Not a Dalit Movement
- In
- 02:37 PM, Aug 03, 2016
- Saurabh Chauhan
It seems India is constantly on the boil; the reason now is not cow protection or Dalit suppression but Pure Politics. Without defending suppression of any caste and creed, I must say that politicization of any movement worsens the cause more than the injustice itself.
Contrary to what is being portrayed, the Dalit protests in Una, Gujarat are more about politics than social upliftment. The Boycott Call of some of the groups reminds me of the Nara Maveshi Movement of Uttar Pradesh but not in its entirety.
The current protest sounds more like an anti-establishment protest than a real battle against social evil. Since an apparently obscure vigilante group tortured Dalits suspecting them of killing a cow, this protest has taken a turn towards politics more than social justice.
One of the communist leaders has been repeatedly heard saying that it was a historic Dalit movement. Yes, it may be a movement started by some Dalits in protest but calling it a Dalit movement against social evil may not be proper way to denote it. Slogans of ‘Jai Bheem’ dominated the air during Sunday’s rally in Gujarat. The protesters seemed keen to send a message to the BJP ruled government both at the state and centre.
Reportedly some of the Dalits of Gujarat have taken a pledge not to lift animal carcasses anymore. This reminds me of the Nara maveshi movement of Uttar Pradesh-started in the 50s. Most of todays’ so called Dalit activists and leaders are not aware of it because that was a social movement while the current one is being fuelled by political forces. Except the pledge not to lift animal carcasses; nothing is similar between the Nara Maveshi movement and the Una protests.
The Nara-Maveshi Movement (NMM) began in north India around the 1950s by Dalits who wanted to discard their undignified caste-based profession. That movement was one of the impulsive factors behind the rise of Dalit politics in UP and North India today. Unfortunately, very less is written, talked about the Nara maveshi Movement. Today, when Uttar Pradesh, the biggest state of India is on the threshold of elections, this issue is being raised again. There was no politician fond of ‘Disaster tourism’ back then, now it is all about the cameras and the urge to be seen wherever and whenever tectonic issues rake up.
In the Nara-Maveshi system, male members of the Chamar community disposed of the corpses and carcasses of animals, while the women cut the umbilical cords of new-borns. During the movement, the Chamar community abstained from doing this work. This was the confrontation between suppressed lower castes and suppressive upper castes, which also turned bloody at one point. Government of the day remained inert.
In Una, yet again the issue is the cow. After Bharatiya janata Party (BJP) took over the reins of the country, several self-styled ‘Cow protection groups’ have been prowling the streets. One of these groups allegedly tortured some Dalit youth in Una, Gujarat charging them of killing the cow- an animal considered holy by Indic religions.
However, the Dalits claimed that they had been discharging the traditional duty of lifting animal carcasses. The confrontation reached a point where, Dalits have now taken a pledge that they would not lift animal carcasses hereafter. It did not stop here but a few political forces have now capitalized on it and have cohabited the Dalit protest and have taken it to a political protest.
Politics had nothing to do with social issues but the ruling BJP has become the victim of such machinations as its Gujarat Chief Minister is on her way out.
Social scientist Badri Narayan, in his paper on Nara Maveshi Movement has mentioned some incidents that are very striking. He said, “It can be said that from 1950 onwards an awareness of not disposing the carcass of dead animals had germinated in the Dalit consciousness that led to large-scale tension at different times and places from 1954 onwards.”
So, what took it so long? Dalits are still in this profession which was going on for decades and perhaps centuries.
It was the politics. Did NMM end the Dalit suppression? – answer is yes and No!!
It succeeded in liberating some of the Chamars and also created a cadre for Dalit politicians but the issue is still alive. In Uttar Pradesh, some Chamars left the profession after NMM but Chamars from other areas were brought and settled in those areas to perform Nara maveshi activity. Those are called kor chamar. The NMM has ended but the fresh pledge taken by Gujarat Dalits seeks to resurrect the memory but in a crass and obtuse political fashion.
Things are not going to bear fruit if protests are meant only to oppose the government. How strong are Dalits socially and economically? Can they survive if they shed this demeaning profession or what alternates have been provided by the society and the free market economy?
These questions are important to decide or predict the fate of this rage. Unfortunately, this protest has erupted out of anger and is taking the shape of a movement. It is likely to die in the end with yet another election song.
Comments