Commentary

Phuley and even Ambedkar’s strategy of making use of contradictions among the An Enigma Called ruling classes. But their effective fusion and “operationalisation” is to be credited to . His creative genius is Kanshi Ram reflected in the coinage of names he gave to his organisations, such as Bamcef or It is not easy to assess Kanshi Ram, either as a leader or as a Dalit Shoshit Samaj Sangharsh Samiti (DS-4) or the catchy slogans with which legacy. The unprincipled pursuit of governmental power that he he mobilised people. By declaring “jiski represented, falsely projecting this as bestowing political power on jitni sankhya bhari, uski utni bhagidari”, dalits, to the detriment of every other aspect of the dalit movement he re-emphasised the rights of people to has certainly been a great negative. Whether in the long run, his share political power and revived the strong Ambedkarite sense of dignity and self- model of politics furthers the dalit cause or hampers it is a respect in the masses who were mostly question that can be posed but not easily answered. reduced to a votebank of the upper caste leadership of the ruling class parties. He ANAND TELTUMBDE frustrated dalit youth in the form of the set an example of selflessness, sacrifice, Dalit Panthers. Kanshi Ram is not known simplicity and devotion in public life. He anshi Ram, who died on October 9, to have considered joining either of them; stayed a bachelor and cut off his relation- 2006 after a long spell of illness, rather, as his early comrades claim, he was ship with his family. He inspired confi- Khas been a veritable enigma in against the Dalit Panthers. He instead dence in people by demonstrating seem- contemporary Indian politics. What else discerned potential in an unlikely class ingly impossible feats, such as launching would one call a person, sans any re- of government employees belonging to his own newspapers and declaring his sources, coming from nowhere and still dalits, other backward classes (OBCs) intention to launch a TV channel. He posing a challenge to the mightiest of the and religious minorities and formed always talked big, never grumbling about mighty in the land that historically de- the All India Backward and Minority resources, which further drew people spised his antecedents; a politician who Employees Federation (Bamcef) on towards him. abhorred all principles and every norm, December 6, 1973. This overbearing confidence charac- made a virtue of what is normally consid- What distinguished Bamcef from many terised even his political campaigns, when ered a vice and was still most sought after other dalit outfits was the perseverance he transited from the apolitical Bamcef to by the political bigwigs; a leader who and hard work of Kanshi Ram. Of course, form DS-4 in 1981. Its theme slogan ‘brahmin, never revealed his vision of emancipation he was actively helped by local bania, thakur chor, baki sab hum DS-4’ and was still followed and revered by peo- Ambedkarite dalits, most of them coming (meaning, brahmins banias thakurs are ple as their messiah? Some people think from the Nagpur region. They are all lost thieves, the balance all are DS-4) offen- of a parallel in B R Ambedkar and make to (BSP) historio- sively excluded the upper castes and at- comparisons. A comparison between these graphy today. Since the Bamcef’s apoliti- tempted to consolidate all others. With a seemingly incomparable personalities cal format fitted well the government span of three years Kanshi Ram transfor- could be misleading; but it may be surely employees who yearned for “giving back med the DS-4 into a full-fledged political said that Kanshi Ram emerged as the big- to the society”, many people plunged into party, the BSP, launched on Ambedkar’s gest and most creative leader in the post- it and contributed their time and money birthday with a slogan ‘vote hamara, raj Ambedkar dalit movement. in a missionary mode. The Bamcef soon tumhara; nahi chalega, nahi chalega’. The Born on March 15, 1934 in a humble spread across the country, though it re- goal was based on an Ambedkarian dic- Raidasi Sikh (dalit) family in Khawaspur mained unnoticed to the mainstream media. tum that political power was the key to village of Ropar district in Punjab, Kanshi To counter this media bias, it launched its all problems. The trend of fragmentation Ram earned his BSc degree and took a own organ Oppressed Indian and later of politics through the assertion of the job in a munitions factory in Pune. It is scores of daily/weekly newspapers in most regional bourgeoisie in the 1970s that here that he was initiated into Ambedkarism Indian languages. precipitated in the Emergency and in whose by persons like the late D K Khaparde, aftermath a wide coalition was ushered his co-worker. His previous affiliation is Viable Political Constituency into power at the centre provided a con- said to be with a group headed by genial political climate for the BSP’s D Sundarayya. An incident in 1971 in The most significant contribution of strategy of exercising a lever for the balance which a qualified dalit woman was denied Kanshi Ram is his conception of bahujan of power. In elections, when even the a job impelled Kanshi Ram onto a path as a viable political constituency and a mainstream parties could not muster cour- of social activism. Mainstream dalit poli- political strategy of controlling the bal- age to contest all the seats, the strategist tics then was represented by faction- ance of power. Bahujanwad was meant in Kanshi Ram decided to do so, not to ridden Republican Party of India (RPI) in to enlarge the potential constituency to win them but to cause the defeat of and Maharashtra, although there was a claim 85 per cent of the population. The weaken the mainstream parties. This strat- rebellious eruption in response thereto of idea of bahujan may be traced to Mahatma egy resulted in rout of the Congress Party

