Welcome to Our Democracy of Tokenism. You ma nigga?

It’s been just four days since the Supreme Court’s affirmative order on quota in educational institutions and the dust has already settled. The anti-reservation students considered it a fait accompli and moved on. They understand, or so one hopes, that in a democracy, the will of the people must be respected. A bill passed by parliament reflects the will of the people. Forget about self-immolation or angry demonstrations, not even a whimper was audible this time. The only surviving debate is the one on TV and newspaper columns.

This debate in public forums becomes all the more important because our Parliament has not really debated a decision of such consequence. Debate is the soul of democracy but one wonders that not one of the 550 MPs thought of opposing the amendment to the constitution, even for the sake of a debate. They do not betray such unanimity in matters such as reservation for women in parliament, a bill hanging for so long it’s all but dead. Even the bill to increase their own perks had a couple of dissenting voices from the Communist parties. Ah the communists, who, in principle, claim to shun caste in their class war but have decided to shun their principles for votes.

Fig-leaf for the naked bum
No politician, however, will admit that it is about votes and that it has nothing to do with uplift of the socially backward. That successive governments have failed in helping the downtrodden. That reservation is a constitutional fig-leaf to cover their practically naked behinds. That they would not care a damn about affirmative action if it did not get them votes. That they are still clueless about providing good quality basic education to the same children they are promising seats for higher education. That some parties have been actively involved in ensuring the underdeveloped remain so lest they should lose their vote bank.

There is an obvious merit in affirmative action and by virtue in reservation. That is why our founding fathers made provisions for it. They however did not intend it to be a political tool to score votes. They did not know the government would refuse to identify the backward or measure their progress. Kurmis in Bihar or Jats in UP are backward only on paper. In reality, socially or economically, they are land-owners often accused of atrocities on dalits. Take Mahendra Singh Tikait for instance. We will come back to him later.

Mandal and Kamandal: Same indifference
Let us first examine the extreme unanimity of the Mandal and Kamandal (saffron) brigades. Both, perceived to be sitting on opposite poles, happen to be on the same side when it comes to win votes by hook or crook. There was no debate in the BJP when it came to demolishing Babri Masjid. Atal Behari Vajpayee, the self-proclaimed conscience-keeper of the nation, called it unfortunate. Over and out. Same for the self-proclaimed Prime Minister-in-waiting Advani, who presided over the obscene display of medieval might as louts climbed on the dome of the disputed mosque in Ayodhya.

Today, all politicians proclaim quotas as the state’s attempt to right the wrongs of the past. This newspaper had called the latest reservations Thakur Arjun Singh’s War on Error-ism. It’s out there now. Mayawati passes a rabidly casteist remark on Rahul Gandhi and gets away with it. Mahendra Singh Tikait calls her chamar and is arrested. It’s apparently unlawful and immoral diatribe by someone who is, at best, a nasty, obscene relic of feudal hinterland. But caste is a reality and a reality the State wants to perpetuate. Till people benefit from their caste status, be it Brahmins or Yadavs, Indians shall live with this ugly reality. So should Mayawati. If the forward caste children have to pay for the advantage of caste, Mayawati too must accept that her perceived disadvantage of caste also accrues her apparent advantages.

Can you justify Babri demolition?
But can the centuries of oppression be corrected in the 21st Century? Late in the 20th, self-styled warriors of Hinduism corrected what they called a four-century old injustice in Ayodhya. I wonder what the correction warriors would say about 6 December 1992! That RSS-declared correction did not bridge the gap between two communities, it only widened the rift. An attempt to correct historical oppression is no substitute for reconciliation.

The BJP has promised to build a temple in Ayodhya (also in Kashi and Mathura) if it ever gets an absolute majority in Parliament. Last time it was in power, BJP leaders took shelter under the common minimum programme of the NDA, which did not have the temple on its agenda. It was only in the BJP manifesto. And the BJP did not have majority, otherwise it could afford to impose the will of its majority.

Rule of the majority is not democracy. Majoritarianism would be a better word. Politicians know OBCs are greater in number and they want to include even more castes in this lot. They also know it will be impossible for a politician to speak against it and sacrifice his or her political career. The so called forward castes, some of whom are extremely poor, are the new minority and should be able to feel the pain that Muslims have experienced for decades. It’s not a nice place to be. The so-called appeasement is not enough to fill your stomach, forget protecting your rights.

Democracy
But Muslims have lived with the pain. Their forefathers ruled the country so they will never qualify for reservation. They were the oppressors like the new Hindu minority for a thousand years. Yes, there is always the chance of a token five percent quota, as there is a chance for the poor among the forward castes. The pioneers of social justice like Lalu and Mayawati have already spoken about it. But it will always remain a token. This is the democracy of tokenism, take it or leave it.

In any developing society, there is a popular clamour to be counted among the progressive. In here, there is a rush to be among the downtrodden. Rajputs want to be included in the OBC list. In Gujarat, they are already an OBC. Gujjars are not satisfied with the backward label and want to be listed as tribals. However, if you call a Gujjar an adivasi, do not expect a friendly reaction. Mayawati wants scheduled castes (the caste chamar is just one of them) to vote only for her party, but does not take pride in being addressed so. One can't help comparing it with the White-Black equation in the US. A black person can call another black person nigger, a white person cannot call a black person a nigger. A white person however call another white person a nigger, provided there is no black person around. Check out the black rap anthems. "Yo ma nigga" is a term of endearment but strictly between blacks. It sometimes substitutes "You understand what I am sayin?". "Lets get 'em booty shakin', Am in da hood now, you ma nigga?"

And finally a bitter pill for the anti-reservation brigade, who have been crying hoarse about the injustice of social justice. Where were you when Muslims were, overtly and covertly, discriminated against? Would you demand for reservation for poor Muslims as you demand for the poor among you? Till we have Us and Them, it will manifest in all forms, and not all will be pleasant. You ma nigga?