http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Tikait_drama_shows_Mayas_growing_clout/articleshow/2921540.cms
Tikait drama shows Maya's growing clout 3 Apr 2008, 0242 hrs IST,TNN NEW DELHI: Despite BKU chief M S Tikait finding the support of SP, Congress and BJP, he chose not to take on the might of the state. This points, on the one hand, to the respect that the Dalit CM of UP has grudgingly extracted from her rivals. It also means that the time when abusive references, which SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav's brother Shivpal called as "normal village language", could be used with impunity have gone, perhaps for good. Jat-Jatav equations in western region — extending from glitzy Noida, passing through prosperous Meerut and extending upto Moradabad — have never been easy, with the socially superior caste treating dalits as adjuncts. In the 1990s, in a much-reported case, dalits of a village near Agra were beaten and had to abandon their habitat for daring to seat a groom on a mare — a privilege restricted to higher castes. With the entire non-BSP political bloc having thrown its weight behind Tikait as it saw an opening in the confrontation to corner Mayawati, the state government's victory is seen to mean that the rampaging elephant that emerged from EVMs in May last year is yet to lose steam. Sums up sociologist Mahesh Rangarajan, "It reflects the social erosion of the power of the landed castes coupled with the political ascendancy of Mayawati." But the BSP supremo has done well by shrewdly seizing a rare chance to play the 'dalit leader' after 14 months of championing the cause of 'sarvjan'. It was seen as crucial since her strident 'sarvjan' call was giving occasion to political rivals to question her commitment to the dalit cause. The lead on this front has been taken by Rahul Gandhi. Canny as she is, Mayawati has turned the Tikait episode into an exhibition of her resolve to implement the SC/ST Atrocities Act, following up a victorious press conference to lambast previous regimes for not implementing the Act while asking National Commission for SCs chairman Buta Singh to resign for not taking up Tikait's remarks. Her determination in bringing Tikait to heel will help convince her followers that claims that SC Act was being diluted to barter the dalit cause for power is incorrect. In May, UP government directed police to make preliminary inquiries in case of heinous crimes before lodging an FIR under the Act. Rivals saw it as a bid to gain confidence of her new constituency of upper castes, who have been resentful of the Act's "draconian" provisions. Buta Singh had called the "dilution" a betrayal of dalits and forced the state onto the backfoot. The Act's place in BSP's evolution is significant, with the party having held it up as the symbol of social empowerment of dalits in its early years. So much so, former BJP CM Kalyan Singh's directives to police to soften the law after taking up the top job from Mayawati under a rotational CM pact, led to her pulling out of state government. While Mayawati played her cards well, observers feel other political parties seem to have faltered in throwing their lot behind Tikait. All the more so when Tikait proved to be a damp squib. ------------------------------------ -- Subscribe to ZESTCaste by sending a BLANK email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] OR, if you have a Yahoo! ID, by visiting http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/joinYahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