Economic and Political Weekly November 4, 2006 4531 in different elections in . The essentially did the same but they feigned structural matters but also in all others. concept of a ‘majboor sarkar’ (dependent decency and decorum. What they did sur- Kanshi Ram never promised anything or government) in place of everybody’s claim reptitiously, Kanshi Ram did openly and spoke of any plans, programmes or pub- to provide a ‘majboot sarkar’ (strong thus exposed the prevailing double stan- lished any election manifesto. He was government) proved a stroke of genius in dards in politics. It is interesting to note acutely aware that any such thing would forcing the mainstream parties to beg the people who accused him of political constrict his strategic space. support of the BSP. It is this strategy that opportunism and unreliability repeatedly Purely, in terms of electoral politics, lent it the requisite bargaining power to sought alliances with him even after his which has somehow become a major obses- grab government power in UP repeatedly. alleged misdemeanour. Kanshi Ram had sion with all the dalit parties, Kanshi Ram’s repeatedly characterised the Congress and strategy proved quite effective, albeit in Volte-face of the BSP the BJP as the two sides of the same coin, only certain parts of the country. He gave calling one ‘sapnath’ and the other a qualitative impetus to moribund dalit In 1993 the BSP contested the UP ‘nagnath’ (both meaning the same – snake). politics, locating itself in the wider space assembly elections with another offensive If after such an indictment, these parties peopled by the downtrodden. But he identi- slogan: ‘tilak, taraju aur talwar, maaro continued to seek political alliances with fied these people in terms of their castes inko joote char’. In the wake of the demo- this unreliable person, it was their oppor- and communities. Notwithstanding the fact lition of the Babri masjid, this slogan echoed tunism as well that got exposed. Kanshi that the bahujan identity as coined by him the anti-Hindutva sentiment of the secular Ram barely occupied a formal position of is really a contradiction in terms, many forces. As part of a pre-poll alliance with political power, except as an MP from people had believed in it but none knew (SP), the BSP grabbed Itawah in UP and in Punjab. how to gear it into action. Kanshi Ram the chief ministership but when the SP’s He never made a mark as parliamentarian seemingly succeeded in this task, at least turn came as agreed, it withdrew support either. However, there may not be any in symbolic terms. Careful analysis may, and again formed the government with the other politician who was as feared as Kanshi however, reveal that a combination of support of the BJP. In the next election in Ram was in the mainstream political arena. certain historical developments and situ- 1996, the BSP had a pre-poll alliance with People believed that this master strategist ational factors made possible much of this the Congress but after the polls, it allied could throw up any number of surprises success. As he himself experienced, the with the BJP and formed the government. to catapult himself into the prime minister’s political gains that he made were not After the expiry of its term, it declined seat at any time. replicable elsewhere. As such, these gains support to the Kalyan Singh government. are bound to be short-lived and illusory At the centre, it played a key role in Unitary Control unless they are built upon to implement defeating the Vajpayee-led government in a radical programme to forge a class iden- a no-confidence motion in 1998. All this Indeed, Kanshi Ram proved himself a tity among the constituents. In the absence did not prevent the BSP from forming strategist par excellence not only in politi- of such a class-agenda, which is certainly government in UP with the BJP’s support cal matters but also in the organisational a far cry with the BSP, the party was bound again in 2002. And, after grabbing the matters. He never let any stereotypical to degenerate into manipulative politics to government power, , the protégé dictums or opinions of others influence his grab government power. The BSP’s un- of Kanshi Ram, stooped so low as to give strategy of having a unitary control over principled pursuit of power is basically a clean chit to and campaign for Narendra the organisational apparatus. Be it his driven by this exigency. It is futile to see Modi, who was condemned by the entire Bamcef, DS4 or BSP, none had any opera- in this manipulative game a process of world for his devilish role in the genocide tive organisational structure; none had any empowerment of the subject people. The of Muslims in Gujarat. The volte-face of specified lines of authority. Everyone imperatives of this kind of strategy neces- the BSP was complete in the 2002 UP derived his or her authority at the whims sarily catapult a significant part of the dalit elections. The BSP, whose election meet- of the supremo. This has basically safe- movement into the camp of the ruling ings used to begin by asking the upper guarded the BSP from internal splits and classes as has happened with the BSP. The caste people to leave the audience, now insulated it from horse trading suffered by BSP’s electoral parleys with all and sundry began to woo brahmins by replacing its all other parties, particularly those of its of the ruling classes essentially reflects bahujanwad by sarvajanwad. The slogan ilk like the RPI. Anyone defying the writ this process of degeneration and exposes it coined said: ‘hathi nahin ganesh of the supremo invited his/her individual its own class character. hai, Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesh hai!’ (The political demise without denting the party It is not easy to assess Kanshi Ram, election symbol of the BSP is not a simple in any manner. Kanshi Ram was accused either as a leader or as a legacy. Most of elephant; it is the Hindu triumvirate – of being unscrupulous in disposing of his obituaries customarily showered praises Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh.) The BSP people after using them. This is largely and paid eulogy to him as the messiah of that at one time had withdrawn support to evidenced by the fact that none of the dalits. His detractors however differ. The BJP on the charge of soft-pedalling the prominent people who supported him unprincipled pursuit of governmental Atrocity Act had itself sought to render it during his Bamcef days at Pune and Delhi power that he represented, falsely project- ineffective by saying that it was being are to be found in the BSP, except for the ing this as bestowing political power to misused. Kanshi Ram had verily blessed lone Mayawati. It is the same underlying dalits, to the detriment of every other aspect this somersault! organisational principle that sent them into of the dalit movement has certainly been Kanshi Ram had a peculiar way of res- political oblivion. Outsiders may term this a great negative. Whether in the long run, ponding to criticism of his opportunistic organisational approach feudal and auto- his model of politics furthers the dalit behaviour. Before someone accused him cratic, but in the prevailing political milieu cause or hampers it is a question that can of political opportunism, he himself it has proved to be the effective stratagem be posed but not easily answered. EPW would declare that this was his strategy. to safeguard the integrity of party. The As a matter of fact, all political parties unitary control was ensured not only in Email: [email protected]

4532 Economic and Political Weekly November 4, 2006