Rohith as a Dalit Metaphor

Sunday ET
January 24, 2016
Rajesh Ramachandran
Campus politics rarely impacts the larger world outside. Over the years, agitational politics of Jawaharlal Nehru University ( JNU) and other central universities could not influence mass politics or become electoral determinants. Even the much-lamented murder of JNU students' leader Chandrashekhar Prasad in 1997 could not turn the tide of caste politics in Bihar. But the unfortunate suicide of Rohith Vemula has the potential to change the dynamics of Dalit politics.
Food for Thought
ABVP, sure, is a political outfit. But Ambedkar Students' Association (ASA) is not. It is a congregation of Dalit students who come together to fight discrimination and oppression within campuses. Old-timers of Hyderabad's universities remember how the first amorphous Dalit group fought for its right to be served food along with the upper castes.
In fact, one of their first political acts was to support the Mandal commission recommendations for other backward classes (OBC) reservation, though they did not benefit from them. Now, the ASA is a potent body that pursues radical politics along with Dalit empowerment. But its members do not necessarily have a political affiliation. For instance, Rohith started off as a Marxist and turned a bitter critic of his old party, Communist Party of India (Marxist). Most of his colleagues from ASA have been articulating views critical of all the mainstream parties. They are primarily Ambedkarites and so will never challenge Ambedkar's role in drafting the Constitution or promote a philosophy that demeans the Constitutional institutions of the country.
An Ambedkarite by definition cannot seek to overthrow the Constitution. So, it may be counter-productive for the BJP and the Sangh Parivar to dub the Ambedkarites anti-national. Students do take radical positions to be intellectually fashionable in campuses and this need not be held against them by seasoned politicians and members of Parliament. The political leadership should not act prickly about a protest march against death penalty or a beef festival.
Unlike upper caste radicals of JNU and elsewhere who would happily wear the anti-national label on their sleeve as a fashion statement, a Dalit would be scared of losing the prospects of a government job — her only promise to prosperity. This attack on Dalit students could only add to their woes and make them more strident in their opposition to the Sangh Parivar Politically this move by the BJP can only further alienate the Dalit students and their families.
The community is up in arms all across the country. It is as if Rohith has suddenly become a catalyst in radicalising, politicising and energising a community that believes in Ambedkar's dictum that Dalit salvation is through education.
People are flooding the traditional and the new media across the country and across languages with angry articles.
Cause & Effect
No instance of atrocity in the recent past — and there are terrible atrocities committed on Dalits all across the country — has made the community come together like this to express its outrage. This may not get converted into a deluge of votes in favour of one party or the other. Interestingly, every Dalit activist is not even protesting against the Sangh Parivar or the BJP.
In Kerala, a woman Dalit scholar took on the Leftists, exposing their hypocrisy, asking the Marxists why they are supporting Rohith now when they had harassed her earlier in the campus. Another one from Hyderabad used this opportunity to ask why the underground leadership of the Maoists is primarily upper caste. Yet another one quoted Rohith to prove that the CPI(M) has never had a Dalit member in its politburo.
So, Rohith's suicide has triggered a sudden crystalisation of identity politics among Dalits who feel betrayed by the system. This pan-India phenomenon may act out in different ways in various states. It may help Mayawati keep her flock together in Uttar Pradesh or help K Chandrashekhar Rao gain Dalit support in Telangana. But politicians are aware that they need to underscore their support for the Dalit cause. And that explains the visit of Rahul Gandhi and Arvind Kejriwal to Hyderabad soon after the suicide.
Kejriwal is a serious contender in Punjab, where Dalits comprise over 30% of the population and the Aam Aadmi Party hopes to upset the Akali-BJP combine and the Congress in the next polls in 2017. Beyond electoral politics, Dalits all over the country want this incident to act as a sharp reminder to the community that it is time to protect itself from the final pushback from the portals of progress. They know that if they give in now, they will never be equal citizens ever.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/rohith-vemulas-suicide-has-triggered-a-sudden-crystalisation-of-identity-politics-among-dalits-who-feel-betrayed-by-the-system/articleshow/50698953.cms