HINDUTVA AND DALITS: PERSPECTIVES FOR UNDERSTANDING COMMUNAL PRAXIS
Edited by Anand Teltumbde,
Samya, Rs 500

One of the enigmas of modern Indian politics is the Dalit complicity in the Hindutva agenda of the sangh parivar. This, along with alliances like the one between ?Bhimshakti? and ?Shivshakti? (that is, between the Ambedkarite Dalits and the Shiv Sena) in Maharastra, throws up some crucial questions about the dynamics of Dalit politics that this book seeks to answer.

Has the Dalit movement, initiated in the Fifties by revolutionary leaders like B.R. Ambedkar, Jyotirao Phule and Ramasamy Periyar, lost steam? Or is this a case of historical amnesia? Or are these alliance simply a marriage of convenience between arch-rivals ? the hegemonizing Brahmanic Hindus and the hitherto ghettoized Dalits?

The views articulated in the twelve articles in this book can be broadly categorized as follows. One, alliances have taken place due to the ?depoliticization? of Dalit political organizations like the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Dalit Panthers which now lack a focussed agenda. Two, the erosion of the public sector as a result of globalization and the neo-liberal economic policies of the government. This has led to the lumpenization of the unemployed Dalit masses, who can now be turned into mischief-makers with the lure of money and jobs.

Three, the greed for power of some of the Dalit leaders which has prompted them to jump on to the Hindutva bandwagon. Four, the Dalits? frustration with the decadent Dravidian movement in the South has been exploited by the Hindutva leaders. Five, the class-divisions which have emerged in Dalit society in the rural areas have inspired the lower segments to woo the favour of upper-caste Hindus.

Other articles provide an insight into the Dalit perspective on the Hindutva-Dalit ?honeymoon?. Here mention must be made of the essay, ?Between her legs: Hindutva and Dalit women?, in which Meena Kandasamy attacks on the anti-women bias of classical Hinduism.

The theories and studies (grouped in the second part) profitably contribute to the debate on this aspect of Indian politics. But as questions call forth answers, answers too might provoke fresh questions. In fact, this book may leave its readers with more questions than answers.

If neo-liberalism is to take the blame for Dalit impoverishment, what should be the alternative economic policy which would generate national wealth and respond to the Dalit cause? Why is the leftist prejudice over caste not questioned as thoroughly (though it is mentioned in passing in some articles) as the rightist ?social engineering?? Can we imagine a common space for a transparent and negotiable Hindu-Dalit relationship, which would hopefully move towards re-scripting history? Obviously, cosmetic or ad hoc goodwill gestures will lead us nowhere.