JALANDHAR: In the last week of October 1951,
B R Ambedkar’s visit to Punjab was the biggest political event in the state. A large number of people gathered for his three public meetings, which made headlines. The current competitive politics around Ambedkar’s statues coincides with the 69th anniversary of that visit and is replete with symbolism. The
BJP is garlanding statues to appropriate his legacy and woo Dalit voters in Punjab in the wake of breaking of alliance with SAD while Dalit groups, including BSP, are washing the statues in show of opposition.
In 1951, a big public meeting was held in Jalandhar on October 27. Ambedkar addressed rallies in Jalandhar and Patiala on October 28 and 29 respectively. This year, the BJP decided to organise the Dalit Insaaf Yatra on October 22. After the police foiled the yatra at source, BJP announced that it would garland its statues across Punjab. This led to friction between the saffron party and Dalit groups, including the BSP.
The BJP’s desperation to woo Dalits is understandable, given the fact that scheduled castes constitute around 32% of the population in the state. Another crucial factor is that Dalits in the state don’t have a monolithic identity. Two of the biggest SC communities – Adidharmi/Ravidassia and Valmiki/Mazhabis remain sharply divided. However, they unite on major Dalit issues. The unity is also evident in their opposition of the BJP. People of both communities united for the Bharat Bandh of April 2, 2018 despite bitterness over the ticket distribution for 2017 assembly elections. Both communities staged concerted protests across Punjab over the Hathras incident too.
K C Sulekh (94), who was general secretary of Punjab Scheduled Caste Federation, which had organised Ambedkar’s visit, said he conducted stage on that day too. “He spoke very passionately and the biggest thrust of his speech in Jalandhar was unity among Dalits to get their rights. At that time, the two biggest SC communities appeared to be united as people from both turned up in big numbers,” he recalled.
Asked when unity among SC communities started fragmenting, he said, “It started soon after the dominant political party ensured that they remained divided.”
BSP founder Kanshi Ram also tried to bring Dalits together on one political platform but the party ended up remaining that of Ravidassia/Adi-dharmi community for the most part.
Darshan Ratan Rawan, who founded Adi Dharam Samaj (ADS) -a major organisation of the Valmikis, admitted that there was a sharp divide in both the communities. “Ours is the most deprived community while Adi-dharmis have become a forward community among SCs. Our community feels that Adi-dharmis are dominating,” he said.