Kanshi Ram as a master strategist: caste-based coalition politics

When the Ambedkarite movement was in total disarray throughout the country, it was Kanshi Ram who repeatedly used Babasaheb’s maxim “political power is a master key” as a slogan which paid high dividends. He could see that Babasaheb’s theory of political democracy was totally forgotten by both Bahujan intellectuals and also the masses which constituted 85% of the Indian population.

When he exposed the bogey of “upper caste majority” and reduced them to just 15%, it was indeed a master stroke of a genius politician. Challenging the upper caste “mainstream” concept, he asked, “which is the mainstream of the country, 15% upper castes or 85% Bahujan Samaj?”

This argument left the upper castes dumb and baffled and it turned manuwadi politics topsy turvy.

WE WANT A WEAK GOVT.

Kanshi Ram with the help of Mayawati demonstrated it in UP though BSP had very short stints at political power. For him political power was a master key because it was an engine of transformation.

He always advocated the need for lame govts. walking on crutches. Because a majority govt. became despotic toward Bahujan Samaj. By lame, he meant a coalition rule. When he launched BSP in 1984, India was entering into coalition politics as more and more castes were becoming politically aware due to the process of caste identity. Caste-based political outfits, caste leaders were emerging in different parts of the country. The upper castes were stupefied as they were habituated with dwelling in the fool’s paradise of majority politics.

The upper castes had fooled the Bahujans since “independence” by emphasising the significance of majority party rule and also the stability plank. Dr. Ambedkar had called this type of majority as “communal majority” functioning for the millennium of 15% beneficiaries of the caste system. Babasaheb was more on the side of “representative” government which he knew the “communal majority” of upper castes did not reflect. Kanshi Ram also was against the “communal majority” rule.

MANDAL COM. ROLE

At this juncture a great role was played by the Mandal Commission Report in stirring the Backward Castes throughout the country. Inside parliament, no discussion was allowed by the then Congress Govt. on the report. Of the country’s 52% OBCs, only 12 MPs of their 3,743 castes were elected to parliament.

Those who wanted to speak on the Mandal report were actually manhandled by the communal upper caste MPs and their mouths were gagged.

It was Kanshi Ram who gave a unique programme of people’s parliament to his party cadre to discuss openly the Mandal report. In Delhi, he arranged a month-long agitation in the form of meetings and dharna before the parliament. He appealed to the OBCs to enter parliament to fight for their rights. No upper caste political party was in full support of the Mandal report. The Manuwadi media was busy manufacturing all sorts of rumours to fan the fire of the anti-Mandal violence in Gujarat and elsewhere. Therefore. to get social justice for Backward Castes Kanshi Ram wanted a crippled government at the centre.

NO PRE-POLL ALLIANCE

Only once — when Narasimha Rao was PM — did Kanshi Ram form a pre-poll alliance with the Congress. But that alliance proved to be a doom for the Congress in UP. This alliance revealed the diplomacy and satesmanship of Kanshi Ram. He wanted to weaken the age-old manuvadi party by seat sharing with it. Of the 420 Assembly seats, he demanded 290 and only 130 seats were given to the Congress. He knew the number of seats BSP would win. But he was more interested in the loss of the Congress Party. And to the great surprise of election analysts the Congress could win 25-30 seats out of 130. He was delighted at the damage he caused to the country’s oldest political party.

MAYAWATI WARNING TO B.J.P

But the star question was: Why did the Congress accept such an insulting alliance? Perhaps the Brahmin Narasimha Rao was more interested in the rise of BJP.

Kanshi Ram has given a valuable principle to be followed by future Bahujan leadership: what harm is there in deceiving the champions of deception? M.K. Gandhi after the “Poona Pact” had deceived Dr. Ambedkar. Dr. Ambedkar was also deceived by “Socialist Brahmins” (Read Dr. Ambedkar’s What Congress & Gandhi Have Done to the Untouchables?, Vol.9, W&S, Govt. of Maharashtra).

It is not that Kanshi Ram weakened the Congress alone. He showed his diplomatic acumen in weakening the BJP also in UP. One could imagine the height of his political strategy when he installed Mayawati as UP Chief Minister thrice despite having less number of MLAs as compared to BJP. And this he did not by pre-poll alliance but by post-poll alliance on the conditions of BSP by implementing the BSP agenda and by pushing completely to the back-burner the BJP Ram-plank and building of Ram temple at Ayodhya.

Chief Minister Mayawati told BJP that if they practiced any mischief at Kashi and Mathura, they would be dealt severely. BJP was completely corned by BSP. BJP thought that Kanshi Ram would accept pre-poll alliance with it in future whenever there were elections. But Kanshi Ram rejected outright the offer of manuwadi parties to execute a pre-poll alliance because he knew their mentality of deception. He knew that the Bahujan votes were easily transferable but manuwadi votes were not so. That means the Bahujan voters easily voted for upper caste candidates but the upper caste voters did not vote for backward class candidates even if there was pre-poll alliance.

He was an expert in making caste-alliances to enhance the voting strength of his party and in every election this paid him dividends as he was able to increase the voting percentage of BSP. It was Kanshi Ram’s sheer diplomacy and political acumen which he displayed after winning seats in UP assembly.

Just with the help of 70 seats in the house of 400, Kanshi Ram called shots and made Mayawati CM not once but thrice.

NEVER BELIEVE MANUWADIS

A myth has been circulated by manuwadi leaders that Bahujans should align or have alliance only with like-minded political parties. Who is this like-minded? Which manuwadi party can be called like-minded?

