Raju Korti
It requires some resilience to be status quo-ists for centuries together. Dalits -- a fashionable coinage for the oppressed -- who claim to be the sole legacy of Babasaheb Ambedkar's vision, seem to suffer from an incurable syndrome. As someone who has seen and covered Dalit politics from close quarters for decades, I can vouch for the "victim" mentality that has been systematically indoctrinated into their minds by their self-seeking leaders.
Charity and purge should ideally begin at home but Dalits refuse to come out of their age-old mindset of being the oppressed which one concedes was indeed the case long back. But today, even in rural areas it is not as much as it is being made out to be. But then, you need a political agenda that thrives on social disparity.
My grudge is not against the Dalits per se but their gullibility and their refusal to rise above themselves. Prakash Ambedkar, Babasaheb Ambedkar's grandson, admitted to me once that the Dalit movement today is not as strong as it was prior to the 1980s. Implicit in that observation, unwittingly though, was self-indictment.
Excepting a minuscule minority that feebly attempts to reform and educate this class through their writings, the Dalit movement actually lies in tatters because its leaders have never seen beyond themselves and their selfish political gains. Just check out on the factions that dot their landscape -- Republican Party of India (Ramdas Athawale), Bhartiya Republican Party-Bahujan Mahasangh (Prakash Ambedkar) Republican Party of India (Ganar group), the Khobragade group, the Kamble group and other splinter groups. Even the Congress and the Janata Party don't have those many factions. Among these, the Athawle group probably doesn't feel as oppressed as the others as it has allied with the "communal BJP". The highest common factor is all these leaders are economically well-heeled while the people who vote for them blindly in the fond hope that one day their lot will improve, languish in poverty and neglect. Having seen this scenario for years now, I am amazed how anyone can be such foolish suckers and remain escapist to the real ills that plague them.
I have seen some of these leaders address their followers like kings holding durbaars, speaking from the luxurious chairs of their palatial houses. The refrain? "Upper castes have been marginalizing you for ages. Take the battle to their camp. Reservation is your right. Never lose sight of the fact that you are the oppressed." Although a remedy worse than the disease, it has worked well for the leaders who swear by their cause. The only reality it has translated into is while the leaders live a life of opulence, the poor Dalits live in a hallucinated world that these are their guardian angels. Where is the time to reform when all your energies are expended in internal wranglings? To fight social injustice, you need to be united first.
In most cities, 40% or more Dalit population lives in slums. These are controlled and nurtured by the slumlords of the RPI. That itself is a telling commentary. Reservation and individual leaders have ensured Dalit representation across all political parties. It is the easiest vote bank to sway and perhaps the main reason why the Dalit movement has been badly dented in the last two decades. The other political parties have beaten the Dalit parties at their own game. Add to this, the Dalit parties do not have any other card except the "Victim Card". The truth is in this era, this posturing has benefited only the political leaders and the poor Dalits only getting what is termed in slang as "babaji ka thullu."
The provocation for this blog is the clashes and the subsequent "bandh" in the wake of the Bhima-Koregaon battle fought 200 years back when none of these leaders were even born. One may buy the argument that the Dalits chose to side with the forces of East India Company against the battle with the Peshwas because that was a platform to get even with the upper castes. But to commemorate that victory now is born out of the same "victim" mindset.
A (Dalit) friend of mine who has broken this shackled thinking and risen on his own merit told me this and I am quoting his words: "The Dalit leadership is gripped with factionalism and selfish leadership with lack of vision which is why major parties do not even bother to offer any sops to them". His Dalit friends blame him for falling prey to upper caste thinking unmindful that the middle class Dalits are passive on the socio-economic front.
In Mumbai's Siddharth College, the RPI factions are fighting tooth and nail for its control not for any lofty reason but because of its prime location and the fact that educational institutions are sure-shot money spinners. The same goes for the Indu Mills land. And all this when a party that espouses the Dalit cause -- Bahujan Samaj Party -- seeks to contest municipal elections though it does not have any corporator in Mumbai. It is easier to find a panther in Sanjay Gandhi National Park than a Dalit Panther in Mumbai. Ironically, some of its leaders like Namdeo Dhasal and Ramdas Athawale made peace with Shiv Sena after crying communal politics
If the Dalits are keen to be a part of the mainstream, they must opt for merit rather than using the crutches of reservation and shed their inferiority complex. Their own leader, Babasaheb Ambedkar had said that reservation should be dismantled after 10 years. But as long as they do not shed their underdog mindset, they will remain their own worst enemies. You can go on blaming other castes and communities for your ills but that will yield nothing. The best way to fight social justice is by being a part of the society and not by being out of it.
United they don't stand, divided they remain fallen. The Dalit movement has sunk. Hook, line and sinker.
