[This is the BJP's problem. It may have sacked Dayashankar Singh and will eventually find a way to address the Dalit uprising in Gujarat. But it will have a hard time shaking off the impression that these incidents are organic outcomes of the way the party approaches India, not accidental errors.]
http://scroll.in/article/812170/the-daily-fix-bjp-has-only-itself-to-blame-for-dalit-attacks-in-gujarat-and-the-mayawati-slur BJP has only itself to blame for Dalit attacks in Gujarat and the Mayawati slur 7 hours ago Updated 7 hours ago Rohan Venkataramakrishnan >From the top Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah has been insistent, despite discord within the ranks of his own party, that Hindu consolidation – particularly by bringing Dalits on board – can be the only way forward for the party. This is vital if the BJP is to realise its ambition of becoming a true national power. But the core of the BJP, once referred to as a Brahmin-Baniya (trader) party, is built on more divisive beliefs. On Wednesday, these were more than apparent. In Gujarat, self-styled cow protection vigilantes stripped and beat up four Dalit men last fortnight for skinning a dead cow. As video of the attack went viral on the weekend, it elicited outrage from people in the state belonging to lower castes, who have had to work with carcasses for generations. The result: the biggest Dalit uprising in Gujarat in 30 years, with thousands out on the streets, dumping cow carcasses in public places and forcing all political parties to condemn the vigilantes. Coming so soon after the agitation by Patels demanding quotas in educational institutions and government jobs, Gujarat's BJP government looks more precarious than ever as elections loom next year. In Uttar Pradesh, a vice president of the state BJP unit said on Wednesday that Bahujan Samaj Party leader Mayawati was "worse than a prostitute" in the manner in which she was selling party tickets for the upcoming elections. The resulting furore gave Opposition parties a reason to stall Parliament and forced the BJP into apologising for the statement. The BJP removed the leader, Dayashankar Singh, from all posts and expelled him from the party altogether. This weakens the party's poll prospects. After all, Dayashankar Singh was supposed to be a key to pulling in Thakur and Bhumihar votes in eastern UP. The key takeaway – and the reason the BJP will find it hard to convincingly attract Dalit votes – is that neither of these incidents strays from the official party line. The BJP and the broader Sangh Parivar have openly supported cow protection vigilantes across the country. Besides, the practice of using crass language as a part of political rhetoric flows from the very top, with both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah setting stellar examples. ***This is the BJP's problem. It may have sacked Dayashankar Singh and will eventually find a way to address the Dalit uprising in Gujarat. But it will have a hard time shaking off the impression that these incidents are organic outcomes of the way the party approaches India, not accidental errors.*** [Emphasis added.] -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
