![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/himalini.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/mc.jpg?resize=640%2C360&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Vivekananda Jha, Ranchi.The relationship between the BJP and the forward Castes is that of the <\/span>‘Bhakt’ and ‘Bhagwan’. With Bhagwan, increasingly in search of new <\/span>Bhakts, the old Bhakts lose their overall importance in the eyes of <\/span>their god. Ostensibly, the oldest Bhakts in the Bhagwan camp have <\/span>been so comprehensively subsumed by the Bhagwan that they have lost<\/span>their own identity so much so, that these Bhakts remain the <\/span>cheerleaders being fully aware of the fact that Prasad will ultimately go to the new Bhakts from the purported Backward Castes, yet they have nowhere to go apart from cheerleading their Bhagwan.<\/p>\n The millennia old inconsistencies and incompatibilities among the Bhagvad Gita, the eternal scripture of Hindus, too has thrown a light . However, in the wake of independence, when the expectations rose that Indira Gandhi, in her own ingenious innovation of working out a winning Lal Krishna Advani’s famous Rath Yatra was the new awakening for the Incidentally, such was the high temperature of distrusts between the The relationship between the Forward Castes and the BJP, was that of Ironically, the government being enormously sensitive to the Backward Vivekanand Jha is an author of Yes, I am Bihari and The Living Legends Vivekananda Jha, Ranchi.The relationship between the BJP and the forward Castes is that of the ‘Bhakt’ and ‘Bhagwan’. With Bhagwan, increasingly in search of new Bhakts, the old Bhakts lose their overall importance in the eyes of their god. Ostensibly, the oldest Bhakts in the Bhagwan camp have been so comprehensively subsumed by the Bhagwan […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2055,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2054","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-madhesh-politics-news","category-top-stories-of-madhesh"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/himalini.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/mc.jpg?fit=1280%2C720&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paS11m-x8","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/himalini.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2054","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/himalini.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/himalini.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/himalini.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/himalini.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2054"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/himalini.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2054\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/himalini.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2055"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/himalini.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2054"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/himalini.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2054"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/himalini.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2054"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nHindus, have been both the reasons for their strength as well as their
\nmonumental shortcomings. The caste division which, unequivocally
\nthough, fostered discrimination within the Hindu community, continues
\nto reman its most conspicuous bane despite the passage of the time
\nimmemorial, vindicates the inherent contradiction which resulted in
\nsubsequent conversion of millions of Hindu into Mulsims and ChrIstians.
\nParadoxically, even one of the exponents of Hinduism, in the recent
\nhistory, who dared to set a new trajectory for the heathen religion as
\nHinduism had come to be looked upon worldwide, Swami Vivekananda, on
\nhis return from his world famous Chicago address, was questioned by
\nthe Brahmin class, those considered to be at the top of the social
\npyramid, as to how, being from a Backward Class, he had the
\ncredentials to champion Hinduism in the World Parliament of Religions.
