Old-timers would recall BSP founder Kanshi Ram getting animated while amplifying his views on the Brahminical social hierarchy in India. Pulling out a pen from his pocket, he would hold it vertically, saying the Brahmins, Kshatriyas and Vaishyas populate the top, with the Shudras and Ati-Shudras bringing up the bottom. It’s time the pen is held horizontally, he would say, turning it by 90 degrees, making a case for equalisation of the social order rather than the annihilation of caste.

Kanshi Ram may not have realised his dream but the horizontalisation of social order appears to be happening at least in the case of his protégé Mayawati. How else could she have drawn a red line on wearing footwear on the dais of the first BSP-SP-RLD alliance rally in Uttar Pradesh’s Deoband? When Mayawati’s minder stopped Jat leader and RLD chief Ajit Singh from getting onto the stage with his footwear on, saying she wouldn’t approve of it, he took it off without fuss.

While the diktat was attributed to dust allergy, the moot question was how she managed to cope with all the mud flying around the dais in the UP dustbowl. Also, she didn’t seem to have any problem with SP chief Akhilesh Yadav sharing the stage with his sandals on. Tells you something about the power of Dalit votes she wields, as Ajit Singh needs them to win his Lok Sabha seat. At 63, Mayawati is 17 years younger than Ajit Singh, but his age didn’t seem to matter as she was intent on sending him a message. After it drew media attention, the BSP boss relaxed the footwear norm in her subsequent alliance rally, but Ajit Singh chose to skip it and sent his son instead.

Leaving one’s footwear outside the house is prevalent in the South as compared to North India. Within BSP circles, too, party leaders have to leave their slippers out while participating in meetings addressed by Mayawati. What was odd though was its selective application outside the party sphere. One hopes she realises horizontalisation means treating and getting treated equally without bias.