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The Case of Bhartiya Kisan Union

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The Case of Bhartiya Kisan Union Traditional Institutions and Cultural Practices vis-à-vis Agrarian Mobilisation: The Case of Bhartiya Kisan Union Gaurang R. Sahay Based on a study of the Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) and the farmer/ peasant movements in western Uttar Pradesh (UP) during 1987-89, this paper deals with the relationship between traditional socio- cultural institutions and cultural practices on the one hand, and agrarian mobilisation, on the other. It is shown that, during 1987-89, when the BKU organised various successful agitations and move- ments against the state by mobilising the farmers/peasants of western UP on a large scale, its strategies of agrarian mobilisation were rooted in and modelled on the traditional sociocultural system of the local agrarian society. The BKU used the primordial institutions of caste and clan to organise and mobilise the farmers; it used tradi- tional cultural practices or symbols to generate consciousness, senti- ments and enthusiasm; and it used the traditional institution of panchayat for discussions and deliberations, and to address the farmers. The paper also shows that the BKU began declining when it entered electoral politics and started mobilising the farmers on political lines. In this paper, I have tried to delineate the relationship between traditional cultural practices and institutions of caste, clan and panchayat, on the one hand, and agrarian mobilisation, on the other, by making a case study of the Bhartiya Kisan Union (hereafter BKU). The BKU has been, from about 1986, the champion of the farmers or peasants of western Uttar Pradesh (hereafter UP). It is found that, during 1987-89, the BKU organised a number of highly successful movements or agitations against the state by successfully mobilising the farmers and effectively deploy- ing the cultural practices and traditional institutions. In fact, its strategy of agrarian mobilisation was largely modelled upon the functioning of these practices and institutions. Caste and Agrarian Mobilisation: A Review I have carried out this work against the background of a number of imp- ortant empirical studies on the subject of caste and agrarian mobilisation. SOCIOLOGICAL BULLETIN, 53 (3), September-December 2004, Pp. 396-418 Traditional Institutions and Cultural Practices … 397 The nature and content of this scholarship is rich and heterogeneous, and it provides us at least two different and, to an extent, contradictory theoretical understanding of the subject. On the one hand, a set of studies (see, for example, Moore Jr. 1967; Singh 1974; Sarkar 1979; Omvedt 1981) strongly puts forward the view that the caste system has always obstructed the process of agrarian mobilisation for rural transformation in India. Barrington Moore Jr. (1967) argues that Indian peasants are deeply divided into castes, facing different life situations in the rural social formation. Hence, they cannot unite under the banner of a single leader- ship for agrarian or rural transformation. This apart, the institution of caste, through the process of ideological interpellation, makes subor- dinate or weaker castes docile and passive and generates primordial loyalties among them towards the dominant castes. That is why, he reasons, there have not been notable cases of peasant rebellion or move- ments in Indian history. Rajendra Singh (1974), in his study of the land-grab movement in eastern UP, observes that the caste system created many problems for the movement. The movement failed to realise its objectives mainly because the participants–peasants and workers–were differentiated into different groups based on their caste affiliation. During the movement, Singh writes: The sharp polarisation of ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’ could not take place as a large number of landless exterior castes like Chamars, Goriats and Bhataits kept intact their primordial loyalties to the bigger landholders on whose farms they have been working for generations. The traditional relation of these Goriats and Bhataits with the families of the landholders continued to exist and in most of the instances they leaked inside information of the plan and strategies of the movement (Ibid.: 61). He further writes that the dominant castes in the villages ‘exploited all along what Alavi calls “primordial loyalties” … of Chamars, Goriats and Bhataits and of their kin and clan members who were in their opposite camp. Primordial loyalties and caste loyalties transcended the class situa- tion. This enabled the big farmers to defeat the grabbers everywhere’ (Ibid.: 68). Omvedt (1981) also finds the caste system to be an impediment in the process of agrarian consolidation and mobilisation. She argues that in Indian rural society it is almost impossible to mobilise people in a move- ment from across caste lines for social change or transformation. To quote her: 398 Gaurang R. Sahay The existing class/caste complex also provides fertile ground for the capi- talist farmers to use casteism to appeal their kin among the middle