It requires some resilience to be status quo-ists for centuries together. Dalits -- a fashionable coinage for the oppressed -- who claim to be the sole legacy of Babasaheb Ambedkar's vision, seem to suffer from an incurable syndrome. As someone who has seen and covered Dalit politics from close quarters for decades, I can vouch for the "victim" mentality that has been systematically indoctrinated into their minds by their self-seeking leaders.
Charity and purge should ideally begin at home but Dalits refuse to come out of their age-old mindset of being the oppressed which one concedes was indeed the case long back. But today, even in rural areas it is not as much as it is being made out to be. But then, you need a political agenda that thrives on social disparity.
My grudge is not against the Dalits per se but their gullibility and their refusal to rise above themselves. Prakash Ambedkar, Babasaheb Ambedkar's grandson, admitted to me once that the Dalit movement today is not as strong as it was prior to the 1980s. Implicit in that observation, unwittingly though, was self-indictment.
Excepting a minuscule minority that feebly attempts to reform and educate this class through their writings, the Dalit movement actually lies in tatters because its leaders have never seen beyond themselves and their selfish political gains. Just check out on the factions that dot their landscape -- Republican Party of India (Ramdas Athawale), Bhartiya Republican Party-Bahujan Mahasangh (Prakash Ambedkar) Republican Party of India (Ganar group), the Khobragade group, the Kamble group and other splinter groups. Even the Congress and the Janata Party don't have those many factions. Among these, the Athawle group probably doesn't feel as oppressed as the others as it has allied with the "communal BJP". The highest common factor is all these leaders are economically well-heeled while the people who vote for them blindly in the fond hope that one day their lot will improve, languish in poverty and neglect. Having seen this scenario for years now, I am amazed how anyone can be such foolish suckers and remain escapist to the real ills that plague them.
I have seen some of these leaders address their followers like kings holding durbaars, speaking from the luxurious chairs of their palatial houses. The refrain? "Upper castes have been marginalizing you for ages. Take the battle to their camp. Reservation is your right. Never lose sight of the fact that you are the oppressed." Although a remedy worse than the disease, it has worked well for the leaders who swear by their cause. The only reality it has translated into is while the leaders live a life of opulence, the poor Dalits live in a hallucinated world that these are their guardian angels. Where is the time to reform when all your energies are expended in internal wranglings? To fight social injustice, you need to be united first.
In most cities, 40% or more Dalit population lives in slums. These are controlled and nurtured by the slumlords of the RPI. That itself is a telling commentary. Reservation and individual leaders have ensured Dalit representation across all political parties. It is the easiest vote bank to sway and perhaps the main reason why the Dalit movement has been badly dented in the last two decades. The other political parties have beaten the Dalit parties at their own game. Add to this, the Dalit parties do not have any other card except the "Victim Card". The truth is in this era, this posturing has benefited only the political leaders and the poor Dalits only getting what is termed in slang as "babaji ka thullu."
The provocation for this blog is the clashes and the subsequent "bandh" in the wake of the Bhima-Koregaon battle fought 200 years back when none of these leaders were even born. One may buy the argument that the Dalits chose to side with the forces of East India Company against the battle with the Peshwas because that was a platform to get even with the upper castes. But to commemorate that victory now is born out of the same "victim" mindset.
A (Dalit) friend of mine who has broken this shackled thinking and risen on his own merit told me this and I am quoting his words: "The Dalit leadership is gripped with factionalism and selfish leadership with lack of vision which is why major parties do not even bother to offer any sops to them". His Dalit friends blame him for falling prey to upper caste thinking unmindful that the middle class Dalits are passive on the socio-economic front.
In Mumbai's Siddharth College, the RPI factions are fighting tooth and nail for its control not for any lofty reason but because of its prime location and the fact that educational institutions are sure-shot money spinners. The same goes for the Indu Mills land. And all this when a party that espouses the Dalit cause -- Bahujan Samaj Party -- seeks to contest municipal elections though it does not have any corporator in Mumbai. It is easier to find a panther in Sanjay Gandhi National Park than a Dalit Panther in Mumbai. Ironically, some of its leaders like Namdeo Dhasal and Ramdas Athawale made peace with Shiv Sena after crying communal politics
If the Dalits are keen to be a part of the mainstream, they must opt for merit rather than using the crutches of reservation and shed their inferiority complex. Their own leader, Babasaheb Ambedkar had said that reservation should be dismantled after 10 years. But as long as they do not shed their underdog mindset, they will remain their own worst enemies. You can go on blaming other castes and communities for your ills but that will yield nothing. The best way to fight social justice is by being a part of the society and not by being out of it.
United they don't stand, divided they remain fallen. The Dalit movement has sunk. Hook, line and sinker.
