12-01-2006, 06:33 PM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>False devotees </b>
The Pioneer Edit Desk
Who are Dalits' worst offenders?
That Dalits have come a long way since the days BR Ambedkar edited Mooknayak (Leader of the Mute or the voiceless) is evident from the sporadic but widespread instances of arson in large parts of Maharashtra on account of an incident of defacement in faraway Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, of his statue. Three persons have been killed, 70 injured and nearly 1500 preventive arrests made since the unfortunate act of iconoclasm in Kanpur, which may have more to do with intra-Dalit politics than any assault on Dalit pride. Indeed, an attack did take place, on November 19 in Khairlanji, Maharashtra, where a Dalit family was brutally attacked and some of its members killed. True, there were protests; but these did not lead to a sudden upsurge of Dalit passion degenerating into crude violence across the State - although, on the face of it, it should have been provocation enough. Instead, what got Maharashtra's Dalits agitated was the disfigurement of Ambedkar's statue in Kanpur. Ironically, it is a Dalit, Arun Valmiki, who has been arrested for the Kanpur incident - according to reports, he has admitted to having done so in an inebriated state. <b>Even if it is to be conceded that Valmiki made his confession under duress, it hardly rules out the growing perception that a turf war between two regional Dalit political parties, the Republican Party of India in Maharashtra and the Bahujan Samaj Party in Uttar Pradesh, has led to this bizarre denouement. UP goes to polls early next year and consolidation of Dalit votes does help certain political parties - especially those whose leaders are fighting the Indian legal system with their backs to the wall. The Dalit leaders are, of course, not helping the cause of their own votaries by engineering violence to attain their objectives. There are enough splinters of Dalit parties - at the last count there were eight groups claiming to be the "real" Republican Party of India - to want to fish in troubled waters.</b>
The more fundamental question that the conflagration in Maharashtra raises has to do with the representational nature of Dalit politics and its over-emphasis on symbols. Intended as non-verbal edification of poor Dalits about the greatness of Ambedkar, <b>the mushrooming of his statues - particularly in Uttar Pradesh - could be a treatment worse than the disease of Dalit backwardness, exploitation and penury</b>. There are no reasons to question Ambedkar's contribution towards the development of the Indian state. <b>However, to commemorate his historical achievements with statues - and statues alone - does point to a definitive loss of perception and understanding of his political philosophy</b>. Moreover, the building of colossal concrete edifices - amounting to nothing but dogmatic reassertions -<b> to remind people of his political legacy prevents further debate on Ambedkar's philosophy.</b> <span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>Indeed, the more the statues, the greater the possibilities of Dalit mobilisation on the basis of symbols through their almost predictable disfigurements, as happened recently, and may occur again. Such politics defeats the very purpose of Dalit empowerment.</span>
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
The Pioneer Edit Desk
Who are Dalits' worst offenders?
That Dalits have come a long way since the days BR Ambedkar edited Mooknayak (Leader of the Mute or the voiceless) is evident from the sporadic but widespread instances of arson in large parts of Maharashtra on account of an incident of defacement in faraway Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, of his statue. Three persons have been killed, 70 injured and nearly 1500 preventive arrests made since the unfortunate act of iconoclasm in Kanpur, which may have more to do with intra-Dalit politics than any assault on Dalit pride. Indeed, an attack did take place, on November 19 in Khairlanji, Maharashtra, where a Dalit family was brutally attacked and some of its members killed. True, there were protests; but these did not lead to a sudden upsurge of Dalit passion degenerating into crude violence across the State - although, on the face of it, it should have been provocation enough. Instead, what got Maharashtra's Dalits agitated was the disfigurement of Ambedkar's statue in Kanpur. Ironically, it is a Dalit, Arun Valmiki, who has been arrested for the Kanpur incident - according to reports, he has admitted to having done so in an inebriated state. <b>Even if it is to be conceded that Valmiki made his confession under duress, it hardly rules out the growing perception that a turf war between two regional Dalit political parties, the Republican Party of India in Maharashtra and the Bahujan Samaj Party in Uttar Pradesh, has led to this bizarre denouement. UP goes to polls early next year and consolidation of Dalit votes does help certain political parties - especially those whose leaders are fighting the Indian legal system with their backs to the wall. The Dalit leaders are, of course, not helping the cause of their own votaries by engineering violence to attain their objectives. There are enough splinters of Dalit parties - at the last count there were eight groups claiming to be the "real" Republican Party of India - to want to fish in troubled waters.</b>
The more fundamental question that the conflagration in Maharashtra raises has to do with the representational nature of Dalit politics and its over-emphasis on symbols. Intended as non-verbal edification of poor Dalits about the greatness of Ambedkar, <b>the mushrooming of his statues - particularly in Uttar Pradesh - could be a treatment worse than the disease of Dalit backwardness, exploitation and penury</b>. There are no reasons to question Ambedkar's contribution towards the development of the Indian state. <b>However, to commemorate his historical achievements with statues - and statues alone - does point to a definitive loss of perception and understanding of his political philosophy</b>. Moreover, the building of colossal concrete edifices - amounting to nothing but dogmatic reassertions -<b> to remind people of his political legacy prevents further debate on Ambedkar's philosophy.</b> <span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>Indeed, the more the statues, the greater the possibilities of Dalit mobilisation on the basis of symbols through their almost predictable disfigurements, as happened recently, and may occur again. Such politics defeats the very purpose of Dalit empowerment.</span>
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->