21 The Rise of Shudras and Ati-Shudras in Indian Political

Rabi Prakash Prakash

1. Introduction

In this module we shall examine how the growth of democracy in post independent India has led to the inclusion and assertion of many backward and marginalized groups in modern Indian society. For all these social groups, the deepening of democratic process in society has led to a continuous struggle to mobilize, to empower themselves and, above all, to emancipate themselves from the feudal oppression of upper caste Hindu society. India is among the most stratified society in the world. Besides, the huge economic disparities, what makes India distinctively stratified is its caste order. The caste system does not only define everyday social relations, but it also influences the functions of economic and political institutions in day to day life even in the present times. The nature of caste and community relations has changed over the period of times, but the considerations along the ascriptive status that comes with caste continues to remain an important marker both at public and private life in India.

One of most enduring forms of social hierarchy in India is based upon the Varna system. Traditionally, there has been four Varnas- namely Brahmins, Kshtriya, Vaishya and Shudras in Indian society. Outside these four Varna, there is a fifth Varna which finds its mention inancient texts and exists in social hierarchy which is called Ati-Shudras or Panchaman. The Ati-Shurdas Varnarepresentsthe untouchable castes which are supposed to do all forms of menial services to all other Varnas.

With the emergence of new political institutions in the colonial period and the post- colonial period, the social and economic conditions of Shudra and the Ati Shudras has changed over the period of time. With coming of colonial modernity and subsequent emergence of the democratic state, the castes groups belonging to Shudras and Ati-Shudras have taken advantage of the modern ideas and political opportunities coming with a democratic state, to assert themselves as equal citizens and improved their socio-economic conditions. Their rise of Shudras and Ati-Shudras in political and social domains has not only led to improve their own conditions, but has also changed character of Indian Society and Polity.

2. Who are the Suhdras and Ati-Shudras?

Scholars have argued that these two Varnas- Shudras and Ati-shurdras are particular invention of Indian Society (Brough, J 1959; Lincon B. 1981, Kosambi, D. 1950). Most of the other Ancient societies had three forms of social groups which constituted of the priests, the warriors and the cattle and agrarian classes which would loosely correspond with Brahmins, Kshatriyas and Vaishyas in Indian society. These two categories of the Shudras and the Ati-Shudras, as a specific Indian invention, is understood to have been made in certain historical context of Indian society which is largely explained through the intermingling between the Aryans and the native residents of post-Harappa civilization and material relationships prevailing in these societies. The formulations of Shudras and Ati- Shudras are related with evolutions of clans, Gotras1, and the observance of the principles of endogamy and exogamy beginning from the Brahmins and followed by the other Gotras.

1 The term ‘Gotra’ is a Sankrit word and it largely means ‘clan’. It broadly refers to people who are descendants in an unbroken male line from a common male ancestor or patriline. All members of a particular gotra are believed to However, B. R. Ambedkar argues that “Whether the Shudras were Aryans, or aboriginal inhabitants of India, or tribes produced by the union of the Aryans with the other, is of little practical moment.” (BAWS, Vol. 7, pp. 3) What is of significance for him is that they were at an early period placed in a class by themselves, and received the fourth or last degree of rank, yet at a considerable distance from the three superior castes.

The reason why this does not make great sense to Ambedkar is that the present state of Shudras which are “a collection of castes drawn from heterogeneous stocks and are racially different from the original Shudras of the Indo-Aryan society”. And secondly, the category of Shudras as a people is of no political significance for him, rather what is important is ‘the legal system of pains and penalties to which they are subjected’ (BAWS Vol. 7, pp. 4).

For Ambedkar, this ‘system of pains and penalties’ was originally devised by the Brahmins to deal with the Shudras of the Indo-Aryan society, who have ceased to exist as a distinct, separate, identifiable community and have turned into multiplicities of castes. But the Code intended to deal with the Shudras and Ati-Shudras has remained in operation since then, and is now applied to all low-class Hindus.

How this happened has been a matter of historical inquiry. There are many historical explanations available for this. Ambedkar’s explanation is ‘that the Shudras of the Indo-Aryan Society in course of time became so degraded as a consequence of the severity of the Brahmanical laws’ that low castes Hindus came to occupy a very low state in public life. As a result, two consequences happened. First, was a change in the connotation of the word Shudra. The word Shudra lost its original meaning of being the name of a particular community and became a general name for a low-class people who were termed without any civilization of their own, without culture, respect and dignity. The second consequence pertained to the widening of the meaning of the word Shudra brought in its train the widening of the application of the Code. lt is in this way that the so-called Shudras of the present-day have become subject to the Code, though they are not Shudras in the original sense of the word. In the process of historical development of socio-economic processes, the Shudras and Ati-shudras remained outside the socio-cultural and economic processes. Ati-Shudras castes.

