Social Justice and VP's Politics

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat

Today we remember former Prime Minister V.P.Singh, who passed away unknown on this date in 2008. Singh was epitome of honesty and simplicity in public life and yet the caste Hindus made a villain of him. His government was a short tenure one yet its decisions were far reaching and have changed the Indian politics completely. the hegemony of congress is gone and it is limping back to regain composure. It was V.P who launched struggle against Reliance and other corrupted corporate in 1986 and was shunted from finance ministry to Defence Ministry by Rajiv Gandhi. Tragically, he is not remembered for his work on fighting against corruption. When he tried to implement his government's election manifesto on Mandal report, there was street violence in north India. The forces of kamandal hit the street and ignited the violence. His government fell to save a constitutional promise of protecting the Babari Mosque.

V.P.Singh was a man of ideas and real statesman in today's time. He is missed for his articulation on the current economic policies and the fight for the rights of the marginalised. Today, when our political leaders are corrupted easily by the lure of power and money, he remained an oasis in the desert of corrupt practices. It is strange that those who claim to fight against corruption never ever thought to mention his name. it is because, India's biggest corruption is caste system and VP singh touched that chord and decided to provide 27% quota for OBCs. it is during his period that this leadership gained ground yet unfortunately compromised everywhere. V.P.Singh died alone. Very few came to bid him adieu which shows that in India people who try to do something honestly and challenging their own communities will never be respected and remembered. There are numerous others who work leaving their communities and become villain in their own communities which feel that their act is challenge to supremacy of the community while the communities for whom the person die never accept him or her because they are not born in their community. This exist everywhere and at the end help the fascist communal forces to gain ground among them and crate farcical leadership which suits their identity interests. it is time the shudra leadership learn a few lessons and do not compromise with communal caste forces to deny Dalits their rights.

In the current set up when all the political parties have accepted the current corporate interest and rarely speak for people's right, time to learn a few lessons from VP's political understanding. At the end of the day it is the people who will decide and if we remain uncorrupted only then we would be able to challenge the hegemony of the caste forces. Do we have such leaders are personal uncorrupted in today's system. If there were no cases against our leaders, Congress
or BJP would not have blackmailed them to support their policies and they would not be opposing everything which is being done for their welfare. An OBC leadership would not speak against Dalit interest and vice versa. It is on these occasion, we remember V.P.Singh and his statesmanship which helped the most marginalised communities of India. Unlike his close associate, he rarely compromised with communal forces ( except during the period he was PM where he preferred to resign but not allowed Babari masjid to be raged) and believed in close association of Dalit, Bahujan, Muslim communities in india. It is only they who can dethrone the Hindutva hegemony but unfortunately business and other caste interest groups made serious inroads among these leadership and today these forces have become part of 'social justice' brigade and slogan of social justice has been forgotten and simply serving interest of a few individual leaders.

India is passing through a difficult phase when the corporate communal forces have joined hand. They have used the shudra politics to push their agenda. If Mulayam Singh and his party are promoting Reliance and opposing reservation of Dalits and Aadivasis that show how corporate and Hindutva lobby has succeeded in completely converting Mulayam Singh a leader who feel Dalits are his biggest threat. A constitutional promulgation of Dalits can not be denied in petty politics. It is on these matter that we miss V P Singh who could have played a greater role in bringing these different sections to one platform so that they can fight against those forces who are hell-bent to break unity of Dalits-OBC-Muslims and Aadivasis.