati’s BSP and its agenda has been waylaid by impassioned and ear-to-the-ground leaders who now serve as the rallying point for the new resurgence in Dalit resistance. One such leader is Chandrashekhar Azad, the Bhim Army Chief, who turned up at Jantar Mantar last week after giving UP police the slip in the aftermath of the violence in Saharanpur. Cheered on by thousands of Dalit protesters at the rally, he has come to embody the new and nascent wave of violent Dalit resistance in India’s heartland.

Another leader, Jignesh Mevani, who was at the forefront of the Gujarat protests against the flogging of four Dalit youths last year, also gave Mayawati a taste of the massive clout he commands.  Contrasted with these young upstarts, who are not afraid to get their hands dirty and are in the middle of the action, 61-year-old Mayawati’s desiccated leadership has been insipid and uninspiring. The flames of Dalit rebellion have long been scotched under her.

This is evident from the poll results as well. In the recent UP assembly elections, BSP secured just 19 seats out of 403 and failed to secure even one seat in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. Her leadership as events unfold in the Saharanpur violence has been worryingly disappointing. Her visit to Saharanpur is a little too late in the day and has largely been ritualistic — doling out media bytes rather than giving clarion calls for the Dalit populace. Meanwhile, Azad’s message of violent reprisal, when the situation so demands, has resonated with a formidable section of young Dalits.

In two years of its launch, the Bhim Army has aggressively expanded, not just in its home turf of UP but also in other states. As per the latest tally, the Bhim Army can boast of around 40,000 active members. With the Jantar Mantar optics, which according to conservative estimates saw an attendance of over 10,000 demonstrators, Azad’s base of followers will only increase.

Meanwhile, four companies of Rapid Action Force have been rushed to Saharanpur to quell the violence. Once, the crisis has been nixed, the government will have to pay immediate attention in arresting the belief that it is a government that lends its support only to the upper castes.