ThePrint asks:
Why is renewed Dalit assertion making upper castes anxious?
Dalit assertion is not making the upper castes anxious, since it comes in the light of the deepening of our democracy, which has been a gradual process. In the initial years of independence, mostly upper caste leaders were seen at both the regional and national level. Now, we have leaders from all classes and castes.
There isn’t a systematic opposition to the Dalit assertion. Dalit assertion is not a monolithic process. Dalits are not a singular caste. Many castes constitute what we call the Dalit community. Each of them has their own politics. Often, they even come into conflict with each other.
There is also a regional dimension to Dalit assertion. The movement in Maharashtra is different from the movement in Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh. Mayawati has recently said if she isn’t given proper political space, she’ll convert to Buddhism. This is a veiled warning, which also asserts her Hindu identity. Contrary to this, most Dalits in Maharashtra are already Buddhists.
The day Mayawati converts, she will lose her political capital in Uttar Pradesh. The same doesn’t hold true for Maharashtra, where a Dalit-Buddhist leader may have a successful future.
Therefore, painting a monolithic pan-India Dalit assertion is a mistake.
There is certainly an institutional backing to the Koregaon incident, which may be political or otherwise. Why were the likes of Jignesh Mevani present for a small regional event?
It made sense for Ambedkar to visit, since he belonged to the same caste community (Mahars). Ambedkar’s politics were very progressive, there is no denying that. He would be the last person to want to divide the country.
You can’t keep people from going to visit the memorial. There is a parallel history, a local folklore that accompanies its history. One can’t accept the historicity of Padmavati while denying the history remembered by the people of Koregaon.
However, their (Mevani and his like) intentions are suspect. Their antecedents don’t inspire trust. They have ulterior motives.
Violence from any side is not justified. The shockwaves can be felt across Mumbai as well.
Raghav Pandey is a Research Fellow with the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Bombay, Mumbai. He can be reached at raghav10089@gmail.com, Twitter: @raghavwrong