3. Shudras and Ati-Shudras in Colonial Periods:

The castes of the Shudras and the Ati-Shudras got a new recognitions during the colonial period as the colonial administration and Christian missionaries worked as enabling factor for social and economic upliftments of these caste groups. These Shudras and Ati-Shudras castes are largely identified with the category of the Scheduled Castes. These categories have largely emerged from the Colonial Administration’s concerns for the dismaying social and economic conditions of ‘depressed classes’ who faced multiple deprivations on account of their low position in the hierarchy of the Hindu caste system.

The Colonial Administration identified the castes groups which were historically disadvantaged with ‘depressed classes’ who were later in 1935 in the Government of India Act 1935 marked as ‘Scheduled possess certain common characteristics by way of nature or profession. Many theories have been propounded to explain this system. According to the brahminical theory, the Brahmins are the direct descendants of seven or eight sages who are believed to be the mind-born sons of Brahma. They are Gautama, Bharadvaja, Vishvamitra, Jamadagni, Vashista, Kashyapa and Atri. For Further discussion on Gotra, Please refer to D. D. Kosambi, ‘On the Origin of the Brahmin Gotras’, Journal of the Bombay Branch of Royal Asiatic Society, Vol. XXVI, 1950, p. 50. See Kosambi, Introduction to the Study of Indian History, pp. 94-95. Castes’. The Act defined the depressed group as “such castes, races or tribes or parts of groups within castes, races or tribes, which appear to His Majesty in Council to correspond to the classes of persons formerly known as the ‘Depressed Classes’, as His Majesty in Council may prefer”2.

This discretionary definition was clarified in The Government of India (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1936, which contained a list (or Schedule) of castes throughout the British-administered provinces. Colonial administration’s decision to identify depressed class as ‘Scheduled Castes’ followed after a long battle waged by social reforms movements led by a series of social reformers and leaders coming from Shudras and Ati-Shudras castes. Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, who emerged as the principal crusader against untouchability, assumed the historic role of drafting the Indian Constitution of free India. He introduced the famous Article 11 of the Drafting Committee on 1st November 1947 which carried through the following resolution:

“Untouchability is abolished and its practice in any form is forbidden. The enforcement of any disability arising out of ‘untouchability’ shall be an offence which shall be punishable in accordance with law” (Rao 1966: 298).

The Social Reforms movements in colonial periods brought caste discrimination and oppressions to centre stage. Social Reforms movements began as early as early 19th century. Jyotirao Phule (1828-1890) led a major social reforms for improving the status of Shudras and Ati-Shudras through their access to Education and their recognition of separate economic and social interest. The Social Reforms movements were not confined to any particular regions, rather they were Pan-Indian phenomenon. The common characteristics of these movements were that they sought reforms in both Social and religious life. The Dravid Kazhagam movement of Periyar EVR Ramaswamy Naicker sought a different identity for Shudra and Ati-Shudra castes. His movements sought to denounce Hindu Society by publicly burning the effigy of Rama and identified with counter narrative of the virtuousness of Ravana. In Kerala, the Ezhava movement of Narayana Guru culminated with the establishment of a new religious sect called Sree Narayan Dharma Pratipalana Yogam in Kerala (Thomas 1965; Aiyappan 1944; Samuel 1973). Similarly, The Satnami movement of the Chamars in the Chhattisgarh plains in Eastern Madhya Pradesh also sought to come out of Hindu society and established an independent religious sect (Russel 1916).

The most pervasive Shudra and Ati-Shudra caste movements led by B. R. Ambedkar curiously reaching its climax of mass conversion to Buddhism. The most articulate expression is provided by Ambedkar’s that holds overthrowing of ‘Hindu’ religious ideological hegemony as a necessary condition for the liberation of the Shudras and Ati-Shudras castes.