All manuwadi parties on the national level want political power to subjugate the 85% Bahujans.

But BSP wants political power for social and economic Justice. Where is the like-mindedness? The myth of like-mindedness was been floated by manuwadis to grab the support of Bahujan voters to which many a Dalit leaders have fallen prey. Manuwadis cannot become like-minded because they are enemies of social change.

For BSP political power is a means to achieve an end. But for manuwadis political power is an end in itself. Nevertheless, manuwadi political parties will be very much there in existence. But coalition politics has given the Bahujans an opportunity to defeat their aim. So, BSP and Bahujan leadership will have to deal with them from time to time no matter which manuwadi party BSP goes with in the formation of government.

Today, Congress, BJP, CPI, CPM are all manuvadis no matter what their outward appearance is. In future old parties may disappear but new manuwadi political outfits may appear and still we will have to deal with them. The star question for us is: how we deal with them. Bahujan leadership will require better guts and better brains to deal with them, said Kanshi Ram. This should not be difficult for 85% Bahujans.

Anti-people judiciary must be cut to size : Parliament must act

The roots of judicial activism may be traced in the role of Supreme Court and high courts in exercising the power of judicial review as well as in making wider interpretations of the constitutional provisions while entertaining public interest petitions and trying them in an expeditious manner. Art. 13 and 32 of the Constitution of India respectively empower apex judiciary to strike down any law or executive action on the ground of being inconsistent with fundamental rights of the citizens.

POSITIVE ASPECTS OF JUDICIAL ACTIVISM

Almost two decades ago judiciary relaxed the rule of locus standi while liberally interpreting the constitution and thus expanding the rights of the people the court also changed the laws regarding locus standi and public participation in the judicial process. Due to inactivity, inefficiency and non-performance on the part of the executive, people were and still are virtually crying for justice.

In this backdrop judiciary provided relief to certain extent as against the government looking into many areas when there was rampant corruption i.e. in allotment of official accommodation to the public servants, cause of the spread of epidemic hazardous to human life, distribution of petrol and gas dealership, protection of an environment, involvement of politicians and top bureaucrats in hawala transaction, various scams relating to animal fodder, ayurvedic medicine, sugar scam, share scam, Bofors scam, or victims of Union Carbide case or Sardar Sarovar project etc. people in fact welcomed judicial activism of the apex court because it provided relief to the aggrieved party by allowing public interest litigations. Such a role played by the high judiciary has been regarded as active, even adventurous, though widely appreciated by the common people but not absolutely immune from certain inherent weaknesses.

NEGATIVE ASPECTS

Even after “independence” and the constitution came into force the judiciary started playing the role of technocratic judiciary instead of constitutional judiciary. When Nehru was the Prime Minister, Parliament wanted to bring a new legislation to change the old socio-economic structure to suit the principles of the preamble of the constitution, the apex court took a very conservative view by opposing the constitutional spirit of creating an egalitarian society based on trinity — liberty, equality and fraternity — and started giving technocratic and over legalistic rulings and scuttled the efforts of the governments and parliament to establish socio-economic democracy.

“BASIC STRUCTURE” NOT DEFINED

The judiciary took a diametrically opposite view against parliament on fundamental rights in Golaknath case. In the Keshvanand Bharti case, the judiciary accepted the view of parliament that it has supreme power in the sphere of amendment of the constitution and it has the power to reduce the list of fundamental rights but laid down the doctrine of “basic structure”, meaning thereby that the basic structure of the constitution cannot be altered or touched. But the judiciary did not define the concept of basic structure.

POWERS OF EXECUTIVE & LEGISLATURE STOLEN

In recent years the judiciary began to usurp the powers and functions of the executive as well as the legislature. This trend and tendency on the part of the judiciary not only undermined the executive and legislative organs of the state but it openly violated the provisions of constitution. Though the government sometimes paid no attention to the problems of the people, instead of usurping the executive powers and functions it could have asserted its authority under Article 32 of the constitution.

JHARKHAND INSTANCE

To overstep the authority of executive is neither constitutional nor justifiable. In the hawala transaction, judiciary straightway took over the CBI under its control and made it answerable only to itself instead of the Home Ministry. This is a case of clear-cut violation of the constitution.

In the February 2005, elections to the Jharkhand Assembly no party or their alliance got even simple majority to form the government. Both the alliances, one led by BJP and the Congress-JMM, asked Governor Sibte Razi to invite them to form the govt. claiming majority support. Both the alliance had 36 MLAs each and claimed they had support of 5 independent MLAs. Razi invited Shibu Soren of the JMM to form the govt. and gave him 20 days to prove the majority. The BJP alliance objected sought Presidential intervention saying the 20-day time-limit would encourage horse-trading. Presidential intervention cut 20 days to 15. Meanwhile, 4 BJP MLAs went to Supreme Court which cut the period from 15 days to 11 days and directed that notice issued to Assembly be treated as notice for inviting the session of Assembly.

Here, the Supreme Court overstepped the jurisdiction of legislature and the executive —especially the Jharkhand Governor and Speaker of the Assembly — by flouting the provision of the constitution.

SPEAKER’S AUTHORITY BYPASSED

Summoning the Assembly is the sole prerogative of the Governor of the state as per the constitution. In the absence of majority, who should be invited to form the government is a discretionary power of the Governor. Hence the judiciary grabbed not only the power and functions of the Governor but also the powers and functions of the Speaker. How to conduct the business of the Assembly is the sole prerogative of the Speaker and not the court. Here court bypassed the authority of the Speaker and brought him under the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court. It directed the Speaker how to conduct the business of the house directing him for video shooting of the proceeding and reporting each and every matter relating to casting of vote to the Supreme Court.

