2024 will be known in history as a year where politics of the underprivileged came to the fore. Apart from call for caste census for the ongoing , but delayed census of the population in this decade, Dalit icon Dr. Bimrao Ambedkar has come to the centre point of politics in India today.The Congress Belgavi meet during last week of December announced a “Sanghatan Srijan Yatra for revamping the party organisation, a “Jai Bapu, Jai Bheem Jai Samvidhan Yatra” to create awareness about Gandhiji’s ideologies and against the alleged insult to Dr. Ambedkar and Samvidhan Bachao Rashtriya Padayatra to protect and preserve Constitutional values.”
Clearly from holding on as the protectors of the Constitution of India, the Congress party is revoking the original icons of India’s early days as a country. That of Mahatma Gandhiji and Bhimrao Ambedkar to get back its original support base of dalits, backwards and minorities, who revere these leaders. Immediate provocation for invoking Dr. Ambedkar was the remarks of Home Minister Amit Shah about the Dalit icon in a not so complimentary manner. Congress has found a political opportunity to be guardians of the Dalit icon and thereby win the hearts of the underprivileged in lower castes.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party was quick to realize the political gravity of the situation and called a meeting of the allies in the ruling National Democratic Front for the first time after coming to power to describe the controversy over home minister’s remarks on Ambedkar as a “false narrative”. A report after the meeting said that The BJP called upon NDA allies to “expose” the Congress on the ground and tell people what the BJP-led NDA government has done to respect the memory of Ambedkar – like developing Panch Tirths (five places of pilgrimage) – and for the “empowerment” of Dalits by giving them their due share in welfare schemes. Clearly the Congress had hit the BJP and its allies where it hurts most politically the base of lower caste Hindus who are touchy about the legacy and name of Dr Amedkar.
However, the repeated demand of the Congress for a caste census aiming to increase the reservation of lower castes and proportional representation in government and Parliament is an issue which the BJP has not been able to address in full, as it is opposite of their efforts to Hindu community of all castes to unit in the name of a the religion. For the Hindi heartland where Hindu reformists movements against caste inequalities had no the same effect as that of the South Indian States and still facing various caste atrocities , socially and politically the call of the Congress can be an attractive option in political moblisation.
In its recent report on atrocities against the dalits, the Citizens for justice and Peace,(CJP) observed” India has long struggled with deep-rooted caste-based discrimination that permeates into various aspects of society. Despite constitutional safeguards and legal protections, Dalits in India continue to face systemic violence, discrimination, and social exclusion. Recent incidents across the country highlight a grim reality where Dalit lives are often undervalued, leading to a surge in brutal attacks, social boycotts, and caste-based atrocities. “
Describing the incidents of caste violence in BJP-NDA ruled states of Uttar Pradesh, Utharkhand and Bihar, Congress ruled Karnataka; the CJP concluded that; “These incidents, scattered across the diverse geographic and cultural landscape of India, reveal a grim reality: caste-based violence and discrimination continue to be a pervasive issue in the country. It is essential to highlight here that out of all the states from where these incidents have been reported, only the state of Karnataka is being governed by the Congress party, rest of the states are ruled by Bharatiya Janata Party and their allies. Despite legal protections and decades of social reform movements, Dalits remain vulnerable to extreme forms of violence, and the perpetrators often act with impunity. This series of attacks, occurring within a period of two months, serves as a stark reminder that the fight against caste oppression is far from over and requires urgent, comprehensive action at both societal and governmental levels.”
A recent report of the Union Home Ministry also pointed to the alarming rise in caste atrocities. “The union ministry report reveals that 52,866 cases of atrocities against Scheduled Castes (SCs) and 9,725 cases of Scheduled Tribes (STs) were registered in the year 2022 under the PoA Act. The majority of these cases, a staggering 97.7%, were recorded in just 13 states, with BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh topping the list. In 2022, out of 51,656 cases registered under the PoA Act, Uttar Pradesh reported 12,287 cases accounting for 23.78% of the total 97.7 % cases of atrocities against Dalits in 2022 reported in 13 states. Following this, Rajasthan reported second highest atrocities cases of Dalits with 8,651 cases (16.75%), while Madhya Pradesh had 7,732 cases, making up 14.97%. Other states with a significant number of cases include Bihar with 6509, Odisha with 2902 cases and Maharashtra with 2276 cases.”. Clearly it is the Hindi heartland which is the hotbed of caste based violence and segregation going by the governments own admission. The lack of latest information in the National Crimes Bureau website adds to the issue as the present regime does not want to be transparent about, unless specifically asked for it in Parliament.
It seems Congress and India Bloc have touched a raw political nerve in Hindi heartland where they are struggling to make their presence felt by raising the issue of “ dishonouring Dr Ambedkar”. BJP and NDA too have realized it and are countering the false narrative in their own ways. The fact it is BJP Government rule in most of the Hindi heartland states makes their position more vulnerable as they need to answer any atrocities on dalit and backwards in these states. But BJP has been able to manage these issues so far using their Hindutva slogans and it needs to be seen how far the Congress can dent their Hindutva slogan using the caste and Ambedkar card in the coming days.
