Caste politics come full circle By Sudha Ramachandran
BANGALORE - Upper-caste Brahmins, whose relevance in the electoral arena
dwindled over the past few decades thanks to their relatively small numbers,
are wielding significant influence in the general elections scheduled for next
month. In fact, the master strategists and spin doctors of the main political
parties in the poll fray are Brahmin.
"Most of the country's political strategists and backroom boys - those running
the country's political war rooms, advising party leaders, drawing up electoral
battle plans, negotiating tricky alliances, crunching numbers or just working
on slogans and spin - are from among the 'twice-born' [Brahmins]," said Smita
Gupta in an article in the newsmagazine Outlook.
Jairam Ramesh, the election coordinator of Congress - the lead
party in the ruling coalition - and author of several of its policy documents,
is Brahmin. As is the chief election strategist of the Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP), Arun Jaitley. Orissa chief minister and president of the Bharatiya
Janata Dal Navin Patnaik's chief advisor is Pyarimohan Mohapatra, a Brahmin. So
is the spokesperson of the Janata Dal-Secular, Y S V Dutta. Even the Bahujan
Samaj Party (BSP), a party of low-caste Dalits (the former "untouchables"), has
a Brahmin, Satish Chandra Mishra, as its chief strategist.
What is more, the Brahmin vote is being assiduously courted by the BSP in the
electorally crucial state of Uttar Pradesh. The party has given a fifth of the
seats it is contesting in Uttar Pradesh to Brahmin candidates. Of the 80 seats
up for grabs in Uttar Pradesh, 20 have been given to Brahmins as against 17 for
Dalits. In the 2004 general election, the BSP fielded just eight Brahmin
candidates.
Traditionally employed as priests, scholars and teachers, Brahmins are at the
top of India's caste hierarchy. But constituting roughly 5% of the population -
in several states especially in southern India they account for a mere 1-3% of
the population - their electoral clout has been limited. This has been further
circumscribed by the assertion of the Other Backward Castes (OBCs) in the
country's politics.
Many will argue that Brahmin influence in the power structure never diminished.
Indeed, despite reservations for Dalits and OBCs, India's bureaucracy is
significantly Brahmin. Many Brahmins figure among advisors to ministers and top
officials in various departments. According to the Backward Classes Commission,
Brahmins account for 37% of the bureaucracy.
While their presence in the bureaucracy is significant, Brahmins had become
near non-entities in the electoral arena. Although several prime ministers were
of Brahmin origin, the number of Brahmins in parliament declined steadily over
the decades. The present Lok Sabha (Lower House of parliament), for instance,
has only 50 Brahmin MPs - 9.17% of the total strength of the house, down from
19.91% in 1984.
While a head count of Brahmin voters, candidates or MPs would not amount to
much, their numbers among the party strategists and spin doctors is
significant. And several parties are eyeing the Brahmin vote in what is likely
to be a close election and are fashioning their strategies with that in mind.
Take the BSP for instance. Its leader, Mayawati, who is the chief minister of
Uttar Pradesh, was once notorious for spewing venom on Brahmins and other upper
castes. Her rallying cry was "Tilak, Tarazu aur Talwar, inko maaro joote chaar"
(Thrash the Brahmin, the Bania and the Rajput with shoes). But in recent years
she has been aggressively wooing Brahmins. And Mishra, her Brahmin
advisor-cum-strategist is at the forefront of this courting of the community.
In the 2007 assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, the BSP joined hands with the
Brahmins. The Dalit-Brahmin alliance propelled the BSP to power.
While this was not the first time that the BSP formed a government or the first
time a Dalit woman had become chief minister, the BSP's 2007 victory was
historic as it was able to form a government on its own. And that had become
possible because of the crucial support it received from Brahmins in the
elections.
What prompted Mayawati to reach out to Brahmins? Caste arithmetic. The BSP has
the support of the Dalits in Uttar Pradesh - it is sure of 21% of the vote in
the state. But this meant only 100 seats or a fourth of the 403-seat assembly.
It needed to draw in support from other castes and communities to come to
power. With the OBCs unlikely to vote for Dalits - it is the OBCs that are the
main oppressors of Dalits today and are in daily contact and conflict with them
- Mayawati looked to the Brahmins.
As for the Brahmins, lacking a party to support - the BJP, which has
traditionally attracted their votes, is in disarray in Uttar Pradesh - they
accepted the BSP's hand.
With the Dalit-Brahmin alliance proving to be rewarding in the 2007 Uttar
Pradesh assembly election, Mayawati is now replicating that strategy for the
general elections. And it is not just in Uttar Pradesh that she is reaching out
to Brahmins. Brahmins figure among her party's candidates in other states such
as Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra as well.
The party that is the most agitated by the BSP's wooing of Brahmins is the BJP,
which has traditionally drawn the Brahmin vote. But BJP sources say that
outside Uttar Pradesh, Brahmins will continue to vote for its candidates. The
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the Hindu organization that provides the BJP with
its ideological moorings, is overwhelmingly Brahmin and its cadres are fanning
out across the country to win support for the BJP.
While the Brahmin vote is being assiduously courted in Uttar Pradesh, this is
not the case in south India where the Brahmins are numerically insignificant
and politically marginal. But even here, a Brahmin woman, Jayalalithaa, has
dominated one of the leading parties in Tamil Nadu and even became its chief
minister.
For centuries, kings derived their legitimacy from the ritual investiture of
their Brahmin priests. Brahmins played the role of advisors to kings. While the
kings were hardly puppets in the hands of the Brahmins, the latter did wield
immense influence and power.
Things changed in Independent India after 1947. The numerically insignificant
Brahmin became politically irrelevant. But their influence in the electoral
arena is growing again. Their vote in the larger states matters. Today
political parties are looking to Brahmins to plot and strategize their victory
in the polls.
The Brahmins, it seems, are back in the political game.
Sudha Ramachandran is an independent journalist/researcher based in
Bangalore.
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