Right Wing Politics and Construction of Dalit Identity in India | Manoj Kumar Mishra

The most significant aspects of identity construction by the Right Wing/Brahminical Organisations have been deliberate selection of parts of historical stories and mythologies that cast the marginalized sections of Dalit communities as the real anchors of history and then, taking steps towards incorporating these aspects into broader narratives to form the cognitive basis for the socialisation of marginalized sections.

History and Mythology

The BJP-RSS combo reconstructed and retold the stories of lower caste characters within the Hindu mythologies and epics so that the lower caste groups felt dignified and the aspects of injustice done to them by upper-caste groups were deliberately undermined. For instance, the character of Eklavya from the Mahabharata was portrayed as a Dalit who subscribed to the principles of Righteousness (Dharma) and sacrificed his thumb in reverence to his guru Dronacharya. The mythology was retold underplaying the aspect of injustice done by guru-Dronacharya in order to undercut the narratives of Ambedkarite Dalits. It was witnessed how the dramatic folk plays about the Hindu God-King Rama in Uttar Pradesh featured lower-caste groups such as Nishads at the forefront of the myth and celebrated their masculine and ethical qualities much in a similar fashion the BJP presented an “angry Rama” in colourful badges, stickers and posters [1].

The BJP and its ideological backbone RSS projected Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, the father of the Indian Constitution as well as the acclaimed Dalit hero as part of Hindu culture and larger India’s civilization as his conversion to Buddhism was projected to have been occurred within the fold of Hinduism and the Buddha was depicted as a Hindu figure. The BJP in the honour of Ambedkar started Panchteerth project. It categorized the places in Ambedkar’s life into five themes: Janam Bhoomi, his birthplace; Sikhsha Bhoomi, place of his education; Deeksha Bhoomi, the place where he adopted to Buddhism; Mahaparinivaran Bhoomi, place of his demise; and Chaitya Bhoomi, place of his cremation [2].

The BJP’s discourse projected as to how the epics - Ramayana, Mahabharata, and the Constitution of India-the three documents that defined Hindu/ Indian civilization were authored by Dalits. Ramayana was written by Valmiki, Mahabharata by Ved Vyaas, and the Constitution by B. R. Ambedkar, the chairman of the drafting committee of the Constitution of India all of whom were Dalits. The party’s campaign among the Valmikis- the most impoverished section among the Scheduled Caste population engaged in sanitation work, centered around imagining the writer of the Ramayana as a member of the caste and Ram Katha Satsangs turned into sites for political and electoral consolidation for the RSS.

The BJP used lesser-known figures from medieval history to further its construction of national identities. For instance, the Dalits have been encouraged to embrace the legacy of Ravidas, a Bhakti era religious figure [3]. The right-wing organizations selected and told those parts of the stories which spoke for the marginalized sections and their contribution to Indian civilization which was portrayed as nothing but a Hindu civilization. Through these selective communication of stories, knowledge and memories of lower caste groups were constructed.

The narrative of right wing identity groups included how medieval kings who belonged to lower caste groups played a significant role towards demonstrating their strength while warring against Muslim “intruders” such as Raja Suheldev, Gokul Jat, Baldeo Pasee. The BJP-RSS used the Ramleela platforms to influence the collective psyche of locals in Chittora village located in Muzaffarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh. The annual Ramleela in Chittora always ends with the popular ‘Suheldev Bavni’ song, which describes Suheldev’s aggressive attack on Salar Ghazi Mian, nephew of Mahmud Ghaznavi, to protect the Hindu religion from the onslaught of Turks. Suheldev belonged to a lower caste community and was appropriated and projected by the BJP-RSS duo as the Hindutva crusader against Muslim invaders [4].
In a move to broaden the Hindutva fold and to enlarge the horizon of Hindu culture to make it coterminous with Indian civilization/nation, the BJP under Modi accompanied by RSS did not subscribe to the Aryan Invasion Theory that originated from within the Hindutva fold and provided the basis for different racial origins of upper and lower-caste communities. Instead, it maintained that all Hindus, regardless of caste, are of the same origin. This was in sharp contrast to Vinayak Damodar Savarkar’s and Madhav Sadashiv Golwalkar’s position who basically floated this theory to drive a wedge between upper caste and lower caste groups.

Hindutva was redefined as ‘non-Brahminical Hindutva’ to create more socially inclusive base for right wing organizations and the BJP. The lower caste groups in India historically desired to emulate the upper-caste groups considering them privileged by imbibing values and lifestyles of the latter through a process known as Sanskritisation- the term was coined by M.N. Srinivasan, an Indian Anthropologist [5]. This implied lower caste groups in India while looked to reservation for acquiring socio-economic resources also wanted to cultivate lifestyles of higher caste groups substantiating the fact that primordial identities remained resilient even though masses and elites functioned within the larger modern secular democratic politics. The BJP started recognizing this fact and attempted to fulfil the aspirations of people of lower castes by providing them with dignity and allowing them to practice same rituals that upper-castes people perform. When this desire of the lower caste groups to move upward in the caste hierarchy came in contact with economic dynamics, it became more apparent that lower caste groups were more likely to be susceptible to the construction of national identity by the BJP.

