"It is nothing but a conflict to show who is bigger - Maharana Pratap or Bhimrao Ambedkar." This simple logic offered by Lal Singh, a Jatav, at the Dalit Chaupal of Shabbirpur village tells a lot about the ongoing caste tussle in Uttar Pradesh.
Besides underlining the fresh fault lines of Dalit-Rajput conflict, it tells how the aspirations of Dalits that got tremendous boost during Mayawati's rule, and even went beyond the norm at times, are clashing with new-found emboldenment of the upper castes, especially Rajputs, after Yogi Adityanath's sudden ascendency to UP throne.
"They (Dalits) should understand that the days of their dadigiri (fiefdom) are over. They cannot go beyond the law now and tame us by showing the danda of Dalit kanoon (SC/ST Act). Better they behave and live within their limits," says Ummed Singh Chauhan of Maheshpur village.
"I am not asking to unduly harass them but just that they should honestly do what they are assigned to do. Unlike before we will not allow their cattle to graze our fields now," Singh adds checking his words.
But Dalits, whose identity tasted assertion for the first time during BSP's rule and didn't get eroded during the Samajwadi regime, are resisting and refusing to buckle under the 'new social order' that Rajputs want to subject them to.
They may have succumbed a bit but for the rise of Bhim Army, a new phenomenon that began with a small WhatsApp group and is now looking to sweep across Western UP under the leadership of Chandrashekhar, the new Dalit icon.
"Its membership is growing by the day. you can safely presume it has at least 10-12 Dalit youths between the age of 16-25 as members in every village of Saharanpur," says an officer of the Local Intelligence Unit (LIU) of Saharanpur who has been asked to keep an eye on Bhim Army.
The crisis of power politics made Mayawati disown any affiliation to Bhim Sena and claim that her brother Anand is in no way connected to financing it. Caught between BJP's renewed attempts to wean away Dalits and challenger Chandrashekhar from her own clan, Mayawati is trying to fight a losing battle.
Dalit youth like Saurabh, an ITI pass out, claim that Chandrashekhar has given Dalits a new assertive voice to fight the oppressive system and is a rising challenge to Mayawati.
"Behanji has lost the touch. She fails to aspire us now. How a leader can remain a leader without allowing people to meet her freely? Chandrashekhar talks sense when he asks all oppressive lower castes to come together," he says claiming that Bhim Sena is being approached by youths from Prajapatis, Sainis and even Muslims
But if Bhim Army is uniting lower castes, a loosely knit sense of brotherhood also seems to descending upon the youth of upper castes.
"Dalits are trying to show strength. But how can Thakurs be subdued when they have a powerful history behind them like us," says Shobhit Tyagi, a Brahmin youth of Nanauta. He claims that besides Rajputs many other upper castes had joined Maharana Pratap's birth centenary celebrations.
He indicates that an idea to constitute a Maharana Pratap Sena is taking shape among upper castes through WhatsApp to counter Bhim Sena.
...& ANALYSIS
- Caste and communal tensions have been dominating the politics of Uttar Pradesh for a long time now
- Saharanpur-like clashes will continue to take place unless politicians decide not to exploit such situations
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "Saharanpur riots")
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}