SOMNATH CHATTERJI PROTEST

Legal luminary Somnath Chatterjee, Speaker of the Lok Sabha, took serious objection to this act of the judiciary and said the judiciary has violated the constitution by destroying the doctrine of separation of power and called presiding officers of all legislative assemblies in New Delhi to discuss on the problems created by the Supreme Court.

LAHOTI’S ANTI-QUOTA JUDGMENT

Another example of violating the principle of separation of power is the recent judgment given by seven judges of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice R.C. Lahoti ruling there shall be no reservation and government quota in non-aided professional education and even in aided educational institutions run by the minorities. The court said these institutions have unfettered right to select the candidates for admissions of their choice and these institutions will have full freedom to charges the fees and judiciary has carved out 15% quota for non-resident Indians.

This decision is not only full of contradictions but judiciary usurped the powers of executive as well as the legislature.

ERRONEOUS VERDICT ON QUOTA

Very strong reactions against the judiciary came from the various sections including parliament, state legislatures and executive organs of the government. MPs got furious. The government assured the house to bring new legislation in the current session of parliament. The discrepancy in the SC judgment is that on one hand it abolished reservation and govt. quota and on the other it created a 15% quota for NRIs.

To crave out quota is not the function of judiciary. This is a policy decision which falls within the purview of the executive organ of the state. Therefore, the ruling in this cas is not only erroneous but unconstitutional in nature.

CAN COURT CUT POWERS OF LEGISLATURE ?

Chief Justice Lahoti annoyed over MP’s criticism grilled an Attorney General saying desperately that legislature wanted to have confrontation with the judiciary. If the government does not want to obey the judiciary then it should close down the courts and do whatever they like. At a Bhopal seminar he publicly said that all the three organs of the government should act in accordance with the provision of the constitution and to keep other two organs in control the judiciary has the power to clip the wings of parliament and executive.

The question is who will clip the wings of the judiciary when it is committing wrongs and going beyond the powers given in the constitution.

CREAMY LAYER JUDGMENT

On Oct.25, 2005, it ruled that the criterion of “creamy layer” shall be applied to SC/ST reservation. To apply the criterion of “creamy layer” is a policy issue to be decided by the executive and not judiciary. Economic criteria cannot be considered as a base for providing reservation which has been already decided by the larger bench of 11 judges in the Indira Sawhany case which is called as fait accompli.

On the issue of banning of bar dance in restaurants, the Supreme Court issued notice to Maharashtra Assembly Speaker. The constitution says courts have no power over the legislature proceedings and the ruling of the Speaker. For criticizing the decision of Maharashtra Assembly, Sethi leader of the union of bar dancers, was punished. He went to the Bombay High Court which issued notice to the Speaker. The assembly unanimously decided not to answer the HC notice or represent the case before the HC. Subsequently HC dismissed the case of Sethi who challenged the verdict in Supreme Court. Supreme Court issued notice to the Speaker again. Assembly decided to be silent since the notice encroached upon the powers of the legislature brazenly violating the provisions of the constitution. The Lok Sabha had earlier taken a similar decision.

When the judiciary had issued notice to the Lok Sabha Speaker in 2005 in the money for query scam in which the Speaker of Lok Sabha had sacked 11 MPs under his constitutional power of disciplinary action against errant members, the said action was unanimously supported by the entire house.

Recently the SC challenged the Schedule IX of the constitution and decided to take up the matter in January 2007 for hearing to decide whether the SC has the power to examine its validity or not under power of judicial review.

Though judicial activism is an essential aspect of the dynamics of constitutional court, it does not mean that it is a governance by the judiciary. The Court must not only be fair it must also appear to be fair.

This fact cannot be denied that in the sphere of social justice for over two decades judiciary took very conservative and narrow view. It gave plenty of anti-reservation rulings in spite of the many constitutional provisions in favour of the weaker sections of the society. As a result the Backward Classes have lost their confidence in the judiciary.

Besides, it unnecessarily entered into conflict with the executive and the legislature creating constitutional problem in the smooth functioning the administration of the country.

HOW TO CONTROL JUDGES

In view of the judicial excesses on the part of judges of the apex court as well as high courts against the Dalits and minorities (barring few judgments in favour of affirmative action), it is necessary to make judges accountable to keep them within constitutional limit so that they will not transgress their limits. The parliament should, therefore, enact a law to hold the judges responsible and accountable for giving judgments against the provisions of the constitution. It is found that while deciding the cases some judges are biased and prejudiced and represent their class or caste ideology or personal grudge against a particular class or caste.

The time has come to introduce a legislation in parliament to hold the judges accountable and responsible for their actions and to impose certain restrictions on the acts of those judges who are directly or indirectly violating the provisions and spirit of the constitution and flouting the norms for establishing welfare state and denying social justice to the beleaguered and deprived population.

Judges are also human beings hence they cannot be expected to be infallible. In a democracy ultimate power or supreme power lies with the people. That is the rule of democracy. Ours being a parliamentary democracy, parliament must have the authority to regulate the unrestrained freedom of the judges.

References:

1. The Constitution of India, P.M. Baxi.

2. Judicial Activism in India Trasgressing Borders & Enforcing Limits, S.P. Sathe.

3. The Avatars of Indian Judicial Activism, Upendra Baxi.

4. Constitutional Law of India, Vol.2, H.M. Seervai.

D.V. REFERENCE TO JUDICIAL TERRORISM

DV Jan.16, 2007 p. 21: “What Justice Balakrishnan can do as first Dalit CJ of Supreme Court?”

