• Dr. Udit Raj (Former MP)

India is going through a special phase and till then, we will have to choose between the ruling party and the opposition. For the time being, we should keep diversity, differences, personal aspirations, ambitions, personal opinions etc. aside and stand with the alternative to dictatorship, communalism and capitalism. Resources, power, media and government machinery have stood with lies. Media has the power to prove a saint as a criminal and vice-versa. In these circumstances, will Dalit activism have to be defined? The condition of the NGO sector has worsened. Farmers are tired of struggling. The youth could have become a big force, but it has been entangled in Hindu-Muslim. Cheap mobile data is not allowing to realize their pitiable condition. Micro, small and medium enterprises are dying. A way out has to be found and some suggestions are understandable in this direction.

Dalit activism has caused the most damage to itself because of its extremism. It has got stuck in inflammatory and emotional discussions. India is an emotional society and this applies to everyone. Those who are more deprived and in need are affected the most. The films whose hero starts his life from the streets and reaches the top by killing the rich, influential and powerful are more successful, but this does not happen in practice. People’s emotions were manipulated under the guise of Dr. Ambedkar’s statement. It is easier to organize the deprived by putting the exploiter in front and not by solving the problems. How can power be seized by combining the strength of merely 16 percent Dalit population? Such slogans are necessary for awakening and organization but not at the cost of issues and fight for rights. Calling the questions of quota, permit, stipend job, land, privatization, industry, sub-casteism, share in institutions etc., meaningless, and saying that let the power come, all these will be achieved automatically. This dream can turn into reality to some extent by bloody revolution, but no such magic is going to happen by following the constitutional path. Due to this illusion, individualism emerged to such an extent that even the upper castes cannot do that much. Instead of benefiting from one chair, one leader, lack of internal democracy and lack of accountability towards the workers, whatever was achieved was also snatched away. Keep reminding the exploitation of the upper castes before the voice of accountability or consequences is raised.

Many people will agree with the above facts and some will disagree. In 1990, the implementation of Mandal Commission recommendations was announced. Let’s try to find out how aware the backward class was. The first student who committed suicide in protest against Mandal was from OBC itself. In such a situation, what is the meaning of giving the slogan of 85? BJP used to be a party of two MPs. Kamandal Yatra was taken out in protest against Mandal, which received immense support.Due to lack of awareness, a large OBC community stood with the Kamandal. Muslims cannot come out of the trap of defeating BJP. Tribals are not very politically aware. In these circumstances, how practical is it if a Dalit leader or party talks of becoming a ruler? There are thousands of castes among Dalits and it is impossible to unite them. On top of that, the differences have increased due to classification. On the basis of which calculation was it wise to put all the strength to gain power and set aside all the material issues? They stopped voting for those who were doing good and contributed to ousting them from power. When they left the one who strengthened the roots of democracy and implemented welfare schemes, the share they were getting started ending. A great man says many things but the practicality is something else. Gandhi Ji was not in favour of setting up big industries and wanted a village-based economy, so did the Congress follow the beaten path? Had Nehru Ji not set up big industries, India would have remained at the same place. Dr. Ambedkar stressed the most on creating a casteless society, but not even 1 percent of his followers could break the caste system. Philosophers, great men and scholars give many sermons or ideas, but not all can be realised or it takes time.

The ideology which believed in discrimination and untouchability for thousands of years, has again gained complete power. Dalit-based politics divided the votes due to which the roots of anti-Dalit and backward class people, got strengthened in power. The slogan ‘the more the number, the more the share’ is good, but today a capitalist has the ability to control the entire media and propaganda machinery. How much will be the number of awakened Dalits, backward and tribals, hardly 5 percent and the rest can be misled by money and propaganda. Now all the votes and support will have to be given to the one who is the alternative and can defeat the Manuvadi forces. At the national level, the leader or Party which is the alternative can remove them, so we will have to stand with him. Making one or two MPs or a regional party will be like Bhasmasur. Nothing will be achieved by making a leader of a caste. Constitutional institutions have weakened and the pages of the constitution are being torn from within. Huge economic inequality has been created. This was not the case even during the British rule. Minorities have become second class citizens. Foreign funding to NGOs has stopped. Media has become nominal. Traders are troubled. The condition of farmers is pitiable. All of them should relax their programs for some time and stand with the alternative, otherwise everyone will have to pay the price and the situation is getting worse.

We have to stand with social justice. We need to understand the scope of social justice. It includes secularism, equality, participation, democracy, generosity etc. We have to sacrifice our self-admiration, ego, identity, personal gain etc. for a few months or years, only then can the authoritarian forces be removed. The one with more heads will win.

(The author is the National Chairman of Unorganised Workers and Employees Congress (KKC) and Confederation of Dalit, OBC, Minorities and Adivasi (DOMA) Organisations)