\nSwamijee, albeit in his own inimitable style, had replied, ‘ I trace
\nmy descent to that almighty lord at whose feet thousands of Brahmns
\noffer their flowers’. Significantly, the murmur of protests that had
\nstarted taking a tangible shape, on his return from the USA,
\napparently dIed down. Yet, the caste discrimination which has come to
\nacqure the pivot around which Hinduism revolves, over time, continues
\nto keep the Hindus hostage to its charm and consequently its’ ptfalls.<\/p>\n
\non the Varnasharam, a traditional concept that defines the social
\nmoorings. Unequivocally, what Bhagvad Gita says, is the division of
\nthe social system based on the nature of work done by the people. For
\ninstance, those who are educated and trained in scriptures, were
\nclassified as Brahmins; those who were trained in warfare, were
\nclassified as Kschatriyas; who were involved in trading
\nbusinesses were referred to as Baniyas; while those who were serving
\nall these three castes in their own myriad ways, were bracketed as
\nShudras. Significantly, Brahmins remained at the peak of the social
\npyramid, followed by Kschatrays, Vaishyas followed Kshatriyas and,
\nfinally, it was Shudras that remained at the bottom of the social
\npyramid. Unfortunately the division of labour, which was
\nsystematically classified in Bhagvad Gita, took a regressive turn for
\nthe worse: The social classification which ought to have been
\ndetermined on the basis of one’s work, diabolically took the uglier
\nform of such a criterion of determining one’s status being
\ninstitutionalised from birth. Consequently, the age- old caste
\nfriction began taking a tangible shape since the time immemorial. The
\nupper caste, which subsequently was classified as ‘Forward Castes’
\ncomprised of, the Brahmins, Kschatriyas and Vaishyas, came to be
\nassociated with unleashing tyranny over the lower castes, Shudras,
\nwhich over time, had several classifications.<\/p>\n
\nHence, this age- old conflict was so stark that compelled Mahatma
\nGandhi to call the most deserted of all, those languishing on the periphery of
\nthe social hierarchy for millennia as ‘Harijans’. In the wake of Muslim
\ninvasions, especially Mughals, many Hindus of different castes were
\nforcibly converted into Muslims. Later, those who continued to
\nremain as Hindus, yet at the bottom of social pyramid, continued to
\nface the atrocities of worst types from the higher castes. In his
\nfamous essay in the Young India, Mahatma Gandhi had famously said, ‘
\nIf I were to be reborn, I would like to be born as a Harijan so that I
\ncould share their pains and misery’.<\/p>\n
\nthe caste barriers should be given a decent burial once and for all,
\nit assumed its monstrous proportion in one form or the other.
\nBalasaheb Ambedkar, the father of Indian constitution, who hailed from
\na lower strata; finally, unable to cope with the social prejudices,
\nembraced Buddhism–a casteless religion, along with his followers.
\nFortunately, when the caste discrimination was gradually plumetting
\nfrom the society, Vihwananth Pratap Singh, the Prime Minister of India, from
\nJanata Dal, had dropped the bombshell: Implementaton of Mandal
\nCommission’s Recommendation to reserve the government jobs for the
\nBackward Castes. This was the beginning of the end of the upper caste
\ndomination in the society. Had that recommendation envisaged the
\nreservation of jobs for the lower castes who were economically
\nbackward too, possibly it was a welcome step for one and all.
\nParadoxically, the legislation left some inevitable cleavages that
\nbecame apparent to one and all: While the creamy layer walked out with
\nthe booty, those at the bottom of the social pyramid, economically
\nretarded, continued to struggle as usual. Further, it triggered
\nthe hitherto unseen social engineering of monumental magnitude: The
\nBackward Caste began asserting their domination in the polity; the
\ndemocracy which till then, remained as the ‘caged parrot’ of the
\nForward Castes, opened a pandora box for the Backward Caste to sense
\ntheir own numerical strength in the polity. The phenomenal consequence
\nof Mandal Commission, more than any other state, was palpably felt in
\nBihar and Uttarpradesh: The concurrent rise of two powerful Yadav
\nLeaders, Laloo Prasad Yadav in Bihar, and Mulayam Singh Yadav in Uttar
\nPradesh, from the Backward Cates, whereas it also triggered the sunset
\nof the forward caste leaders like Dr Jagannath Mishra, Bahuguna and
\nothers, was the vindication of the fact that, hitherto those at the