DV Jan.1, 2007 p. 6: “DV welcomes this long-delayed clash between executive & Judiciary”.

DV Edit Nov.16, 2006:Court comes to rescue upper castes”.

DV Nov.1, 2006 p.9: “Take back judges appointment power from CJI before judiciary throttles social justice”.

DV Sept.16, 2006 p.5: “Supreme Court widens racist divide”.

DV Aug.16, 2006 p.22: “Wanted national reservation act to save Backwards from racist judiciary”.

DV June 16, 1006 p.4: “Supreme court must know the supreme truth”.

DV May 1, 2006 p.25: “Justice: Brahminical style in India”.

DV Oct.1, 2005 p.6: “Who has powers to clip wings of judiciary?”

DV Edit Sept.16, 2005: “We welcome long over due confrontation between judiciary & the legislature”.

DV July 1, 2005 p.25: “Courts blocking Backward Caste reservation in AP”.

DV April 16, 2005 p.4: “BSO using judiciary to weaken legislature”.

DV Feb.16, 2005 p.19: “Supreme Court is not supreme”.

DV Dec.1, 2004 p.5: “Amend Constitution to keep courts out of SC/ST quota”.

DV Sept.1, 2003 p.5: “Judiciary is neither honest nor accountable”.

DV Edit Aug.16, 2003: “CMV syndrome afflicts vaidik judges”.

DV March 1, 2003 p.8: “Vaidik media bid to malign Karnataka BC judges”.

DV Feb.1, 2003 p.10: “Apex Court bid to curb Muslim education”.

DV Oct.1, 2002 p.17: “Supreme Court & Brahminism”.

DV May 16, 2002 p.11: “Govt. rejects quota for Dalits ”.

DV May 1, 2002 p.15: “Foolish Muslims trust judiciary?”

DV March 16, 2002 p.7: “How to end judicial corruption”.

DV Feb.16, 2002 p.4: “Court from meddling with the will of people”.

DV Dec.1, 20001 p.19: “Anti-Dalit Chief Justice retires”.

DV Nov.1, 2000 p.5: “Racism in judiciary”.

Organising Bahujan unions on “caste identity” to destroy Brahminism

We do not appear to have given much importance to Babasaheb Ambedkar’s Third Commandment, “Organize”. India is a subcontinent of many nationalities and sub-nationalities with all sorts of diversities — physical, linguistic, caste, social and cultural. Unity among such diverse nationalities is impossible for any concerted movement/action. It can only be done caste-wise and state-wise. No doubt our Editor, V.T. Rajshekar, has offered a wonderful solution: caste (Caste — A Nation Within the Nation, Books for Change, Bangalore, 2002). Even the Caste solution offered by him has nothing to say on “organize”. The problem is even the caste system is different in different states. The Telugu castes are not there in any other state. So also Kannada and Tamil castes. Taking these realities and the essence of Editor Rajshekar’s Caste book into consideration, I have prepared a proforma union for each caste in each linguistic state. In AP, it will be “Telugu Bahujan Union” differing from state to state. DV should call for debate before we start organising.

I will confine to Telugu Bahujan Union (caste-based) since I belong to AP.

Such a union can be formed in all villages, panchayats, mandals (or blocks) towns and cities. In cities and towns more branches may be formed. These branches will elect their representatives in proportion to the population of each caste and subcaste and send them to mandal/block union.

WOMEN MUST GET 50% SHARE

All mandal/block branches are part of the block union. This is the primary union. All the elected representatives of the branches will be the members of the block union. It is the representative body formed on the basis of each caste. Note: 50% of the representatives in each caste should be women. The block union will elect the block executive. It will also elect representatives to the state union. The block executive will elect a secretary and a treasurer to carry on its day-to-day administration.

District level: At the district level, a co-ordination committee has to be formed comprising secretaries of all the blocks within that district. Another co-ordination committee will have to be formed for each Assembly and Parliament constituency by the state executive comprising efficient block/state committee members.

State union: Representatives elected by the block union to the state union will form the state union which in turn will elect the state executive. The state executive will elect a general secretary and a treasurer to carry on day-to-day administration.

(A) 50% of the state union and state executive must be women.

(B) Representation in the state union and the state executive must conform to the caste-wise population percentage in the state.

(C) The state executive will nominate two state committee members (one male and one female) to the Central Union.

Central union: Representatives nominated by the state executives of all states shall form the central union which will elect the central executive. This executive will elect a central secretary and central treasurer. The central union will be the coordinating body between the different state unions.

Union elections: Each caste will elect its representatives’ for every 100 members (50% women). A person from one caste cannot represent another caste.

A person from one panchayat/mandal/block cannot represent another panchayat/mandal/block. Only one person in a family is eligible to contest. Electioneering not allowed. A caste should not interfere in the election of another caste.

OBJECTS

The committees and executives should function on the principle of greatest benefit to greatest number. The majority decision is accepted but respecting the minority opinion. The decision of the state committee/executive must conform to the decisions of the majority mandal/block unions.

Recall: A representative may be recalled by the caste that elected him. A vacancy may be filled up by the same caste.

Till the regular election and formation of committees/executives, ad-hoc committees shall function at the block and state level.

Collective functioning: The union is a collective body. Its functioning and outlook should be collective. All deliberations should be democratic. Criticism, if any should be issue-based and made only at the meeting.

