http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/2132680.cms
Man who redefined Dalit politics Subodh Ghildiyal [ 10 Oct, 2006 0243hrs ISTTIMES NEWS NETWORK ] NEW DELHI: Kanshi Ram, the Dalit icon who changed the political landscape of north India, was cremated as per Buddhist rituals at a funeral conducted by his political legatee, Mayawati, after Delhi High Court turned down the plea of his family for staying the last rites. For a man who single-handedly turned the politics of North India on its head by thrusting Dalits as a factor in the regional power-play, Kanshi Ram's end was rather sedate, passing away on Monday, at 72, after being confined to bed for almost four years. As in life, Kanshi Ram, in death, did not miss to shock his main haters — the urban middle classes — as he pulled the subaltern in droves on to the Capital's roads, throwing them off gear in sweltering heat. Post-independence, Kanshi Ram redefined Dalit politics in the idiom of defiance. Hailing from a Ramdasiya Sikh family of Ropar and employed as a research assistant in a defence ministry lab, he resigned over the right of Dalit staff to get leave to celebrate Ambedkar and Valmiki jayantis. What unfolded was a long-drawn mobilisation of Dalits, which changed political faultlines of the Hindi belt, marked by rebellious rhetoric and neat networking. Kanshi Ram first targeted the better-off among Dalits, who had benefited from job quota. The result was the birth in 1978 of the Backwards and Minority Communities Employees Federation (BAMCEF), the first countrywide network of government employees from these categories. It was followed by a bigger platform, DS-4, Dalit Shoshit Samaj Sangharsh Samiti, in December 1981. Within three years, BSP had been founded, appropriately on Ambedkar Jayanti, setting the stage for the first effective Dalit foray into the north Indian politics. Kanshi Ram's singular big achievement was re-injecting militancy in Dalit discourse which had disappeared along with Ambedkar. The belligerence of opposition to Gandhi's appellation for Dalits — 'Harijan' — signalled the intent. The controversial, now-discarded 'tilak taraju aur talwar, inko maro joote char' rallied the Dalits, especially the Jatavs, on a militant anti-upper caste platform. The aggressive character of mobilisation was attested to also by the belligerent 'jo zameen sarkari, wo zameen hamari'. If that sought to tap into the aspiration of the landless for a plot of his own, Kanshi Ram was soon exhorting his ever-increasing Dalit legions to set their sights farther afield with another stirring, almost bellicose-sounding "Aarakshan se liya SP/DM, vote se lenge CM/PM". The shift from the appeal to the compassionate impulses of upper castes to the declaration of the ambition for takeover was as swift as it was striking. The objective was to turn Dalits from pliant props into players. The target was Congress. With Congress's "betrayal" of Ambedkar's RPI rankling, the BSP founder went after the party methodically and ruthlessly. He accused Congress of exploiting the Dalit leadership in meetings after meetings. Dalits soon walked out of Congress's big tent, encouraging Muslims to follow suit and rendering it vulnerable to the assault from OBCs. This one single factor has been held responsible for not just the party's disappearance in UP, but also why Congress has not been able to rule on its own at the Centre after 1989. But Kanshi Ram's unconventional politics did not spare other players either. He refused to be bound by the conventional patterns, undaunted by media's descriptions of him as maverick, or opportunist. While BSP refused to get sucked into familiar 'communal vs secular' equations, flirting with both with consummate felicity, it also took on the chieftains of OBC, who had traditionally formed an integral part of 'bahujan'. Congress, BJP, SP et al suffered at its hands. His defiance extended to brazen indulgence of corruption, and dismissal of even justified criticism as Manuvadi conspiracy, but at no cost to his hold on the Dalits. Though outside UP, BSP has only flattered to deceive and has not been able to build on the initial gains in Punjab and MP, its impact stretches far beyond its principal powerhouse. By luring BJP into a pact, it has unravelled the once-formidable base of BJP among the upper castes. Beyond politics, it has forced upper castes to come to terms with the Dalit factor, leading to the strange spectacle of Thakurs and Brahmins vying with each other for BSP nominations. Credit for turning Dalits into a player lies with Kanshi Ram. -- Subscribe to ZESTCaste by sending a BLANK email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] OR, if you have a Yahoo! ID, by visiting http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/join Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
