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Should BJP worry about growing Dalit alienation? (Column: Political Circus)

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By Amulya Ganguli
For the third time since the Narendra Modi government’s assumption of office, the Dalits have come into conflict with the Hindutva brigade. The first time was in Una in Gujarat, where a group of Dalits were thrashed by saffron activists for skinning a cow, a traditional occupation of the “untouchables”.

The second time was in Hyderabad central university where a standoff between members of the Ambedkar Students Association and the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) student wing, led to the suicide of a Dalit student, Rohith Vemula.

Now, perhaps the most serious of all these incidents has taken place in Maharashtra following the objections of Hindu Right organisations to the celebrations by Dalits of an 1818 battle in the village of Koregaon on the banks of the Bhima river near Pune in which the “untouchable” Mahar soldiers of a British army defeated the upper caste Marathas.

Considering that these celebrations have been held for decades without the rest of the country noting it as an event of great significance even when B.R. Ambedkar participated in them in 1927, it is noteworthy that they should have led this time to a violent outbreak which spread from Pune to Mumbai and other Maharashtra towns.

Evidently, the Hindu Right groups have been emboldened by the BJP’s political ascendancy to decide to stop an instance of Dalit assertion, not least because it targeted the upper caste Peshwa rulers of the state of the 19th and earlier centuries.

The episode was a much larger version of the clash which took place in Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, between Dalits and the Rajputs in May last year when the former objected to the processions taken out by the Rajputs to celebrate the birth anniversary of Maharana Pratap. A few weeks earlier, the latter had objected to the celebrations of Ambedkar’s birth anniversary by the Dalits.

What these episodes show is that unlike in the past, the Dalits are unwilling to commemorate their days of pride in a low key and are also ready to object to the noisy festivities of the upper castes.

The Bhima-Koregaon event may have kindled the ire of the Hindu Right all the more because of the unapologetic participation of the Dalit soldiers with the British army to defeat a Hindu ruler.

This is something which evidently riles the ultra-nationalists associated with the saffron brotherhood at a time when they are engaged in rewriting history to suit their own fads and prejudices as is evident in their objections to a yet-to-be-released film on a fabled Rajput queen.

In such a time of triumphal chauvinism, the Dalit-East India Company collaboration is obviously unacceptable to the Hindu Right, especially when Ambedkar had noted that the “untouchable” Dusads had helped Robert Clive to win the battle of Plassey in 1757, just as the “untouchable” Mahars, a community to which Ambedkar himself belonged, had helped the “foreigners” to win in Koregaon.

Not surprisingly, Ambedkar had not been a favourite of the BJP till recently when the party changed its mind about him after realising the high political cost of alienating both the Muslims and Dalits.

However, the party’s “mann ki baat” or speaking one’s mind about the Dalits was succinctly expressed by Arun Shourie, who was a minister in Atal Behari Vajpayee’s government, in his book, “Worshipping False Gods”, in which he said that “there is not one instance, not one single solitary instance, in which Ambedkar participated in any activity connected with the struggle to free the country”.

Considering that there are not too many instances of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) participating in “any activity” to free the country, Shourie’s charge cannot be taken seriously. But it does underline the traditional Brahmin-Bania outlook of the Sangh Parivar towards the Dalits and their foremost leader.

The objections voiced by the RSS chief, Mohan Bhagwat, about the continuing reservations for Dalits in government jobs and educational institutions also denote the saffron attitude which is resented by the latter.

The BJP has tried to make amends by nominating a Dalit, Ramnath Kovind, as the country’s President, but it is unlikely to make any difference to the longstanding antipathy of the community towards a party whose hardliners swear by the Manusmriti, an ancient book which was once “ceremonially” burnt by Ambedkar along with hundreds of his followers for its anti-Dalit pronouncements.

For the BJP, the latest confrontation with the Dalits carries a disturbing message on the eve of elections in as many as eight states this year, including those where the party is expected to face the anti-incumbency factor.