The main object is assist Bahujan empowerment. The other objects are to assign one hectare of cultivable land to every illiterate landless labour family. To the peasants whose land holding is less than one hectare to assign the shortfall. Free education upto 10th class. Free medical facilities. Jobs to the literate unemployed. To give Rs. 500 monthly pension to the poor senior citizens. Protection of human and civil rights. Implementation of reservations in all grades and sectors.

Prevent upper castes and upper caste parties from stealing the Bahujan reservation facilities (including political reservations).

Assistance to the Bahujans and their families.

FLAG

The union shall have a flag 2’x2 1/2’ blue colour with white star on the left top corner. Bahujans who completed 18 years of age and other progressive persons shall be members.

Finance: (a) Income: admission fee, annual subscription, donations. (b) Expenditure: As per the decision of the executives. (c) Audit: Yearly.

SYMPTOMS & DISEASE

No day passes in this “nonviolent” gandhian democratic, socialist, secular state without an attack on the original natives (SC/ST/BC and minorities) maiming and killing them, demolishing and burning their huts and raping their women by the oppressor upper caste, their government and their security forces. This is the philosophy and way of life of the oppressors. It will continue to be so as long as they are allowed to remain in power.

Fighting the symptoms is simply foolish because neither the symptoms nor the disease will abate.

Not only that. While you keep fighting the symptoms, the disease gets more serious. An appropriate attack with the correct remedy on the disease alone will cure the disease and then the symptoms will disappear automatically.

NATIVES STARVED

India’s population is 110 crores. It has fresh water resources sufficient for the entire world population. But 90% of Indians are struggling for drinking water. The natives are producing foodgrains (22 crore tons) sufficient for 200-crore people but they are starved to death/committing suicide. The natives are producing other goods sufficient for 200 crore people but they are in rags and live in huts.

UPPER CASTE IDEOLOGY

The upper caste economic ideology is: “If you want super profits create artificial scarcity”. That is why the MNCs are clearing a Rs. 1000-crore profit on drinking water. They want scarcity of everything everywhere.

The first demand of the natives is “land to the illiterate and jobs to the literate” (other demand will surface after the first demand is met).

Look at the land holdings of the upper caste super rich:

Lord Balaji, Tirupati 60,000 acres, Reliance Industries 1,00,000 acres; DLF Universal 50,000 acres; Tatas 30,000 acres; Unitech 30,000 acres; Baba Kalyan Group 27,000 aces; Sahara 20,000 acres; Mahindra 10,000 acres; AMR Group 10,000 acres.

There is enough land but in the custody of non-agriculturalists like landlords, temples, big business and government.

As the Govt. in India is “their” govt. they will not give land to the natives.

INHUMAN BRAHMINISM

The upper castes worship an inhuman ideology called Brahminism. Its prostituted name is Hinduism.

The basic principle of Brahminism is permanent enslavement of the natives and their progeny. So we should not expect from them except obstruction and violence.

While we grow inch by inch and organize from the grass-root level, the upper caste rulers will increase their attacks on us. To protect ourselves, our women, our little property from the upper castes we must have a well-knit organsiation. Hence the need for Bahujan Union. Most of the existing unions and associations are under the control of our enemy.

There were several movements in India in the last 80 years — all of them were “begging” movements. It is proved that the begging movements cannot give lasting rights.

There is a blind belief among the Bahujan leadership that for any change the awareness of “all Bahujans” must be raised. At the time of French, Russian, Chinese, Vietnamese or Cuban revolution 95% of the masses were illiterate. Even then the people’s force triumphed. “Change” starts with political change and its womb is crisis. India is passing through a crisis. The opportunity is here. We have to seize it.

Forming the Bahujan Union is easy with least expenditure. You can organize in your own area with ease. It does not need higher qualification or intellectual calibre (one needs intellectual calibre only to cheat others).

If we can form, spread and strengthen such a simple Bahujan Union network, we can retrieve all our rights within 5-10 years and pave the way for a bright future to posterity.

Without such a network union any Bahujan leader, even if he becomes the prime minister/chief minister he will not be able to give security of life to Bahujans in the present social system. He will be only a puppet in the hands of the upper caste rulers.

************

Call for debate

Brother Kovena’s tips on “organising” caste-based unions are good. But “organise” is the last and the final step of Dr. Ambedkar’s “Three Commandments” (DSA Reprint 2005, Rs. 20) comprising “Educate, Agitate, Organise”. Kovena has taken up the third and the final one leaving the first two.

Even if we take our “caste identity” thesis as the first one (Educate), the middle one (Agitate) is still missing. Kovena has called for a Debate in DV on his plan to “organise” the Bahujans.

While debating, our DV family members will have to remember that the Babasaheb’s “Three Commandments” are inspired from Budha’s philisophy: Buddham, Dhammam, Sangham. Is it possible to jump from ground floor (Educate or Buddham) to third floor (organise-Sangham)?

All the more Kovena’s formula needs Debate in which serious-minded DV family members must participate — EDITOR.

