Merger of Dalit outfits: ducking political currents best course for them

At a time when the state is accused of appropriating Ambedkar to broaden the social bases of the regime, 3 crucial elements compelled the various Dalit factions to unite

This year’s December 6 became a memorable, historic day in the annals of Dalit movement in Karnataka. The confluence of different Dalit groups and other social movements in Bengaluru signalled the arrival of a New Dalit Movement after a few years of its historic slumber.

The conference symbolized the new narrative on reclaiming their lost identity, on reclaiming shrinking spaces in the democratic structure, and creating a new narrative about themselves vis-à-vis politics. December 6 coincided with the Parinirvana of B R Ambedkar, the architect of the Constitution and Dalit identity.

At a time when the state is accused of appropriating Ambedkar to broaden the social bases of the regime, three crucial elements compelled the various Dalit factions to unite.

First, the way the state and its various secular agencies are undergoing serious threat to their existence. The state is accused of pushing its pet idea of cultural nationalism to the private sphere of Dalits. But, most important is the political agency’s reluctance to address the violence perpetrated on Dalits and marginalize them systematically by the methods of scholarship denial, privatizing public institutions, allowing private capital to enter into their domain, etc.

Counter narrative

Dalit collective emerged as a counter-cultural narrative to New India, where they found that they’d been dislocated from their land, traditional occupation and cultural set-up.

It mirrored the escalating dichotomy between labour and capital, monopoly capitalism and poverty, and the significant rise in inequality. The Dalit collective reverberated under the relentless expansion of crony capitalism at the expense of those on the fringe. The collective, more than contesting globalization or liberalization, has shifted the focus to critique crony capitalism, with its unending desire to occupy socio-economic space.

Lastly, the diverse Dalit splinter groups came together when the Dalit movement, which began as a cultural movement, was relentlessly under scrutiny for its apathy towards more significant issues of Dalits and its politics of compromising with different political regimes.

The yesteryear euphoria of a powerful, uncompromising, astute Dalit movement had lost its zeal, with many leaders trying to appropriate the movement for their benefit. They were happy with the spoils that the political regimes bestowed on them. In between, the Dalit movement traversed a contradictory path: one extreme, it tried to become a political force by joining similar social movements, such as peasants and women and contest the election. Some tried to be happy with their honeymoon with the North Indian party, BSP.

Many splinter groups

In between, BJP, often known as the party of LIBRA (Lingayats and Brahmins) in Karnataka accommodated Dalit leaders without fuss. It was a misadventure that they failed to create a space in politics. The collective voice of the Dalit movement was lost, with splinter groups further diluting its militancy.

Except for Devanooru Mahadeva for his daring literary work - RSS: Ala Mattu Agala - in the recent past, no one was able to rekindle the same spirit of bygone years. The project of constructing an alternative cultural movement, despite the best intellectuals supporting it, remained incomplete.

A few crucial issues marred Dalit discourses in recent days: internal reservation, publication of the caste census report, demand to increase reservation, demand for a Dalit CM and the entry of Hindutva.

Internal reservation

Differences on the issue of internal reservation, as recommended by the Sadashiva Commission, were sorted out with Left and Right streams within Dalits agreeing on the recommendation.

Secondly, the publication of the caste census hadn’t been carried out, despite the best efforts, as it would have a cascading effect on the socio-political balance. Finally, the incumbent government has increased reservation to Dalits. It was welcomed with a pinch of salt. Reservation for economically weaker sections (EWS) is viewed with disdain.

The issue of the Dalit CM remained a far cry rather than a reality. Hindutva has grown as its primary narrative and contradiction, replacing other contradictions such as semi-feudalism and landlordism.

Remaining apolitical

Will the Dalit collective swing the political balance in Karnataka in favour of the BJP or Congress? It’s true that there’s no guarantee it would translate into political votes, as its primary concern was much larger. Incidentally, JD(S) is not in the scene as its social bases clash with Dalits. The Congress would encash Dalits through such collectives, and the BJP would do it through its ideology of cultural nationalism. Dalits are currently in a fix - the best solution is to remain non-political and streamline the collective much more robustly than ever.

(The author is Dean, Faculty of Arts, University of Mysore)