While the BJP’s success in winning 69 of the 85 reserved seats in Uttar Pradesh last summer showed that the party was gaining the support of the Dalits, the trend was not in evidence in the recent Gujarat elections where, among other things, the victory of the previously unknown Jignesh Mewani, by a margin of 19,000 votes, pointed to the disaffection of the Dalits with the saffron organisation. Mewani emerged from nowhere after the Una incident to become a well-known figure in today’s politics.

There is little doubt that farily large sections of the Dalits, who make up 16.6 per cent of the population, as well as Muslims, who comprise 14.2 per cent, harbour reservations about the BJP, notwithstanding its attempt to placate at least the Muslim women by bringing the triple talaq bill. The BJP cannot but be deeply worried, therefore, about the impact of their alienation on the forthcoming elections.

(Amulya Ganguli is a political analyst. The views expressed are personal. He can be reached at [email protected])

–IANS
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Foodman Vishal Singh Honored for Hunger Free World Mission in Bangkok

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Lucknow: Vishal Singh, a renowned social worker from Lucknow, also known as Foodman, has once again made India proud. He was honored by the Happy Hands Gloves Cooperative Limited Company in Korathai, Thailand, for his work with the Hunger Free World Mission.

The Hunger Free World Mission’s meeting was held in Korathai, Thailand, under Vishal Singh’s leadership. Representatives from several countries, including Mr. Raja Dwivedi (Managing Director of Happy Hands Gloves Limited), Thailand Coordinator Mr. Raja Mishra, and member Mr. Varun Singh, attended the event.

Under Vishal Singh’s leadership, the attendees took a pledge to work together toward creating a hunger-free world.

Speaking on the occasion, Vishal Singh explained that the main goal of the Hunger Free World Mission is social participation. He said the mission is not just about feeding people but also about meeting other basic needs of those who are struggling. The mission focuses on helping families of terminally ill patients in hospitals by providing food and shelter. It also works to fulfill essential needs like education, jobs, and care for the elderly.

For the last 16 years, the Vijay Sri Foundation has been providing free services, benefiting thousands of people. Vishal Singh highlighted that the mission aims to gain global recognition like other organizations such as WHO, WWF, and Red Cross, which work for social causes.

During this meeting, Vishal Singh was appointed as the Chairman of the Hunger Free World Mission by representatives from various countries. They also discussed holding regular meetings in different countries to push the mission forward.

Business tycoon Dr. Abhishek Verma has also supported this humanitarian mission, vowing to promote the idea of “Seva Parmo Dharma” (Service is the highest duty) worldwide. Vishal Singh praised him, stating that people like Dr .Abhishek Verma inspire others to work for the betterment of society.

Recently, Romania’s Ambassador, Mr . Daniela Sezonov Ţane, invited Vishal Singh to the Romanian Embassy in Delhi, where they discussed the mission in detail. Impressed by his humanitarian work, she honored Vishal Singh and invited him to Romania to take the mission forward .

Food man Vishal Singh has been serving the people of India for the past 16 years. Through the Vijay Sri Foundation, he provides free meals to cancer patients & their families ,shelter, and education for women & children along with running free old-age homes in Lucknow.

In addition to his humanitarian work, Vishal Singh also addresses issues like crime and corruption through his role as Chairman of Seva Path Media and Managing Director of Vijay Sri Foundation.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Vishal Singh and his team worked tirelessly to provide food and help to the needy, including starving children, elderly citizens, and pregnant women. Despite contracting the virus himself, he continued to assist others after his recovery. He even created a life-saving oxygen regulator using household items, which was praised by doctors both in India and abroad.

In his address at the meeting, Vishal Singh spoke about his mission to create a hunger-free world. He pointed out that India’s large population, along with issues like unemployment and poverty, has caused the country to fall on the Hunger Index. He urged people to contribute just one handful of grains daily to help create a hunger-free world.

He concluded by saying that through social participation, we can empower the people around us, meet their basic needs, and work together to build a stronger, more prosperous, and developed society.

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