Dalits, Muslims, Christians under great pain in Brahminical India

Whether one is proud of the fact or ashamed of it, there is no gainsaying that religion has always been and continues to be the main line of demarcation and the main basis of discrimination in India. Minorities, therefore, connotes groups classified thereunder. They are:- (1) the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (in the Harijan dated 21-10-1939, Gandhi has admitted that the Scheduled Castes are a minority), (2) Muslims, (3) Christians and Anglo-Indian, (4) Sikhs and (5) Parsis. Together, the population of non-Hindu minorities in India is about 200 millions or 20 crores. Thirteen years of life under Hindu domination has demonstrated that none of them is happy though all of them have not suffered in the same way and to the same extent. The main grievance, however, is that they do not have equality of status and opportunities with the major community. Even peaceful co-existence is denied to them. “Merge or vanish” is the silent demand; any resistance is suppressed with an iron hand beneath velvet gloves.

The nation has remained un-integrated because the biggest religious group in the country, having elected its own candidates to Parliament and Legislatures, regards itself a political majority, entitled to rule over the land. Having formed Governments, both at the centre and the states, it resorts, according to its age-long tradition, to discrimination on religious grounds and seeks to establish a convention that since Hindus are in a majority, non-Hindus should agree to be ruled over by them.

MINORITIES FEEL INSECURE

This usurpation by a communal group of the privileges of a political majority has given birth to a state of affairs under which non-Hindu ipso facto become second class citizens.

A real and lasting solution of this problem can come only from the saner elements of the majority community itself.

But in the National Integration Committee appointed by the Congress there is none, besides the chairman, tall and bold enough to castigate the ruling community for its selfish narrow-mindedness and suggest checks and brakes to its way-ward and unscrupulous behaviour. If the Congress high Command was optimistic enough to feel that members of the minority groups had the guts to speak out the bitter truth and present a solution, then it should have nominated real stalwarts, regardless of the party to which they belonged. The Congress has also blundered in regarding the problem of national integration as a mere party question. The committee, as constituted by the Congress, suggests that the High Command is just toying with the idea. How serious the problem is will be apparent from a study of its details.

Generally speaking, a majority of the human beings, classified under the term minorities, have been worried over the question of their security, they have rarely had the peace of mind or leisure to think of the other rights, which the constitution has conferred on them.

Muslims were the first to disarmed and demoralised.

Murders, loot, arson and unlawful occupation of their lands and buildings was the order of the days during the first three years of the transfer of power. The programme is repeated at convenient intervals and places.

SIKHS BETRAYED

The next target was the Sikh community. On the eve of the transfer of power, they commanded great prestige and influence, specially as the Congress had preferred partition to the Cabinet Mission plan. It was this crucial turn in the history of India that the Sikhs, trusting the Hindus as their elder brothers, rejected the offer of Pakistan Muslims to accord to them an autonomous political status within the framework of Pakistan. This they did after Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru had publicly announced early in 1947 that he saw nothing wrong in conceding compact area in the East Punjab to the Sikhs where they might also experience the glow of freedom. Further, the Congress had given a solemn pledge that in framing a constitution for India, advantage would not be taken of the superior voting strength of the Hindus, but controversial matters affecting the minorities would be settled by negotiations and mutual agreements. All this was said before the transfer of power, it was quite a different story after the Aug. 15, 1947.

At the instance of the late Sardar Patel, a highly obnoxious secret circular was issued in Sept. 1947 by no less a person than Sir Chandulal Trivedi, Governor of East Punjab, asking his Government to show to the Sikhs their proper place in a free India. Then followed wide-scale terrorism of the community and victimization of selected Sikh officials. Meanwhile, the constitution that emerged from the Constituent Assembly contained not one of the many assurances that were given to the Sikhs. When Nehru was reminded of the promises and confronted with actual performances, it appears that he just shrugged his shoulders and remarked that “circumstances had changed”.

The Govt.’s aim seems to be to make the Sikhs forget their previous importance. Nor is their concentration in one state relished by the authorities who would prefer to see them scattered all over India, each state dealing with the group within its administrative borders. Just as the Muslim problem has been dissolved by decentralising it so also the High Command desires, that the Sikh problem should cease to be an all-India one.

DALITS PURCHASED

The Scheduled Castes are already regarded as having been bought over politically. They are, of course, considered too low to be absorbed and assimilated in the Hindu fold. Yet they dare not claim to be an entity by themselves.

The efforts of the late Dr. Ambedkar to recreate in them feelings of self-respect and dignity have been thoroughly washed away. The policy is to deprive them of their nuisance value and turn them into a docile and grateful herd. Whenever the High Command wants to punish any non-Hindu group in an informal way, the poor Harijans are put up to do the dirty job, so that, incidentally, every other minority should keep away from them and refuse to sympathise with them. It pays the majority community to create fissiparous tendencies even among Harijans. The latest design is to divide them on the basis of lower castes and castes not-so-low. Illiterate and emotional as they are, they fall an easy prey to these tricks. Transfer of power has meant nothing more than mere change of masters of these original inhabitants of India.

Their main grievance is that they are not allowed to make any use of their population strength, that they are always made to feel that if they wish to make any progress, they can only do so with the help of the Hindus and never independent of them; that the pace of their educational and economic uplift is regulated by the majority community with an eye on perpetuating their subservience; and that tied to the apron-strings of the majority community, they are always led by the nose.

As things are they see no future for themselves.

Jagjivan Ram, who has sacrificed his popularity among his own people for the sake of the Congress, finds it difficult tot be elected Deputy Leader of the party in spite of his seniority just because he happens to be a member of the Scheduled Castes.

NO OVERSEAS CONNECTIONS FOR CHRISTIANS

The Christian community has been tackled rather differently, because the presence of foreign missionaries in India is a great deterrent to the use of naked force.

The technique adopted against them is to spread in a subtle manner misunderstanding and ill-feelings against foreign missionaries so that they may leave India in disgust.

