COMMENTARY

meant so much to his party and the Modi Last Lap of the Karnataka government. “Every election is impor- tant in national politics. But this one is Elections particularly important for us because success here will open the doors in the south,” he said in one such interview Radhika Ramaseshan (Jha 2018). Shah went into reasons that transcended the compulsion of making Congress Chief Minister eldom has a ruling party at the a mark in South India in another inter- Siddaramaiah faces no severe centre invested its political re- view, where he explained, sources and energies so intensively criticism for his tenure, but there S There is a sense of excitement among peo- in a state election, as the Bharatiya Ja- ple to make the BJP form the next govern- are constituents of Karnataka nata Party (BJP) has done in the ongoing ment in Karnataka. The fi rst reason is the that are unhappy with the Karnataka polls. effi cient way Narendra Modi has functioned The elections in and Uttar at the Centre. Information on the perfor- incumbent government. Sections mance of the BJP-ruled states has been Pradesh, both of which the BJP won, of the Lingayats fi rmly back the fl owing into Karnataka ... Everyone knows involved other issues that drew focus that development is possible only if you are in parts of away from the central government part of Modi’s “vikas yatra” [development central and northern Karnataka, headed by Prime Minister Narendra peregrination]. This is how the BJP has Modi. Tripura was, fi rst and foremost, been winning elections in every state. (Dhal which challenges the Congress’s Samanta 2018) prospects of a second term. The framed as a battle of “ideologies.” The age-old hatred the Rashtriya Swayamse- Notice the emphasis on “develop- Janata Dal (Secular) is also a vak Sangh (RSS), the Jana Sangh and ment” and the suggestion that Karnata- force to reckon with in south later the BJP have harboured against the ka will soar to new heights if it elects the Karnataka. However, overall, Marxists and Maoists was built up to dis- BJP to power, as it will then be assured the contest will probably be a lodge the government by of the centre’s unqualifi ed cooperation. demonising the former chief minister as Underlying Shah’s averments were two close one, primarily between the “incompetent,” “insensitive,” and even apprehensions. First, the Congress gov- Congress and the BJP. “corrupt.” The unseating of the Commu- ernment in Karnataka, helmed by Sid- nist Party of India (Marxist)—CPI(M) daramaiah, was no pushover. Despite a government in Agartala was celebrated hostile central government, Siddaramai- as a victory nonpareil by the BJP, with ah succeeded in making a mark in cer- Modi leading its triumphant march. In tain sectors. The most vital were welfare Uttar Pradesh, former Chief Minister programmes for the poor, a hallmark of Akhilesh Yadav was suffi ciently discred- politics in the South, apart from ad- ited before the BJP began campaigning. dressing caste equations and religious More than painting Yadav as a hate fi g- polarisation that often supersede social ure, the BJP continued tapping into the concerns and measures in the North. subliminal antagonisms that had accu- Second, if the Congress retains govern- mulated against Muslims amongst large ment, it would belie the BJP’s loud claim sections of Hindus. The rancour was that the “Grand Old Party” was fossil- validated by the charge that Yadav had ised and incapable of even governing a pursued and practised “vigorous minor- state, let alone the country. ity appeasement.” The Modi “sarkar” The RSS’s ideology and the BJP’s and its so-called development agenda Hindutva brand are at work. But, in were secondary to the religious polarisa- Siddaramaiah, the BJP reckoned it was tion the BJP had achieved under the garb up against a far more formidable oppo- of pointing out “appeasement.” nent than Sarkar or Yadav (Rodrigues 2018a). Amongst the voters, Siddaramai- Opening Doors to the South ah hardly provoked censure or criticism, Karnataka, however, is a different kettle and if an uncharitable remark was Radhika Ramaseshan (ramaseshan.radhika@ of fi sh. In serial interviews to dailies and made, it was half in mirth and referred gmail.com) is consulting editor, Business television channels, BJP President Amit to his reported tendency to doze off in Standard. Shah expatiated on why the elections meetings. The worst accusation against