The Culmination of these Separate Identities of Shudras and Ati-Shudras Castes was most visible during the historic debate on Communal Award in early 1930s, when the ‘Depressed Classes’ were recognized on par with other religious groups. The Communal Award of August 4, 1932, after the conclusion of two successive Round Table Conferences in London, assigned separate electorates not only for the Muslims, Sikhs, Christians and several other categories, but also extended it to the Depressed Classes. This led to the historic fast unto death by Gandhi and the subsequent signing of the Poona Pact between B. R. Ambedkar and Madan Mohan Malviya on September 24th 1932 (Kumar R. 1985). According to this agreement a new

2As per Government of India (Scheduled Castes) Order of 1936 read with Article 26(i) of the First Schedule to Government of India Act 1935, Scheduled Castes meant `such castes, races or tribes, or parts of or groups within castes, races or tribes, being castes, races, or tribes, or parts or groups which appear to His Majesty in Council, to correspond to the classes of persons formerly known as `the depressed classes’, as His Majesty in Council may specify’. (Cited in Chatterjee 1996 vol. 162). formula was evolved in which separate electorates were replaced by reserved constituencies for the Depressed Classes. These events are seen as historic achievements of Shudras and Ati-Shudras caste Movements in Colonial period which has far reaching impacts on making of lower castes as political subjects.

4. Political Rise of Shudras and Ati Shudras in Post –Independence India:

Post-independence India became a liberal democracy to be governed by a Constitution. A new liberal democratic India did not only promise equal citizenship and equal opportunity to all irrespective of castes, and religions, it appealed people to imagine a new egalitarian society. Gopal Guru (2011) observes that historically disadvantaged segments of the population found liberal democracy attractive because it offered them an opportunity to acquire and then expand normative spaces involving not just equality, liberty, and rights but self-respect and dignity. Liberal democracy as an attractive ideal thus invokes different degrees of subaltern involvement in the project of producing an egalitarian India. About the nationalists sincerity when it came to resolving the caste question. Dalits were not sure whether the nationalist elite, which was divided on social issues, would support “nationalist” resolution of the caste question.

In fact, Dalits ledby Ambedkar feared that the socially dominant sections would hijack independent India and manipulate liberal democracy in order to consolidate and expand their own power through their production of the old hierarchical order that placed Dalits at the bottom (Ganveer1980:54). Dalits, however, treated liberal democracy as the initial rather than the sufficient condition for the realization of their normative goals (Khairmode2002:286). Ambedkar expected that the Indian constitution as a moral text would create spaces that would enable the Dalit to acquire self-description as subjective agents, and liberal institutions would help them reject the negative description of servile objects that had long been imposed on them. Self-esteem, equal respect for persons, equality before law, and equal civil and political rights, which are central to the practice of liberalism, were the cornerstones in The dalit political discourse has produced a concrete alternative to the mainstream nationalist formulations in all the realms of public reason. The discourse legitimises the thirst for political power, as it is one of the prime instruments in bringing radical change in social relationships.

Electoral Politics was the inherent part of liberal democracy. Shudars and Ati Sudras castes recognized the power of their numerical strengths in electoral processes. The most striking feature of post-independence period- in the 1960s and 70s, became the rise of the ‘backward castes’. The Backward Castes, a term coined in the post-independence period, came to characterize those castes groups where placed between the Scheduled Castes at the bottom and the Brahmins and Rajputs at the top.

With numerical strengths, Yadavs in UP and Bihar, Jats in Punjab and Haryana, Marathas in Maharashtra, Vokkaligas in Karnataka and Gounders in Tamil Nadu emerged as most powerful castes in electoral politics (Jaffrelot 2003, Frankel F. 1988). The characteristics of these castes are defined by M. N. Srinivas’s phrase, the ‘dominant caste’. The concept of Dominant caste is largely defined in terms of large in numbers, well organized, exercising economic and social power. In electoral process, they consolidated their caste identity to take advantage of their numbers to gain greater share in the political power. These Caste groups made to be constitutionally recognized as Other Backward Castes (or Classes) to distinguish them from the Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes.

Soon these parties rose to determine the national politics and began to push their agenda. In 1977, when the first time, a non-Congress government came to power, the leaders of these castes pushed for Reservations in government jobs similar to Scheduled Castes. As a result, the Janata government appointed the Backward Classes Commission, known as the Mandal Commission under the Chairmanship of B. P. Mandal who himself came from Yadav caste from Bihar. The Commission held that caste was still the main indicator of ‘backwardness’. Based upon a comprehensive Survey in states, The Commission identified 3, 743 specific castes as backward. It came to conclusion that more than 50 percent population of India belonged to Backward Castes and they are poorly represented in administration especially at the higher levels. It observed that only OBCs filled only 12. 55 per cent of all posts in central government, and a mere 4. 83 per cent of Class I jobs. In its recommendations to address underrepresentation of OBCs, the Mandal Commission asked for 27 per cent of all posts in central government be reserved for these castes. This was to be in addition to the 22. 5 per cent already set apart for Scheduled Castes and Tribes.