The second item is to see that the different sects of the Christians do never get together, even for solving their common problems. Mutual suspicions and rivalries are cleverly fostered among them. They are expected to give up all cultural and spiritual affinities with countries other than India. Except for a few nominal safeguards, there is nothing to distinguish between Anglo-Indians and Indian Christians. Government treat both with equal indifference.

To give just one instance, the Madhya Pradesh Govt. obviously under the influence of organisation like the Jan Sangh, the Hindu Mahasabha, the Arya Samaj or the RSS has been persistantly refusing to extend official recognition and to give normal grants-in-aids to schools run by the Christians for the benefit of all. Even training facilities are denied to their teachers. Their representations and deputations are just ignored in defiance of Article 30 of the Indian Constitution.

PARSIS — A SECOND FIDDLE

Parsis would have been ignored as a minority but they happen to be captains of industry, far-sighted economists and expert financers. As a first step, Government’s policy is to make sure that they play the second fiddle to Hindu capitalists and subordinate their own interests to those of the elder brother. It can be proved statistically that the Parsis are not half as prosperous as they were before 1947. The socialist process of levelling down is operating unceremoniously against them. Prohibition has nationalised their erstwhile monopoly in liquor trade. Time and taxation will push them lower down. It will be too late for the Parsis if they wake up then. They should face the displeasure of the ruling clique now and join the other minorities in order to save themselves from a worse fate.

MUSLIMS MINUS ISLAM

It was not difficult to exterminate the disarmed Muslims physically, because a fair percentage of the Hindus is inclined that way, besides, the major community holds the monopoly in the mechanics of propaganda and publicity. But the Hindu genius for suppression has evolved a technique which would finish the Muslims as a live force, and yet retain a bulk of their population to enable the rulers to flaunt their secularism about. This process has been set in motion simultaneously and in three different ways:-

(a) Young ones are deprived of the only link (Urdu language) between them and their sacred literature. Through specially prepared and textbooks, a high regard for Hindu culture and heroes in infused into their minds, so that ultimately they may feel ashamed to call themselves Muslims.

(b) Admission of Muslim students however brilliant in professional or post-graduate colleges has been restricted to the minimum possible, their recruitment in defence, internal security, judicial, administrative and foreign services, as well as in the private sector is sternly discouraged.

(c) Economic strangulation and occasional terrorism has made even the former tall poppies among them forget all about their rights as self-respecting citizens. Now they only pray for security of life and property and freedom from hunger and humiliation.

DISGRACE TO HINDUISM

Muslims have suffered physically, economically, socially and educationally. They are now fast losing their religion as well as culture.

The commutative effect of all these deep-laid machinations has been that the bulk of the minority communities has had to lie low and keep aloof from the mainstream of national life. Broken down in spirit and feeling forlorn, they have no ambitions left except to pull on. They do not even have the satisfaction that their children will not face worse conditions of life. This is not to say that no member of the minority communities favoured or patronized by the majority. The essential condition for such individual patronage is that the person should just echo the majority voice; no discordant note is tolerated. Fundamental rights are there to adorn the constitution.

THE REAL DIFFICULTY

Far be it from me to insinuate that there are none among the Hindus, cultured, broad-minded and liberal enough to govern the country justly and efficiently on a human basis, without any discrimination on grounds of caste, creed or social status. They are too numerous to be classified, but very few of them are in public life.

Unfortunately for the country barring honourable exceptions which can be counted on one’s fingers, democracy in India has thrown up persons who are a disgrace to the Hinduism we read about in learned treatises. Those in power are, generally speaking communally-minded, selfish, dishonest and unscrupulous. The real difficulty is that the temperament and outlook of a bulk of those in whose favour power was transferred in 1947 is not secular, while the constitution assumes that it is. This basic anomaly is responsible for nearly half the population being discriminated against and denied its full rights of citizenship.

FIRST PRACTICE & THEN PREACH SECULARISM

The Jan Sangh, the Hindu Mahasabha, the Arya Samaj and the RSS not merely disown secularism but actually work against it. The Congress high Command, on the other hand, insists that India should continue to be its own all the world over as a secular state. If the Congress organisation were also to practise secularism and educate the masses about its merits and virtues, the entire outlook of the country will change for the better within a few decades, at the end of which national integration will come about automatically.

INTERIM MEASURES

In the meantime, some immediate steps are very necessary to save the minorities from the political suppression, economic distress, social ostracism and cultural extinction. The suggested steps should form the short-range policy of the Congress until its long-range policy of nationwide education in favour of secularism bears fruit.

(1) Enforcement of constitutional rights: It is necessary that the enjoyment of fundamental rights should be assured by declaring every act (of commission or omission) calculated to prevent full enjoyment as an offence punishable by law. Similarly, discrimination between citizens on the ground of caste, creed or social status should be treated as an offence. Arrangements should exist in all states for providing free legal aid to aggrieved citizens who wish to enforce their rights through a court of law.

FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS

The executive rides roughshod over the fundamental rights of the minorities in particular, because there is no social stigma attaching to this kind of behaviour; in fact, one who indulges in it fairly frequently is looked upon as a hero by the majority community and is talked about admiringly. Moreover, officials are aware that the aggrieved parties can ill-afford to go to court. Once they come to know that Governments are giving them facilities for enforcing their rights such infringements will be greatly reduced and the bonafides of the ruling party established beyond doubt.

