The Big Story: From the top
Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah has been insistent, despite discord within the ranks of his own party, that Hindu consolidation – particularly by bringing Dalits on board – can be the only way forward for the party. This is vital if the BJP is to realise its ambition of becoming a true national power. But the core of the BJP, once referred to as a Brahmin-Baniya (trader) party, is built on more divisive beliefs. On Wednesday, these were more than apparent.
In Gujarat, self-styled cow protection vigilantes stripped and beat up four Dalit men last fortnight for skinning a dead cow. As video of the attack went viral on the weekend, it elicited outrage from people in the state belonging to lower castes, who have had to work with carcasses for generations. The result: the biggest Dalit uprising in Gujarat in 30 years, with thousands out on the streets, dumping cow carcasses in public places and forcing all political parties to condemn the vigilantes. Coming so soon after the agitation by Patels demanding quotas in educational institutions and government jobs, Gujarat's BJP government looks more precarious than ever as elections loom next year.
In Uttar Pradesh, a vice president of the state BJP unit said on Wednesday that Bahujan Samaj Party leader Mayawati was "worse than a prostitute" in the manner in which she was selling party tickets for the upcoming elections. The resulting furore gave Opposition parties a reason to stall Parliament and forced the BJP into apologising for the statement. The BJP removed the leader, Dayashankar Singh, from all posts and expelled him from the party altogether. This weakens the party's poll prospects. After all, Dayashankar Singh was supposed to be a key to pulling in Thakur and Bhumihar votes in eastern UP.
The key takeaway – and the reason the BJP will find it hard to convincingly attract Dalit votes – is that neither of these incidents strays from the official party line. The BJP and the broader Sangh Parivar have openly supported cow protection vigilantes across the country. Besides, the practice of using crass language as a part of political rhetoric flows from the very top, with both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah setting stellar examples.
This is the BJP's problem. It may have sacked Dayashankar Singh and will eventually find a way to address the Dalit uprising in Gujarat. But it will have a hard time shaking off the impression that these incidents are organic outcomes of the way the party approaches India, not accidental errors.
The Big Scroll
An assault on Dalits may have triggered the biggest lower-caste uprising in Gujarat in 30 years.
Political Pickings
1. Congress leader P Chidambaram continues to do what he does best: cynically insist that he took the high road on matters from Afzal Guru to Kashmir (but stating these positions only when his party is not in power).
2. Parliament Watch: Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party held talks on Wednesday in an attempt to break the Goods and Services Tax Bill deadlock, though matters are still up in the air.
3. Despite the tie-up between the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the Congress in Tamil Nadu, former telecom minister A Raja, an accused in the 2G spectrum scam, will release his book In My Defence, some time this year.
4. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa said her heart reaches out to Bahujan Samaj Party leader Mayawati, against whom derogatory remarks had been made by a BJP leader earlier in the day.
5. It is still unclear what role Navjot Singh Sidhu will get if he joins the Aam Aadmi Party in Punjab.
Punditry
1. Arghya Sengupta in the Hindu examines the judiciary's position in the aftermath of the Arunachal judgment, saying it is another tectonic shift that could force government-judiciary relations to be contested.
2. "The political, social and economic cost of communal and caste polarisation triggered by this cattle fetish can be massive," says a leader in the Indian Express.
3. Kashmiri nationalism stands at the same crossroads where Indian nationalism stood a hundred years ago, writes Partha Chatterjee in the Telegraph.
Giggles
Don't Miss
Abhinav Gupta explains how mining-affected Adivasis in Chhattisgarh have forced a coal firm and the state to hear them out.
"The anger against Jindal Power Limited is especially palpable.
The villagers claim that Jindal acquired Adivasi land through illegal means and have demanded an investigation into the complete acquisition process. “The illegal way in which Jindal took our land needs to be investigated by a high level committee,” said Kanhai Patel of Kossampalli village.
Shivpal Bhagat, the sarpanch of Kosampalli, said that Jindal Power was largely to blame for the condition of the environment in the area. “The indiscriminate way in which Jindal mined this land flouting every environmental rule has left our condition vulnerable,” said Bhagat. “Any new owner also won’t be able to rectify it. They need to be held accountable”."
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