\nbottom of the social pyramid, will
\neventually call shots in the polity. No wonder Bihar, in the post-Mandal
\nphase, had not witnessed any Forward Caste chief minister,
\nalthough Uttar Pradesh too, after decades, had witnessed Yogi
\nAdityanath as the chief minister from the Forward Castes. In fact, the
\nchief ministership in Uttar Pradesh rotated between Mayavati and Muayam
\nSingh Yadav, both from the Backward Castes.<\/p>\n
\nformulae, had sequestered Brahmin from the forward caste to make her
\nown winning permutation and combination. Her famous slogan of ‘Garibi
\nHatao’ had caused a frenzy among the masses to vote for her. Her
\nfamous step of nationalisation of Banks, reaffirmation of her
\nfather’s socialistic mindset, endeared her to the masses, much like
\nwhat Narendra Modi’s infamous de- monitisaton had evoked—although it
\nwas a disaster for the economy, the vast section of poor people
\ninadvertently believed that such a step was against the rich, for
\narresting the black money–earned Modi plaudits from the poor and
\neven the middle class. Interestingly, Mandal Commision was the major
\nblow to social
\ncompatibility inasmuch as, it heralded a new change in the social
\norder: Laloo Yadav, a master in real politicking, fully capitalised on
\nthis opportunity: He craftily devised a slogan: Tilak, Tarazoo aur
\nTalwar, inko maro jutay char( equating Tilk with Brahmin, Tarazoo with
\nVaishyas and Talwar with Kschatriyas).Consequently, the social
\ntemperature went soaring, with the friction between the Forward and
\nthe Backward Castes, too reaching its zenith. Interestingly as the social
\nre-engineering process was going on, the Forward Castes reworked its
\nown permutation and combination: Its decades old loyalty towards
\nCongress had begun to shrink, it eventually kick- started the quest for a new
\npolitical party which could advance its strategic interest in the
\npolity, which had already begun ebbing fast.,<\/p>\n
\nmasses, especially the Forward Castes which, in the wake of the
\nimplementation of the Mandal Commission, had begun to lose its
\ninfluence, ostensibly had pinned a new hope of survival for the Forward Castes.
\nMandal versus Kamandal, or Ram versus Babur, was the new emerging
\nclarion call from a new BJP which endeared the Forward Castes which
\nquickly lapped up the latter, rising on the horizon as the new hope
\nthat beckoned the Forward Castes in particular, and the collective
\nHindus in general. Nonetheless, BJP, having showcased all its topmost
\nleaders from the
\nForward Castes, especially Brahmins, from Shyamaprasad Mookerjee to
\nAtal Bihari Vajpayee, were from Brahmin class, gave a formidable hope
\nto the Forward Caste that their interest was much safe with BJP than
\nwith Congress or any regional parties like RJD, JDU Samajwadi Party,
\nBSP. Significantly, the outbreak of tensions, in the immediate
\nimplementation of Mandal Commission Report that provided 50 percent job
\nreservation for the Backward Castes( its new nomenclature being that
\nof Scheduled Castes) , had already galvanised the caste
\ntemperature across the Northern and Eastern India, especially in
\nBihar. No wonder even though BJP, hitherto being the party propped up by
\nBrahmins and Baniya, could seldom reverse the Mandal Commission Report.
\nIn fact, the social tensions in those days had become so abominably
\nprejudicial that the upper caste women were the most vulnerable in
\nthe fragile social environment where the Scheduled Castes had come to
\nlook upon the Forward Castes as their sworn enemies. Surprisingly,
\nthere was an unexpected nexus between the Scheduled Castes and the
\nMuslims, in view of their perceiving Forward Castes, especially
\nBrahmins, as their sworn enemies they enormously despised–the age
\nold tyranny of the Brahmins and Thakurs upon the lower castes came to
\nplay its role reversal.<\/p>\n
\nForward Castes on the one hand, and Backward Castes and Muslims
\ntogether on the other, that there was a significant misgivings whether
\nAtal Bihari Vajpayee would be allowed to become the Prime Minister of
\nIndia, since he was from the Brahmin community. Finally, Ataljee, even
\nthough became the Prime Minister, yet the diabolical roots of Reservation
\nhad been deeply entrenched in the polity in such venomous ways
\nthat none could dare to destabilise the newly institutionalised social
\nre-engineering. Yet the Forward Castes had the requisite satisfaction that
\nthe BJP was the party that would keep their strategic interest in mind.
