Senior Journalist Mr. PANKAJ Srivastava on Neo Dalit

Lenin Raghuvanshi on NeoDalit

Will the Neo-Dalit narrative help to eradicate the caste equation in India, the answer has a slow come out

https://medium.com/@siddhantmt/will-the-neo-dalit-narrative-help-to-eradicate-the-caste-equation-in-india-the-answer-has-a-slow-4b15714ae9ee

Since Narendra Modi took charge as the Prime Minister of India in the year 2014, India has seen several episodes of hate crimes. And not surprising, such episodes are mostly against Dalits-Bahujans and Tribals of this country, who are basically the indigenous people of the Indian land. These chapters of hate crimes are also targeted mostly against Muslims of the country as well. But if one could try to substantiate the nature of these crimes, there is a fixed pattern. While there are mob lynching incidents associated with Muslims — mostly on the suspicion, albeit rumor, of cow smuggling, slaughtering and beef consumption — and targets are individuals, the incidents with Dalits-Tribals mark a trend of a targeted attack against a group of individuals. However, the motive and hate are the same in both of the cases.

This also must be noted that these hate crimes are not new, although these have increased multiple-folds since Narendra Modi came into power. The “Hindu nationalist” tag over him and his parent organization “Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh” is doing the job on the field, while his mute and silent overwatch is being considered as a “silent support” to the hate crimes in the country.

Just a couple of years back, flogging of four Dalit adults in Una district of Gujarat in western India, gave rise to a massive outrage across West as well as North India, in which many organizations and groups belonging to Dalit community came up hard upon the Caste biases and caste targeted acts of violence in the country. In many of these cases, Dalits of India were the principal targets. This whole movement — which ran for several weeks — also gave out a new leader named Jignesh Mevani, who appealed Dalit communities across India that they should not do the job of cleaning human-animal sewage and disposal of dead animal carcasses.

Soon, Mevani fought state assembly election in Gujarat as an independent candidate and succeeded defeating Bhartiya Janta Party with huge margins. The margin created by Mevani also gave out the idea that he did not only get the votes of Dalits but also of Muslims and some Upper caste Hindus.

The same chapter is now being practiced in Varanasi, the oldest living city and the constituency of Narendra Modi.

On August 9, 2018, a convention under the tagline of “neo-Dalit consultation” was organized in Varanasi’s esteemed Kabir Math, where was one of the speakers. The event, which was organized by People’s Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR), an organization being led by Lenin Raghuvanshi and Shruti Nagvanshi — both from Varanasi, had a considerable presence of various figures from different sects of the society. But aside Mevani, senior journalist Urmilesh and scholar and professor at Delhi University Ratan Lal were some of the important speakers.

The most confusing thing for many of the people I have encountered is the use of the word Neo-Dalit. I have discussed the meaning and relevance of Neo-Dalit at so many levels and in groups, but every time I discuss it, a new description of it comes out.

Actually, as Lenin Raghuvanshi puts it, Neo-Dalit is a kind of fresh and new ideology which mixes many things into one. From outside, it looks like one Lasagna where flat pasta is put with so many things and cheese and baked in one oven to make out a good dish. But, instead of being a mix-up, Neo-Dalit is basically an idea which calls for a combination of castes and classes together to create a larger narrative against fascism. Primarily, it calls for a massive blend of forces against Fascism or more specifically “Corporate Fascism”, as Lenin Raghuvanshi puts it.

During the event of August 9, all of the participants were given a plant, a copy of Indian constitution and a country-made towel — to mark whichever has been vanishing from the country. As of today, when several human rights activists, journalists, and scholars have been arrested on the presumption of being “Urban Maoists” for their alleged link to Bhim-Koregaon violence happened earlier this year, we mark these episodes as the more evident episode of fascism in the country. These abducted people, who might have done nothing more than to show solidarity to the Dalit movements inside the country, are now framed as terrorist and hate mongers in a ‘secular’ country.

So in the current setup, where most of us are being targeted and framed for thinking and not liking the treatment of government as well as that of upper caste individuals, there must a planned approach of working. I wouldn’t propose a specific manner in which one should act or respond to these problems, but keep in mind that there are so many alternate ways, I am just talking about one.

Neo-Dalit, which talks about combining upper castes and Dalits, Tribals and Muslims against fascism in the country, produces a sound which is more powerful in the narrative of politics of “reclaiming” things. While most of the upper caste gathering in India did not see the movements of Tribals and Dalits in the country closely (as there is a presumption that these movements are violent), they have not seen any of Muslims’ movement in the country, because for many latter is not even a part of the country.

On August 9, I was waiting to see such “awakening” of Hindu upper caste. Participants, too, answered my search. In the Neo-Dalit convention, senior journalist Urmilesh pointed out the loopholes in the current government and how it is demonizing such subaltern movements across the country. And the best the government has been covertly doing is to stop and minimize the publication of books written by Bhimrao Ambedkar, most importantly the Annihilation of Caste — a book which includes Ambedkar’s long speech over the importance of abolishment of caste and Brahminical forces in the country — and his Riddles in Hinduism. As Urmilesh pointed it out, the publication of only Hindi versions of these books is reduced, pointing to the fact that these books — originally written in English — are not perceived well in their original languages as most of the Dalit and Tribal community can only read Hindi, Gondi or other regional/national languages and that too with very difficulty.