12 MAY 12, 2018 vol lIiI no 19 EPW Economic & Political Weekly COMMENTARY him was that he pandered to the inter- to vote for the BJP and affi rm their “one- Veerashaiva Mahasabha had always sought ests of the backward castes, particularly ness” as a community that was on the reservation for the community as a whole, the Kuruba caste of shepherds to which threshold of regaining its political su- and in the 1970s and 1980s organised public protests for the same. he belongs, and the Muslims because premacy after 10 years. At the Sree Sid- A set of new developments in recent years, among the slew of the “Bhagya” schemes daganga Lingayat Mutt in Tumukur however, have placed the community at he had executed, the “Shaadi Bhagya (central Karnataka), which was de- a crossroad. While its shrinking political [marriage gift/service]” allocated `50,000 scribed as “non-sectarian” and, “non- space has made it to look towards the BJP as only for Muslim girls who were about to political” by a senior representative, the an alternative, the community has also come be married. assessment was that Siddaramaiah’s under the ideological sway of the sangh move was “politically motivated,” and parivar. This has bred much resentment Lingayat Question therefore, it was incumbent on the com- within the mutts, which were self-consciously Lingayat. The Lingayat community that predomi- munity to vote for the BJP as “one,” par- nates in central and northern Karnataka, ticularly because B S Yeddyurappa was The apolitical Lingayats I spoke to has largely turned against Siddaramaiah the party’s chief ministerial nominee. perceived a few benefi ts from Siddara- because of his government’s decision to After Veerendra Patil, the late Congress maiah’s decision: “protection” under classify the Lingayat–Veerashaiva com- chief minister, Yeddyurappa has become Articles 29 and 30 that endows them the bine as a separate religious minority. an icon for the Lingayats. The Lingayats right to establish and administer educa- The BJP promptly propagated the argu- abandoned the Congress after Rajiv tional institutions of their choice and ment that the decision was a gambit to Gandhi publicly snubbed Patil. claim grants-in-aid without discrimina- undermine its hold over the Lingayat– Rodrigues (2018b) contextualises the tion, exemption from the Right of Chil- Veerashaiva, and further that it was a development in a historical perspective. dren to Free and Compulsory Education ploy to destabilise the “Sanatana Dhar- While the demand to declare Lingayats/ Act, 2009, exemption from reserving ma” and by implication the Hindu reli- Veershaivas/Veerashaiva–Lingayats as a seats for the Other Backward Classes, gion itself. In Haveri (north Karnataka), separate religion came to be voiced from the Scheduled Castes, and Scheduled Tribes, the BJP encouraged bands of young Lin- 1940s, the demand did not enjoy support as and giving preference to donors over long as the community had political prepon- gayats to tell members of the community derance. Besides, a large section of Lingay- others. However, the spin-offs were not who were marked out as “pro-Congress” ats hailing from lower castes were brought enough to ensure a decisive split in the as well as Lingayat leaders of the Congress, under reservation benefi ts although the Lingayat votes between the Congress

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Economic & Political Weekly EPW MAY 12, 2018 vol lIiI no 19 13 COMMENTARY and the BJP, the major claimant, except whose votes were split between the Based on the political presence and in seats such as Davanagere North where Congress and the JD(S) in 2013, are strengths of key parties in the various the Congress has fi elded a strong and rooting in larger numbers for the JD(S) regions of Karnataka, one can expect a popular candidate. in the hope that H D Kumaraswamy, the close fi ght between the BJP and Congress. scion of H D Deve Gowda, will be the There is no wave in the state for a par- Siddaramaiah’s Touch kingmaker after 15 May. ticular party. The BJP has recovered much Siddaramaiah’s Lingayat gambit may To sum up, the BJP’s original game of the ground it yielded to the Congress in not fetch him the dividends he expects. plan of polarising Hindus and minorities its original strongholds in central and His welfare measures, conceived and has not taken off. This is true even in northern Karnataka (after Yeddyurappa implemented as a holistic package for parts of coastal Karnataka where it had rebelled and fought independently) and the disempowered, the marginalised, whipped up a concerted propaganda has a robust organisation, and has ac- and the aspiring classes, have posed a over the “killing” of several of its work- quired important caste leaders. The Con- formidable