Politics of social justice vital in Bihar

Bihar is a unique State of India where political and social justice is more important than economics and economy. Nitish Kumar and Tejashwi Yadav joining hands again has much more to do with the State's political and social justice than anything else. Kumar belongs to Kurmi caste and Tejashwi is from the Yadav community.

Kurmi and Yadav are socially and educationally backward castes in Bihar but claim to be strongly wedded to the cause of political and social justice. Kurmi is numerically not a major community in the State but politically very active. Yadav is a dominant political caste in Bihar and perhaps the largest single community in the State.

Before the advent of Lalu Yadav-Nitish Kumar-Ram Vilas Paswan and Sharad Yadav – four pillars of Mandal politics, an outcome of the implementation of Mandal Commission recommendations in government jobs, Bihar was the political fiefdom of Rajput, Bhumihar, Brahmin – rich and politically dominant castes in the State.

Though their political supremacy was always challenged by Yadav, Kushwaha and Kurmi, who had also formed Triveni Sangh, for political justice, that is, power in an electoral set up should rest with those in majority, they were never in power by virtue of heading an elected government. Before 1990, there were two OBC Chief Ministers – Daroga Prasad Rai, BP Mandal, and even Satish Prasad Singh, but for fewer months or days.

Ram Sunder Das was a prominent Dalit leader, who served the state as its Chief Minister for a few years. Things drastically changed post-Mandal in Bihar. Since 1990, Bihar has been under the rule of a dispensation led and dominated by leaders of communities, which were politically marginalized despite their numbers. It is, however, a different matter that notwithstanding their government for almost 32 years, OBCs, Dalits and minorities continue to be deprived of their rightful share in state opportunities and facilities.

OBCs and Dalits account for the majority of the State population. Along with Muslims, they make a strong political group. Unfortunately, they are still a disjointed lot. They are vote banks not only for the parties of Lalu Prasad Yadav and Nitish Kumar but also for the BJP, the Congress and the Left outfits. Politically, socially and economically exploited communities have consolidated themselves significantly thanks to the positive impact of welfare schemes and affirmative measures like reservation but still have miles to go.

Lalu Prasad Yadav gave much needed political and social voice and cushion to the voiceless masses of the State. But he could not save himself and his political space from the trappings of those who were not able to digest the rise of subaltern political assertion. Nitish Kumar himself was the first to ditch Lalu and decided to choose his own independent political course. He dislodged Lalu Prasad Yadav in the Assembly polls of 2005 with the help of the BJP, and since then he has been at the core of Bihar politics.

The rise of the BJP and the Janata Dal-United, the party of Nitish Kumar, positioned the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), which is headed by Lalu Prasad Yadav, father of Tejashwi Yadav, as the principal opposition party in the State.

BJP-JDU consolidated themselves as pro-development parties, while the RJD remained committed to its core issue of social and political justice, an issue also so dear to Nitish Kumar, who successfully polarised Maha Dalits and Extremely Backward Castes (EBCs) in his favour.

The RJD under Tejaswi expanded its support base by focussing on the issue of employment, ever burgeoning vacancies in the government sector, free and fair implementation of reservation policies and so on. All this went in favour Tejashwi and his RJD emerged as the single largest party in the last assembly polls – both in terms of seats won and the number of votes polled.

The BJP gained a lot but the JDU fared badly. It was a kind of alert for Nitish Kumar and his core team. They were scared of being redundant if they continue to compromise with the agenda of political and social justice. Kumar's old friends like Upendra Kushwaha were said to be in favour of running the government with the RJD's support but their ideas were always vetoed by some of Kumar's key aides.

The BJP did not make a mistake in reading the writings on the wall of the JDU. It knew that the only way to keep the JDU and the RJD away from each other was to let Nitish Kumar continue as the Chief Minister of Bihar. Even after winning less than 50 seats in the last assembly poll, the BJP accepted Kumar's leadership.

Still, he decided to break the alliance with the BJP to join hands with the RJD. Multiple stories are doing rounds including the role of former Union Minister RCP Singh, propping up Chirag Paswan, and alleged conspiracy to divide the JDU, leading to the divorce between the two allies. The comfort and ease with which Kumar walked into the residence of former Chief Minister Rabri Devi in Patna after putting in his papers was nothing but the force of political and social justice, which took him there.

No one knows how long Kumar and Yadav will hobnob together but neither of the two leaders can give up their agenda of political and social justice for the sake of the masses of Bihar. If their association lasts long thanks to the development agenda of Kumar and Yadav's commitment to meet the aspirations of youth without diluting his stand on social justice, then this will mark the beginning of a new political era in the state.

The BJP, however, is not a loser. There is an opportunity for the party to reorient itself in Bihar. The impact of fair share to OBCs and EBCs in the government must be felt by the target groups on the ground. It is said that though OBC and Dalit leaders have numerical domination in the BJP led dispensations, they do not have their say even in matters related to their communities.

In Bihar, the BJP has to rein in its leaders whose continued diatribe against leaders of a particular caste and community is not only abominable but also sends out a very negative message to masses in general. Criticism is always welcome in democracy. Filthy comments by middle-rung party leaders against their political rivals are also justifiable but senior leaders must be dignified in their verbal onslaught on their political enemies.

It is unfortunate for us that even after 75 years of Independence, we have not been able to develop an inclusive, tolerant and patriotic social and political order. A nine years old Dalit boy was allegedly beaten to death by a teacher in Rajasthan. His fault was that he touched the waterpot of his teacher. It is not an act of aberration but a routine happening in our country. The time has come to change ourselves. We have transformed a lot but critical loopholes still exist in our socio-economic and political ecosystem. Let's plug them!

(The writer is a senior journalist, columnist and author. The views expressed are strictly his personal)