Can UP crush caste assertion?

The speed with which the state government in Uttar Pradesh acted on a court order to ban caste rallies would have surprised even the Allahabad High Court that delivered it. Within five days of the direction passed by Justice Vinod Diwakar, the Yogi Adityanath government, which had strenuously argued that it was useful to identify people in police records by their caste, took a U-turn and issued instructions to comply.

The immediate impact of the 10-point executive order was seen in western Uttar Pradesh, where ongoing Gujjar chaupal events were swiftly renamed PDA (Pichhda–Dalit–Alpsankhyak). The ban has since been dutifully extended to social media posts, caste stickers on vehicles as well as FIRs and seizure memos by the police.

BJP state president Bhupendra Singh didn’t miss the chance to call it a historic step heralding the annihilation of caste. Since this is a Yogi-led government that relies on encounters and bulldozers, you can be sure that we’ll soon hear news of crackdowns in the name of this very order.

Yes, the Bharatiya Janata Party, which opposed the politics of ‘Mandal’ and countered it with the politics of ‘Mandir’, does practise Hindutva politics, but it is as casteist a party as those whose very identity is rooted in caste or those that primarily operate on a single-caste support base. The difference is that its casteism leans towards patriarchy, Brahminism and the superiority of the so-called upper castes.

In fact, the court’s order brought the BJP some immediate relief, as small caste-based parties within the ruling alliance — like the Nishad Party, Suheldev Party (Rajbhars), and Apna Dal (Patels) — had begun to raise uncomfortable questions. As had the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), which primarily represents the Jats — the community that Bhupendra Singh comes from.

On the one hand, the pressure exerted by these parties to extract their pound of flesh may temporarily ease. On the other hand, they may double down on their caste identity and accuse the BJP of reneging on promises, opening the door to new deals with the BJP’s rivals.

The Opposition has been quick to question the ban and the timing. At a time when the Union government is preparing to conduct a caste census, a ban on caste mobilisation and rallies appears distinctly counterproductive. The less dominant castes too have made no secret of their discomfort, pointing out that their right to assert their caste identity and mobilise members of their caste cannot be taken away. How the BJP deals with the contradictions and the evolving situation is something that will be watched with interest.

Caste politics isn’t new — it dates back to the British rule. Caste was always a contentious issue, with rare unanimity on matters like sharing of resources and fair representation. Babasaheb Ambedkar’s insistence that a movement to eradicate caste from society be launched first and the Indian National Congress’s reluctance to do so was one such divergence.

Not that Mahatma Gandhi and the INC were oblivious that caste was a disease — they were alive to the vastness of the problem and the powerful forces behind it. That’s why they made freedom from colonial forces the top priority while fighting on multiple fronts.

Gandhi rejected caste in his personal life, while mobilising people to fight against caste discrimination and untouchability. He led Harijan Yatras, temple entry movements, published a Harijan-centric newspaper and made the eradication of untouchability one of his three main programmes.

Not only that, Gandhi took Babasaheb Ambedkar’s grievances seriously and changed himself constantly. Acutely aware of the British conspiracy to divide society through the caste question, Gandhi knew how powerful caste is, with upper castes dominating leadership even within the national movement.

He knew that caste was what devoured Buddhism because it aimed to break caste. Even Adi Shankaracharya — who revived Sanatan Dharma — did not address or oppose the caste question. Instead, he brushed it off as mere ‘maya’ and moved on.

It was Swami Vivekananda who was the first to seriously confront caste and the societal stagnation it caused. He believed that India would not progress until this stagnation is broken, and that India would belong to the Shudras — it is they who would lead it.

Gandhi moved forward with this mantra, as did Ambedkar. Their methods were different — one sought to change minds and hearts; the other demanded administrative and legal changes. Both currents met and their dual approach helped expand social consciousness and bring about legal reforms.

A lot has changed since then, but even after a hundred years of struggle, caste and its evils remain firmly entrenched.

Thus, the BJP’s current attempt to create the illusion of making history through one government order in UP isn’t fooling anyone. It’s no secret what the BJP really is, and what it stands for.

The truth is that until the Mandal Commission recommendations on reservation were implemented, the entire Sangh Parivar vehemently opposed special opportunities and affirmative action favouring the backward castes.

But electoral necessities forced a change. Their attitude towards Dalits, women, minorities and backward castes is as rigid as before — and this despite the fact that a so-called OBC leader heads the central government. There is not a single example of the BJP or Sangh having done anything for Dalits that goes beyond tokenism. Interfaith marriages are already fodder for BJP’s politics — but even inter-caste marriages don’t sit well with it.

The RSS has failed to follow even the tokenism reluctantly resorted to by the BJP. RSS pracharaks continue to move around with their own tumblers so that they may not be forced to drink water in tumblers used by Dalits or the backward castes. This is largely because the RSS also realises the power and appeal of caste and knows that it would require enormous courage and determination to defy the system and its influence on people.

To take caste lightly is to ignore the real issue. To break free of caste requires immense courage, steely resolve and great strength. Caste is a powerful system, but it is also highly adaptable — it bends according to time, place and socio-economic conditions. And above all, it carries the seal of religious legitimacy. It plays the most powerful role whether it be ‘beti-roti’ or forging and keeping political alliances going.

Its sphere of influence isn’t limited to the socio-political, it affects economic and psychological behaviours as well. Being born Dalit often comes with a lack of self-worth — not simply because of birth, but because of deep-rooted societal conditioning. Of all the deprivations in society, there’s none as grievous as this.

The UP government’s administrative order may well have handed the BJP a new weapon to brandish — but it better be warned that you don’t play with it in India.

Translated from the Hindi original