peasants and labourers, to divide the rural semi -proletariat, and to attack its dalit and adivasi sections (and their women) who are often the most militant. While ‘atrocities against Harijans’ are occurring throughout India, it is precisely in the more capitalistically developed areas, where the general class-caste structure described above is most fully present, that they are taking the most widespread forms with even poor and middle peasant caste Hindus sometimes participating in attacks on dalits on a mass basis… (Ibid.: A- 157). K.K. Sarkar (1979) also holds somewhat similar views. He argues that there was a lack of collective effort and unity among the peasants and workers who participated in the Kakdwip Tebhaga movement. This happened mainly because ‘the social system of Kakdwip itself had certain peculiarities unfavourable for the growth of organisation of the peasants at least in its initial stage’ (Ibid.: 473). On the other hand, some notable empirical contributions (see, for example, Shah 1974; Siddiqi 1978; Henningham 1982; Dhanagare 1983; Gupta 1997) demonstrate that there is no cognitive hiatus between caste and agrarian mobilisation. In fact, the institution of caste plays a signi- ficant role in organising and mobilising the farmers/peasants for agitation and movement. It provides a solid platform to the farmers/peasants for coming together for the realisation of their common goal. Ghanshyam Shah (1974) observes that, during Kheda and Bardoli Satyagrahas, caste and its organisations were used to bring about unity within and among various castes. In his study of the agrarian unrest in north India during 1918-32, M.H. Siddiqi finds that ‘the existence of castes helped the peasant movement to proceed with greater cohesion and speed and that the supposed irreconcilability between class and caste did not exist in the rural society of Oudh’ (1978: 214). In his study of peasant movements during 1920-50, D.N. Dhanagare (1983) argues that in some of the movements the institution of caste was successfully used to bring people together. Stephen Henningham (1982) also holds somewhat similar views vis-à-vis caste in his study of peasant movements in north Bihar during the early twentieth century. Dipankar Gupta (1997) argues that the emergence and development of the BKU in western UP is intimately related to the culture and tradition of Jats, a dominant caste of the area. To quote him: The BKU draws its sustenance from certain aspects of Jat culture and tradition while ignoring others. In addition, the fact that these cultural aspects came to the forefront was because they were in harmony with, and Traditional Institutions and Cultural Practices … 399 thus encouraged by, actual social practices. The Jat ethos of equality plays a very important role in understanding the character of the BKU (Ibid.: 2). The Data The data for this paper have been accumulated primarily by observing the functioning of BKU and its agitations and movements. Discussions with the BKU office-bearers as well as the farmers including its members, over various issues or themes of this paper also provided valuable insights. This apart, my erstwhile colleagues and students at the Janta Vedic (PG) college, most of whom hail from the villages of Baghpat, Meerut and Muzaffarnagar districts of western UP, provided me important information. They also sensitised me to some of the issues axial to this paper. The college where I worked till recently (the end of June 2004) is located in Baraut (Baghpat district) and surrounded by villages. I have visited some of the villages from time to time and spent time among the farmers for this study. My fieldwork in the villages of Baghpat district (Chhaprauli and Nirpada) and Muzaffarnagar district (Bhaju and Sisauli) started when Dipankar Gupta provided me an opportunity for assisting him in his work on the BKU and political life of the western UP farmers. Later on, I conducted fieldwork in association with Stig Toft Madsen. Both Gupta and Madsen have acknowledged these parts of my fieldwork in their respective works (see Gupta 1997; Lindberg and Madsen 2003). Farmers/Peasants of Western Uttar Pradesh: An Introduction While dealing with the BKU-led agrarian mobilisation and movements in western UP, I have used the terms ‘peasant’ and ‘farmer’ interchange- ably. This may be intriguing, as in most sociological/anthropological studies, including the recent ones, the term ‘peasant’ denotes the socio- cultural life of agrarian community, whereas the term ‘farmer’ denotes its economic life. Peasants have generally been conceptualised as sluggish, obstinate, traditional or parochial and backward-looking vill- agers who do not look beyond the ‘bamboo hedge’. Owing to these traits and their communitarian character, they are considered to be, more often than not, non-ideological and culturally indifferent to politics and the market economy. Theodor Shanin opines that The political impact of the peasantry has been generally marked by its sociopolitical weakness. The vertical segmentation of peasants into local communities, clans and groups and the differentiation of interests within 400 Gaurang R.
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