Between Constitutional Ideals and Caste Realities
The Madhya Pradesh government has fully implemented the UGC’s Equality Promotion Act in all universities and educational institutions in the state. Upper caste communities, especially Brahmins, are protesting it from all sides. Brahmin leaders and intellectuals are failing to understand that it protects SC, ST, disabled and female students. This opposition is similar to the Brahmin community’s opposition to reservations and yet also secures jobs through EWS reservations. Who teaches them this double standard?
Some time ago, at a convention of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Employees’ Organization (AJJKS), Dr. Santosh Verma, an IAS officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre, stated that reservations should remain in place until the daughters of upper castes have marital relations with his sons. This statement was widely opposed. MPs and MLAs from both the ruling and opposition parties met with the Chief Minister and submitted a petition to take action against Santosh Verma. The government released him without charge and sent a letter to the central government requesting action against him.
In support of Dr. Santosh Verma, organizations from various SC, ST, and OBC communities met in various districts, and a program called the SC, ST, and OBC United Front was held at the BHEL Dussehra Ground in Bhopal. People came together, using their own resources and the crowd numbered over fifty thousand. This instilled enthusiasm and hope among activists working within the Bahujan Samaj in Madhya Pradesh. Such programs were now being planned in every district to protest social inequality and oppression. At the same time, the central
The Bahujan Samaj was already experiencing social unrest due to Anil Mishra’s repeated insults to Baba Saheb and the injustices being meted out to SC, ST, OBC communities and employees in the state. To manage this widespread discontent, the government hastily implemented the UGC’s Equality Act.
Many upper-caste Congress leaders are actively protesting against this. Meanwhile, the Bahujan Samaj is vociferously supporting Mohan Yadav’s decision, staging protests in every district. Along with this, protests are also underway to implement 27 percent OBC reservation. The government’s upper-caste lawyers not only argue for this reservation in the Supreme Court but also keep adjourning the case. This has also fueled dissatisfaction among the OBC community with the government.
The Equality Act is facing increasing opposition in Madhya Pradesh because it has been implemented there. There are strong political reasons for its implementation in Madhya Pradesh. The social political structure remains firmly based on upper caste dominance. Even today, in Bundelkhand, we hear of Dalits being denied permission to ride a horse in a wedding procession. Whether it’s urinating on a tribal youth in Sidhi district or cutting off the headscarves of Yadav boys in Rewa, news of various forms of exploitation emerges daily. Civilized society should seriously consider who legitimizes such inhumane practices of inequality-driven humiliation and exploitation?
Such heartbreaking incidents occur every day. No widespread campaign has ever been launched by the leaders/intellectuals of the community, in the upper caste communities to protest these incidents. This is a criminal mentality that nurtures and fosters oppression. Often, even politicians merely pay lip service to such exploitation, without formulating concrete, long-term plans. In reality, they deeply disregard such atrocities. It’s absurd that the most intellectual and influential sections of society consider such a tradition a sign of their social superiority.
Sometimes, a political pretense of eating at a Dalit’s home is also enacted. It should be noted that cooked meals are already commonly eaten in Dalit homes. Furthermore, the food and utensils are brought in prepared from outside. The question here should be: when will a Dalit from an ordinary family sit in the kitchen of an elite Brahmin’s home and dine with respect with their family?
In Madhya Pradesh, those in power and educational institutions foster an antisocial structure based on inequality. The UGC’s Equality Promotion Act holds a mirror to this. Even so many years after the Constitution was enacted, various government reports continue to reveal that those who foster inequality occupy the most responsible positions in educational institutions. These powerful individuals discriminate against children from the Bahujan Samaj at every level. This isn’t just for students; we can also see it in NFS data for positions like professorship. What happens here is that if a person from a particular community becomes a professor, they become senior and head the policy- making committee. So, try to stop them as long as you can.
There is no difference between those in favor of the government and those against it in this matter. With the implementation of this bill, both opposition and support are emerging at various levels. The protests are most prominent in Bundelkhand and Baghelkhand. This is happening. The slogans raised in protest at the Shivpuri district headquarters were caste-based. The slogan used against Hon’ble Chief Minister Mohan Yadav was, “Yadav will go and graze buffaloes.”
The demand for a statue of Constitution- maker Baba Saheb Bhimrao Ambedkar on the premises of the Gwalior bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court has been ongoing for a long time. It’s not difficult to identify those who are preventing it. These people don’t even acknowledge Baba Saheb as the architect of the Constitution. They don’t hesitate to call him a supporter of the British and upper caste organizations are not taking any social action against him.
Mohan Yadav’s decision, albeit unintentionally, benefits the BJP. The Congress party is not making its stance clear on whether it supports Rahul Gandhi’s Bahujan ideology or the upper-caste Congress mentality of Madhya Pradesh. This was a prime opportunity for the Congress to rally SC, ST and OBC communities from Madhya Pradesh to Delhi, on the issue of the Samata Act and 27 percent OBC reservation. However, the Congress party’s top leadership seems content to dismiss the formality by making speeches and making statements on social media. The BJP has largely contained the discontent surrounding Dr. Santosh Verma’s issue.
Hindu saints and babas proclaim that all Hindus are brothers, but these religious leaders remain silent on the issue of injustice against Dalits and tribals and on the issue of OBC representation. Yet, these same people spread social animosity by speaking out and holding rallies against the UGC’s Equality Act. This clearly demonstrates that these individuals too are nurturing unconstitutional inequality, whereas they should be dedicated to establishing a humanistic ideology of equality, freedom, justice and fraternity.
This UGC bill in Madhya Pradesh signals bad news for the Congress party more than for the BJP. The time is ripe for the upper-caste Congress leaders to accept Rahul Gandhi as their leader and internalize the ideas he periodically expresses through his speeches. Otherwise, power will remain a mirage for them.