The process of globalization along with its two complementarities such as modernization and urbanization engendered a new Dalit middle class displaying significantly different traits and aspirations compared with their rural brothers. They appeared less likely to support radical politics for social reform and were also less likely to identify with the identity of Dalits as an oppressed people. Instead, this new class of Dalits sought a part in the larger Hindu identity which could alleviate their feelings of marginalization. These advantages from a healthy connection between neoliberal order and nationalism spilled over to the rural areas where rural Dalits too became less inclined towards revolutionary politics and looked for better lives for themselves within the larger umbrella of nationalism. The BJP and RSS noticed these feelings among the lower caste groups and worked towards providing more space to them by enlarging the Hindutva fold making it coterminous with the Indian nation and Indian civilizational identity [6].

Temples, Rituals and Knowledge

Construction of the Shabari temples – Shabari a lower caste but righteous character of epic Ramayana, portrayal of the relationship between Ram, Hanuman and the forest dwellers in a different light and initiatives of temple construction along with school and cleaning projects in tribal villages have been undertaken to bolster BJP’s identity construction accommodating lower caste groups and tribes. More significantly, local and little traditions popular among marginal communities of Northern India have been incorporated into BJP’s narrative [7].

The BJP along with RSS capitalised on the feelings of marginalization among lower caste groups by recognizing their specific sub-caste identity and facilitating observance of rituals by constructing small temples for their local deities. These were considered pivotal to dignity and respect of these caste groups. For instance, the Nat, a semi-nomadic scheduled caste community who are settled in some parts of Bundelkhand, wanted a temple for their deity in their locality just as the upper-caste locality had a big Shiva temple. The BJP through RSS fulfilled their aspirations. This apart, party cadres kept visiting their villages almost on a regular basis to collect first hand information about their concerns and aspirations. Social activities on a regular basis have turned the Nats and Patharkats of Gonda district into strong supporters of the BJP. To draw the lower caste communities and tribes into the Hindutva fold, remarks of Shankaracharya of Govardhan Peeth in Puri, Jagatguru Nishchalandanda Saraswati are pertinent when he recommended ‘low-cost’ temples be built for the Dalits and Tribals who convert from Christianity and Islam. The BJP and RSS were assisted by various religious gurus in the process of construction of identities.

Proliferation of Bharat Mata as a physically worshipped Hindu deity has allayed the notion that Mata is associated with only Brahmincal/Manuvadi Hindu culture. In this light, it has been argued that Bharat Mata temples now exist in many diverse parts of India, and the flexibility of the ritual practices involved in worshipping Bharat Mata and Ganges worship facilitating involvement from people of all castes, not just Brahmin priests demonstrate how Hindu culture is accommodating people of all castes and appropriating Indian space with the evolving idea of Indian civilizational identity [8].

To construct primordial identities on a modern scientific foundation the ancient Vedas were projected as the mother of science. The BJP-RSS quoted Swami Vivekananda’s claim that Hinduism (Advaita Vedanta school) was closest to science and appealed to modern scientists. Hinduism which was portrayed as coexistent with Indian civilization was presented as the most scientific religion and ancient rishis (Hindu saints or sages) were presented as scientists who knew and used rules of genetics, physics, mathematics, avionics thousands of years before the Western scientists “discovered” it. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the BJP leaders including Modi recommended recourse to Ayurveda -alternative system of scientific medicines historically rooted in Hindu/Indian civilization. Similarly, Yoga is being popularized globally as a scientific method rooted in Indian/Hindu culture to stay healthy [9].

The fact that Hindu nationalists did not derive their ideas and claim authenticity from any single God, scripture and set of laws. This allowed a relative flexibility to the nationalists to use different cultural symbols and messages suitable to their political strategies while preventing them from being labelled as fundamentalists who seek people to strictly follow a set of religious principles.

Narratives and Films

Apart from the discourse formation through speeches, interactions with people based on cultural values, messaging through social services and projection of cultural symbols and images through local cultural events such as Ramleelas, films provide platforms at the national level to manufacture narratives suitable to a party specifically the ruling party which exerts a greater control over entertainment, media and information industries. For instance, ‘The Kashmir Files’, ‘The Kerala Story’, ‘PM Narendra Modi’-a biopic on Prime Minister Modi, ‘Dr. Hedgewar’- a biopic on RSS founder Keshav Baliram Hedgewar, ‘Main Deendayal Hoon’- a biopic on Hindutva icon Deen Dayal Upadhyay and ‘Swatantrya Veer Savarkar’- a biopic on the champion of Hindu nationalist ideology, V.D. Savarkar, among others are a few examples of films largely conforming to the dominant ideology of Hindutva nationalism as promoted by the ruling government [10].

(Author: Manoj Kumar Mishra, Lecturer in Political Science, SVM Autonomous College, Jagatsinghpur, Odisha, India)