http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/4414cc2e-9b19-11dd-a653-000077b07658.html?nclick_check=1
Rise of a low-caste leader By Jack Farchy Published: October 16 2008 03:00 | Last updated: October 16 2008 03:00 Mayawati Kumari is India's most powerful Dalit leader, writes Jack Farchy . Known as the Dalit queen, she commands huge support from India's low- caste community, which has historically been oppressed by the Hindu upper castes but makes up about a fifth of the population. In 1995, aged 39, she became chief minister of Uttar Pradesh - the first Dalit to head any of India's state governments. In 2007 Mayawati and her Bahujan Samaj party stormed to power for the fourth time in Uttar Pradesh, at the head of a coalition of candidates from a variety of backgrounds. However, Mayawati's success has been tainted by accusations of corruption. Her government broke up in 2003 over allegations that she broke the law by approving plans to build a shopping complex near the Taj Mahal. She is famous for her extravagance and appears laden with diamonds at her birthday parties, which have become national events.