While the gathering included several intellectuals, it also had a substantial presence of people from rural parts, given the fact that Kabir Math premises could not accommodate more than a few hundreds of individuals. Jignesh Mevani, who won the election chiefly through fundraising and donations from various people, talked about his stand on Modi and the much-hyped Gujarat model of development. He also said that to fight fascism in the country, voices must be united and all the protestors must think over the individual identity (Remember! Rohith Vemula talked about the immediate identity of a person in his suicide letter).

Mevani, while coming up hard on Modi regime, said that one must hate and protest Brahminism or Brahminical setups, not Brahmins only. He reiterated that to generate a dialogue, an individual’s identity should not come in the way. And that is where, Mevani, panelists and other organizers thought, the solution exists.

Mevani went up a step further and announced that if Mayawati would come forward, he and Chandrashekhar Azad ‘Ravan’ — the founder of Bhim Army — will fight Modi by her side.

Over a certain extent, I agree with this assertion that oppressed forces must unite. And every kind of effort must be put under one umbrella. But as a journalist and a neutral spectator, I have some limitations.

It is fine that Jignesh Mevani calls Mayawati too lead the Dalit community in the upcoming general elections, and he also calls for the involvement of Bhim Army founder and Dalit icon Ravan, but the question still remains that will Mayawati allow such consolidation. I don’t think so. Even when Mayawati is fighting hard to save her dipping political career, she made it very clear last year that she will never support Chandrashekhar or Bhim Army, as these figures/outfits do not fight the fight of Dalit pride.

So looking closely, even Mayawati reduced Bhim Army as one fringe group, as the administration has been doing lately.

So does that leave Mayawati with Mevani? That too in Uttar Pradesh, where the former does not want to hold the leading flag to someone else? This is still confusing. Jignesh Mevani is a product which came out from the same set up from which Aam Aadmi Party came out, and Mayawati has long dissociation with such setups. However, she is happy with coalition and seat sharing happening with Samajwadi Party, an old rival, and Indian National Congress. So there could be one possibility. But still, Mayawati got support from Bhartiya Janta Party in 1995 to form the government. OK? So is it digestible for Mevani to fight BJP with someone who was once supported by the same BJP? I am still curious where that political conviction has gone. Maybe the time has just “mainstreamed” it.

But the idea of Neo-Dalit, to make a larger power against Fascism, is fine and one workable idea. It asks forces to unite. Quite a nascent one as well, this idea still has to address one large question that how it will help Dalits to reclaim what actually belongs to them? More specifically, how one such consolidation will give rise to a Dalit leadership in the country which could denounce fascism?

While Neo-Dalit consultation is a large and potent narrative, which can go up in the chart and help to create one umbrella under one phrase ‘Neo-Dalit’, I also want it to answer how it will let it go of itself and let it spread and adopted by other socio-political groups working in India. My thinking goes why such groups will identify it as their politics or mode of interference? Will they be convinced letting upper caste lead them? Will they be OK with Savarnas giving them an idea of discourse? And majorly, who will be the candidate for politically countering fascism? Will all groups have a similar figure to support and talk for? or not? Because in that case, we may have to wait for this idea to come into action.

This idea should find an existential point, which I am sure it would find because I have seen many supporters of Bahujan Samaj Party — largest Dalit political party in India — and various Dalit scholars discarding Chandrashekhar Azad or Jignesh Mevani as one leading figure. Reason? Mayawati, the BSP chief, did not look at these figures with much hope.

I have also found Dalit and Tribal politics very much devoid of Women’s representation. When it comes to this, the problem persists here as it persists in every other platform. I hope Neo-Dalit would work to address this very problem. And when I say this, I am also confident of the fact that Woman does not mean upper caste only, I mean all.

Quite a nascent one, the idea of Neo-Dalit is one large narrative — I have said this many times — but to become more powerful it puts some questions. I am not politically biased, but I am sure to say that I am definitely against Fascism and its several derivatives. Having said that, I also need to count that if an idea wants to defeat fascism, its maximum work should be on the ground, between the people, between the rural population. It should have its base expanded with thousands of volunteers, who will steer the movement between the voters. The dialogue, which is diverse and good, should also take count of a common consensus between different ideas, if there is any, otherwise it should go forward and create it.

But concluding this, a strong feeling floats in the air that this new idea — a very local extention of Blacks’ movement in US and some of the European movements — will get pieces of puzzle together very soon, and factually rule out objections which can take place in the future.

[Siddhant Mohan is a journalist based in Varanasi, India and has been reporting from marginalized communities of India. Politics, society, literature, students’ issues are his priority. He tweets at Siddhant Mohan ]

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