BOMBAY: Rejuvenated by the recent Supreme Court ruling on the 27% job reservations for backward communities the Janata Dal pulled off an impressive rally in Bombay.

What was slated to be a morcha against the import of wheat turned out to be a victory rally over the Mandal issue? Even by conservative estimates 60000 people participated in the JDs show of strength. The party had a lineup of all its top rung leaders from V.P.Singh Ram Vilas Paswan George Fernandes Sharad Yadav Mufti Mohammed Syed S.R.Bommai to MPs and MLAs from all over the country.

The mood within the party was certainly on the upswing as speaker after speaker chastised the Narasimha Rao government for its pro-multinational stand at the cost of the poor and the backward. But the trump card was Mandal and Janata Dal leaders were quick to point out that they were the defenders of the backward and the downtrodden.

V.P.Singh speaking with newly infused spirit promised to shake Parliament.

“The Supreme Court verdict has opened the door to social justice” he said. The JD leader was also very critical of the Prime Minister for toeing the World Bank line “Only when I think of the PM as my old friend can I see him as Narasimha Rao otherwise I see before me someone called Dunkel” Singh said to the enthusiastic crowd.

One theme that dominated the entire evening was the ouster of the Narasimha Rao government. While VP Singh said that the PM was writing out his own exit policy by allowing his Government to be pressured by foreign interests to retrench workers Paswans rhetoric went a step further when he said that the PM was the “biggest beggar” in the country.

“He should be the first one to be arrested under the proposed anti-begging act for going to the World Bank and other multinationals” Paswan said.

BJP to focus on Ayodhya

The Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) is in the unenviable state solely depending on the success of the December 6 kar seva and hopefully diluting the impact of the Mandal ruling

Soon after the Supreme Court order was passed DPCC members close to Rajya Sabha member R.K.Dhawan met at his house. This group has been campaigning against DPCC President H.K.L.Bhagat on the grounds that they were better suited to lead the party in the local polls.

The meeting reportedly took a grim view of the court ruling more so in the light of the December 6 kar seva program of the RSS-BJPVHP combine. The DPCC members were unanimous that “Mandal and Kamadal have spoilt the scenario.”

The Dhawan group felt that political balance in Outer Delhi and East Delhi parliamentary constituencies will be altered hence forth. Together the two Lok Sabha seats account for 4 of the 70 Assembly seats. In a majority of them backward caste votes will influence the outcome.

However Dhawan sought to underplay the issue: “We never came in the way of the BCs. In fact we went one step ahead and asked for a quota for the economically weak” he said

To counter this upper class loyalty has to be retained and currency the Ayodhya kar seva seems the only option.

The BJP Secretary and MP from South Delhi Madan Lal Khurana said “the top priority for us is Ayodhya” he said.

JD leaders are hardly concerned about all this for the moment.

The JD is already counting the 14 reserved seats in Delhi Assembly as theirs but that could still be a hasty conclusion.

How Dalit’s may benefit

The Backwards have gained more by the anti-Mandal agitation than any law protecting them opines KP Singh president of the Dalit Students Federation.

Singh a research student in Jawaharlal Nehru University feels that the anti-Mandal stir erupting at regular intervals in last three years has only aided in creating more awareness of their rights and in uniting them.

Anti-Mandal agitation se pahle kisko pata tha Mandal ki report mein kya hai” he argued.

But many like him fail to understand the logic of these rallies and protests which get zealously reported in the daily newspapers.

Says Harkesh a Back ward studying in the Maulana Azad Medical College (MAMC) “The students should not agitate because this is no solution to the problem.” “Instead of protesting against the new education policy or demanding the right to work the students is going against us who have suffered for generations” said Singh.

“The upper caste has to pay a penalty for suppressing us for long” says a student of MAMC who preferred anonymity.

“Gaining further access to government jobs will help us cross the social barrier which has forced us into a life of stigma and persecution” says Adarsh a medico explaining what the Supreme Court verdict meant for him.

“Reservations thus is the only way of achieving a status which remains out of reach otherwise for many of us” he adds. Neither do the backward students agree with the assumption that professional standards will be affected by 50% caste-based reservations

“The country is not being run any better with non-Backwards grabbing most of the posts” says a final year student of Law Faculty.

But are reservations the answer to all their social deprivations? “Not completely” admits Adarsh SumitRay though not a backward yet supports Mandal feels that reservations are only a partial answer.

“It will increase the political power of the Backwards in this country” says Sumit.

“Since centuries we have been used. But this time we hope there will be some long term benefits” says Adarsh.

Article extracted from this publication >>