Saturday, December 02, 2006

Mayhem in Maharashtra

So...some good for nothing guy from Kanpur goes and desecrates Mr.Ambedkar's statue thinking it would be good time pass,and lo!!

Dalits in Maharashtra are so offended,they spill out on the streets and start rasta rokos..pelt stones at vehicles..damage and burn government buses and trains!!

We saw a spontaneous outburst from the community wherein angry protesters called on for bandhs,forcing shops and business establishments to down shutters..Curfew was imposed in so many places ..Its still tense in Aurangabad..That's an entire district..The sheer magnitude of this outburst has confounded many..Articles have been written and editorials have come out trying to delve behind the psyche of this incidence..But seriously,what difference its gonna make anyways??

We the people of India take pride in being citizens of a vibrant democracy..an economy which is growing at a rate of more than 8% per year..stock markets are soaring and Indian cos are expanding business vigorously..There seems to be a sense of complacency when we start patting our back saying all’s well when its so clearly not..

How is this related to the above violence one may ask…but its quite important to note that the masses who went on a rampage were not just Dalits..but they were impoverished Daits in most cases..Do u really think Dalits who have risen up the economic ladder,those from the Middle and Upper Middle class community, joined ranks with these arsonists and vandals?

These are the people from the typical Zopadpatti areas which are ubiquitous in cities like Mumbai, Pune and else where..The slum pockets where u will always see a board of ‘Jai Bhim’ at the entry point,along with Mr. Ambedkar’s statue or Portrait.

There has been enormous discontent amongst the lower strata all over ,which needed just a spark to kindle the kind of protests we saw.If nothing the Khairlenji killings are testimony to that.

The fruits of economic reforms and progress are not reaching these sections of the society and they are disillusioned with the entire situation.All the benefits available to the lower castes via Reservations and such other means are lapped up by the creamy layer..These are the people who are in real need of such affirmative action..but the govt and the politicians are happily ignoring the ground situation.

That is what we saw this past week where the anger in the minds of the Dalits spilled over the streets..and the mayhem resulted..

I don’t really understand why they have to burn down trains and buses…effectively those who suffer from these bandhs and riots are the people from the lower classes themselves..For many a loss of one day’s work means having to go without a meal or two..But these protesters are never concerned with that..After all,this is their only way of staging protests..If no one is ready to listen to you,take the law in ur own hand..and go on a rampage…

The politicians will have to take notice then..Well,I think that's the mindset anyways..otherwise there was no real purpose behind wht happened in past few days..

Alright,now everyone in Maharashtra has come to know that the feelings of the Dalits were hurt immensely..what next??the situation will be calm again in 2-3 days and life will be back to normal,but isn’t it time already for the govt to introspect and look at the real issues over here??

What these Dalits need is empowerment..not through Voting ..thats the biggest sham in our democracy and we all know it..

Empowerment through economic upbringing of these backward castes and communities..Unless there are Dalits at the lowest strata of the economic ladder,there will be such riots in the future over petty issues like desecration of a statue..today it’s Ambedkar..tomm it might be Shivaji Maharaj..

The sensibilities of people are hurt over many things in our nation..from Movies to Cricket to countless other things..I used to think it shameful that people need to riot and take the law in their hand to mark their protests..But one has to look at the people who are participating in such protests..Its very easy to say that India is a Banana Republic pointing to such incidences..But until the economic disparity remains and keeps on widening the way it is right now..Indian citizens can never get the real taste of a true Republic.

I am not advocating or justifying anything over here…

Just my attempt at looking at the rationale and logic behind these irrational and illogical ways of protesting over meaningless matters to you and me..

For them..its a totally different perspective after all..


P.S : Read the speech of Raj Thackerey in TOI today ..He was here in Pune to campaign for the next PMC elections.. It was very difficult no to agree with the points he had made.After all the violence in some of the pockets was seemingly pre-planned,though there is no way to verify that...But even in my office the lady sitting next to me proclaimed these were all ploys for the forthcomnig elections,since these politicians want to divert the attention of the Dalit public from their dismal failures in getting any constuctive work done for their betterment..

Well,when you put it that way..its really hard to argue wth that!!! hehehe..

04/12/2006 10:25 PM IST

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