challenge to the BJP that is ers, which proved to be largely fi ctitious. gress is counting on marginalising the busy weaving theories to establish part Where the Lingayat vote is dominant, JD(S) in the Mysuru region that has 61 of ownership over some of the more im- the BJP is in a commanding position. the 224 assembly seats and getting the pactful schemes. The Congress has counted on Siddara- near-total backing of the Kurubas (who Take the “Anna [grains] Bhagya” maiah’s pro-poor image and projects exist in practically every constituency in scheme that is perhaps one of the most and an Urs-like caste regrouping to win big and small numbers), some other back- ambitious and expansive of India’s food a second term. The JD(S) has suffered ward castes, Dalits, and minorities. security programmes for those living considerably from the insinuations that below the poverty line (BPL). It covers it is ready to do business with the BJP References 1.08 crore families and 3.8 crore persons. for a second time in order to have a shot Dhal, Samanta Pranab (2018): “New BJP Each BPL family gets 7 kg of rice per at power because the Muslims have Government in Karnataka Will Follow Stand- ards Set by Narendra Modi: Amit Shah, BJP month free of cost, 1 kg each of wheat turned away from the party. Indeed, a President,” Economic Times, 5 May. and lentils, cooking oil at a subsidised common sight in the JD(S) strongholds Jha, Prashant (2018): “Will Get Absolute Majority in Karnataka, Says Amit Shah,” Hindustan price of `24 per litre, and iodised salt at are groups of party workers reaching out Times, 8 May. `2 per packet. The BJP’s claim was that individually to Muslim homes in minority- Rodrigues, Valerian (2018a): “Battleground Karnataka,” Hindu, 24 January. the centre had procured rice at `32.64 dominated areas to counter the percep- — (2018b): “From Reform to Politics,” Indian per kg and supplied it to Karnataka at tion, but, perhaps, it is too late. Express, 31 March. `2 per kg, thereby picking up `29.64 per kg of the tab for the subsidy. Modi’s Journal Rank of EPW cheerleaders demanded that the scheme should be renamed as the “Modi Bhagya” Economic and Political Weekly is indexed on Scopus, “the largest abstract and citation scheme. To this, Siddaramaiah asked: if database of peer-reviewed literature,” which is prepared by Elsevier N V (bit.ly/2dxMFOh). it was a BJP-sponsored one, why was it Scopus has indexed research papers that have been published in EPW from 2008 onwards. not similarly implemented in Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Haryana where the BJP The Scopus database journal ranks country-wise and journal-wise. It provides three broad sets was in power? of rankings: (i) Number of Citations, (ii) H-Index, and (iii) Scimago Journal and Country Rank. Presented below are EPW’s ranks in 2015 in India, Asia and globally, according to the total cites Caste Dynamics (3 years) indicator. Caste was another dimension in the ● Highest among 37 Indian social science journals and second highest among 187 social strategies evolved by the three players, science journals ranked in Asia. including the Janata Dal (Secular)—JD(S) ● Highest among 38 journals in the category, “Economics, Econometrics, and Finance” in the that is pitted against the Congress in Asia region, and 37th among 881 journals globally. mostly straight fi ghts in 61 seats in the Mysuru region. The BJP has the assured ● Highest among 23 journals in the category, “Sociology and Political Science” in the Asia region, and 17th among 951 journals globally. support of the Lingayats, and that of the Nayaka tribes, the Brahmins, and a section ● Between 2009 and 2015, EPW’s citations in three categories (“Economics, Econometrics, of the backward castes. Like former and Finance;” “Political Science and International Relations;” and “Sociology and Political Chief Minister Devaraj Urs, Siddaramaiah Science”) were always in the second quartile of all citations recorded globally in the Scopus database. regrouped sections of the backward castes, Dalits, and minorities. However, For a summary of statistics on EPW on Scopus, including of the other journal rank indicators the sense among some of the backward- please see (bit.ly/2dDDZmG). caste groupings was that he had “favoured” EPW consults referees from a database of 200+ academicians in different fields of the social the Kurubas at the expense of other castes. sciences on papers that are published in the Special Article and Notes sections. The Vokkaligas, an intermediate caste,

14 MAY 12, 2018 vol lIiI no 19 EPW Economic & Political Weekly