(2) Preservation of culture: The minorities subcommittee of the Sapru Committee had laid down in 1945 that it shall be the duty of the state to impart education to the children of a minority of sufficient numerical strength, upto the stage of elementary education in their mother tongue and where this is not possible, the state shall give adequate aid to such institutions as cater to this need. This was based on the understanding that further education will be imparted in English.

But now that things are fast changing, it is necessary that education upto the university stage should be imparted in the mother tongue, English and the regional language being made compulsory second languages for those whose mother tongue and regional language are the same, the compulsory second language, besides English should be either Hindi or Urdu.

(3) Electoral reforms: That the quality and quantum of presentation of the minorities in the councils of the nation has been reduced to a farce is now openly admitted by all honest Congressmen. It is obvious that this is the direct result of joint electorate.

Instead of reverting to separate electorates straight away, it will be worthwhile to try via media which would give effective representation to the minorities and yet infuse in them a feeling of oneness with the rest of the nation.

REPRESENTATION TO MINORITIES

(a) Two methods suggest themselves:- One is that a convention should be established making it obligatory on every political party contesting the election to devise a method whereby the trusted members or organisations of each minority are invited to share the responsibility of selecting candidates on behalf of the party concerned. Secondly a successful candidate should have secured at least 50% of the votes of specified minorities in the concerned constituency.

(b) That the percentage of minority population in the country should reflect itself in the Parliament and state legislatures is one of the fundamentals of democracy.

To ensure this, the question of reserving seats for them should be considered afresh. The formula proposed by Mr. Abdul Majeed Khawaja, Bar-at-Law, was as follows:-

“All elections, whether to any legislature or Board, shall be on the basis of joint electorates, provided that the minorities shall have the minimum of their seats reserved according to their number and shall be entitled to contest other seats also.”

More than half a century ago, that far-sighted statesman, the late Mr. K.G. Gokhale, speaking in the Imperial Legislative Council on this very subject, had made the following suggestion:-

“I think the most reasonable plan is first to throw open a substantial number of seats to election on a territorial basis in which all qualified to vote should take part without distinction of race or creed. And then supplementary elections should be held for minorities which numerically or otherwise are important enough to need special representation and these should be confined to members of minorities only”.

AMERICAN FORM OF GOVT.

(c) The injustice done to the minorities in the delimitation of constituencies should be set right by restoring the status quo ante and by the institution of multiple membership with cumulative voting.

(4) Executive should be remodelled: The British type of executive provided in our constitution should be replaced by one intended to prevent the majority from forming a government without giving an opportunity to the minorities to have say in the matter. Towards this end the American form of executive might be suitably adapted to Indian conditions. For instance, the Prime Minister and the representatives of the majority community in the cabinet should be elected by the whole House by single transferable vote while representatives of the minorities should be elected by each minority in the Legislature in a similar manner.

STONE IN PLACE OF BREAD

(5) Re-organisation of states: The policy of consolidating the North and balkanising the South on linguistic basis has adversely effected the already precarious condition of the minorities. The position will be improved to some extent if states like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan and Maharashtra are further divided into convenient administrative units because as the area of the state increases, the proportion of the minority to the majority decreases and chances of the majority tyrannies over the minority become greater. The states must, therefore, be small if protection of minorities is aimed at.

(6) Protection of life and property: Of the all minorities, it is the Muslims alone the protection of whose life, property and culture has proved a perpetual headache for Government since the dawn of independence. The task has become almost impossible as the forces of law and order are now constituted on communal lines and cannot, therefore, be depended upon to act impartially. There are but two ways in which the Indian Union can effectively discharge this responsibility: either the Muslims should be concentrated in two or three self-sufficient administrative units or they should be given effective representation in defence, internal security, judicial and administrative services. The latter alternative would be more feasible.

The committee of national integration would do well to realise that the glaring contradictions between international policies have naturally made the minorities feel insecure, depressed and forsaken. As against the promised secular democracy, they have to face the veiled dictatorship of an unchangeable communal majority, under whose protecting auspices the authors of Panchasheela and the staunch advocates of International peaceful coexistance quietly practise physical and cultural genocide in their own country.

WHY NOT NATIONALISE ADMINISTRATION

While the Congress has nationalised, or intends to nationalise agriculture, industries, insurances, and even trade it is strange that it had never struck the High Command that more than any other undertaking, administration deserves to be nationalised in the first instance. Natonal integration will come about only where administration is not treated as an exclusive preserve of the representatives or nominees of the majority community. Nationalising administration would mean giving to the minorities — not as a gift but as a matter of right — an adequate share in it.

B. Shyam Sunder, They Burn, DSA-1987, Rs. 50.

Zionist Plot to Dominate World — Dalit leader Predicted it 32 years ago, DSA-2003

Hindu Terrorism on Minorities, DSA-2004.

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Death of democracy

This is an important historical document written by the late B. Shyam Sunder, the great Bhim Sena leader, who can be ranked next only to Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar in importance. The document, titled “Federation is a must for Indian minorities”, was written when he was MLA in the Karnataka Assembly (1957-1962), and when “Independent” India was just 13 years young.

Today, at the beginning of the year 2007, India is 60 years old and sufficiently matured. Had Shyam Sunder, an Untouchable Mahar from Maharashtra who was a Minister under the Nizam in Hyderabad, been alive today he would have written in pain about the death of democracy unable to bear the blows of Brahminism. When India was just 13 years old he was feeling so much suffocated by the tyranny of the Brahminical rulers. Had he seen the situation 47 years later what would have been his verdict? We have published a number of historical writings of Shyam Sunder. Those interested may write to us — EDITOR.