\nThey knew that they stood marginalised in the social matrix, yet they
\nlooked upon BJP as their saviour. But all their robust hope and optimism
\nwent for a big toss with the advent of Naendra Modi in Delhi Durbar
\nwho, in the guise of upending this caste ridden structure and
\npromoting the meritocratic society, created an unfathomable divide
\nwhere, although it appears that Muslims were being discriminated
\nagainst, yet in reality it is the Forward Castes which stand as the
\nminority. In the name of Hindu Consolidation, it is the Forward Castes
\nwhich is paying the immense price for being the voiceless in this
\nsocial churning out.<\/p>\n
\nthe old and loyal Bhakt to its Bhagwan. With Narendra Modi’s
\nDevelopmental Politics so expediently blended with the expansion of
\nBJP across all sections of societies excluding Muslims, that it hardly
\ncares today of the age-old loyalty of the Forward Castes. In fact, it would be
\nhardly an exaggeration to suggest that the Forward Castes as the old
\nand loyal Bhakt stands completely subsumed by their Bhagwan BJP, with the
\nformer’s urges and aspiration being relegated to the backburner..
\nIn the current scheme of things of the BJP, Forward Castes hardly
\nmatters, for the Bhagwan believes that the Bhakts have completely
\nsurrendered themselves to it and, therefore, it was the time for
\nBhagwan to hunt for the new Bhakts. Or else, why BJP failed to
\nidentify anyone from the Forward Castes as one of the Deputy Chief
\nMinisters in the present dispensation of Nitish Kumar where it
\nunabashedly appointed two from the Backward Castes to the position of
\nDeputy Chief Ministers? Forward Castes matters little in the new scheme of BJP.<\/p>\n
\ncastes have created several Commissions to cater to their needs and
\ndemands: Rashtriya Anusuchit Jaati Aayog, Rashtriya Anushit Janjati
\nAayog, Rashtriya Pichda Varg Aayog and for Muslims, Christains and
\nJains, Rashtriya Alp Sankhak Aayog. Where is any commission created
\nthus far for the backwards among the Forward Castes? Unequivocally, it
\nis the Forward Castes who too have almost the same proportion of
\neconomically underprivileged people, but where is any mechanism for
\nthe redressal of their grievances? Far from constitution of any
\ncommission for the Forward Castes, the government has begun sincerely
\nignoring the urges and aspirations of the Forward Castes. Today, the
\nBJP hierarchy is filled up with the Backward Caste people as the
\nparty’s overwhelming interest is to expand its footprints across the
\nsection of the society. Its formidable goal is to find more and more
\nnew Bhakts, where then does it have any time for the old and loyal
\nForward Caste Bhakts who have already surrendered themselves at the
\naltar of their Bhagwan BJP. They have been cheerleading their Bhagwan
\nwhen Narendra Modi talks about Hindu nationalism; when his
\ncoherts take the potshots at the Mulsims, the Forward Caste Bhakts
\ncheer them, presuming that Muslim bashing help in the Hindu
\nconsolidation. Never could they have been more off track than they are
\nnow: It is not Muslims who are the minority in India, it is the
\nForward Castes who are the real minorities in India. Owaisi’s claron
\ncall of ‘Jai Bhim’ to unite the lower castes around this slogan,
\nirrevocably establishes this fact that the real minority in India is the
\nForward Castes who, if they do not think about their own strategic
\ninterest at this crucial hour, they will be the ones at the receiving
\nend. It is, therefore, the real time for the Forward Castes to reflect
\nthemselves in the mirror and think about inventing a new Bhagwan. In
\nother words, exploring the options beyond BJP for their survival,
\nbecomes absolutely imperative for their own survival now.<\/p>\n
\nof Mithila. He is an author and a public Intellectual.:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"