The severe under-representation of the OBCs in administration was hurdle for the backward castes to rise to the occasion of political opportunities. This was the question of share in the political power in proportion to their numbers. Further, this became the question of the representation and identity for these backward caste people. Even though, the material benefits accruing from these positions are limited to the members of the family who would take advantage of reservations to rise to acquire power, these were the questions of dignity and social status.

The Recommendations of the Mandal Commission were not taken up by the Congress regimes that followed Janata Government in 1980, and but the leaders of Backward Castes did not give up on this question. Rather, it became a key Electoral question in 1980s, and rather led to an electoral success in 1989 when a Janta Dal Government came to power on the promise of implementing the Recommendations. Henceforth, 27 per cent of all vacancies in the government of India were made reserved the ‘socially and educationally backward classes identified by the Commission.

The wave of the Mandal Commission led to the rise of Backward Caste politicians. Two notable leaders from Yadav Castes Mulayam Singh Yadav, who went to become chief minister of Uttar Pradesh late in 1989, and Lalu Prasad Yadav, who became chief minister of Bihar early in 1990. These two leaders saw their phenomenal rise in Indian politics on the plan of Mandal Commission politics. With political power at hand, these castes gained in economic strength, and social prestige. The politics of backward castes promised to be inclusive for other Backward Castes and minority as well. The rate of electoral success of these new Backward Castes formation was such that in 1989 the Congress fared disastrously, winning a mere nineteen seats in the two states. When mid-term elections were held two years later, it fared even worse, winning just five seats in UP and only one in Bihar. Since then these Backward Caste politics has become a force to reckon with (Guha, R. 2008).

In the times of politics of Identity and power sharing, a new equation was in making under the leadership of Kanshi Ram who claimed to inherit the legacy of B. R. Ambedkar. The political experiment of Kanshi Ram who also sought to form a new block largely defined as non-Brahmanic and to be named as the politics of Bahujans. Kanshiram who rose from the politics of trade unions of Schedule Castes formed his first political party named as Dalit Shoshit Sangram Samiti (ds-4) with a broader philosophical appeal in the fight for the rights of the oppressed and thus reflected the unwavering influence of dalit social movement on him. He prepared the ground for the political outfit with founding the All-India Backward and Minority Communities Employees Federation (BAMCEF). Over a decade, Kanshi Ram mobilized educated dalits at different levels involving people in building the discourse and organization. Within a decade’ time, BAMCEF had a membership of 200, 000, many of them graduates and postgraduates. This was a trade union of the Scheduled Caste elite, which, in the leader’s words, would form the ‘think tank’, ‘talent bank’ and ‘financial bank’ for the depressed classes as a whole. Kanshi Ram built upon Ambedkar’s understanding of the dalit as a community which not only economically exploited, culturally segregated and socially discriminated but also remained untouchable in the realm of political power. He sought to mainstream Dalits through acquiring power. He advocated the capture of power as one of the main objectives for emancipating the lower castes from the elite domination [Jaffrelot 2006: 423].

Kanshi Ram’s slogan for capturing power for emancipation of Dalits brought the most significant change in the psyche of dalit masses by providing an umbrella identity, futuristic vision, myths, social ideology and a political strategy to become one of the most significant players in the game of power politics in contemporary India [Kumar 2002: 168-69].

He went to found Bahujan Samaj Party in 1985 which from the very beginning symbolised the political aspirations of the down trod den oppressed masses in India. Kanshi Ram asked his followers to further the legacy of Ambedkar who during the Communal Pact in 1932at the All India Depressed Classes Congress at Nagpur, had wished to establish dalits as a ruling class in India. In Kanshi Ram’s understanding, it was an imperative that the political reins should come in the hands of untouchables. And it was goal which could have been achieved only by uniting fragmented dalits castes and built a new political identity. The distinctive contribution of Kanshi Ram was to provide a practical strategy for social revolution which was to be materialized only through ‘social engineering’ of building a larger social coalition of castes. And it as this view that he chose this term Bahujan. This category of political “bahujan” turned out to be one of the most imaginative political categories in post- independent India. As it succeeded in overturning the cliché generalization that the deprived classes are always submissive bearers of political power.

Through, Bahujan identity Kanshi Ram proposed to reject the mainstream formulations based on class, religionand ‘secularism’ because they favour and legitimize the control ofupper castes over the rest. These idioms of political philosophies were regarded those of the social elites who design to disregard the aspirations of dalits and lack any radical programme to bring about social transformation.

The counter narrative that Kanshi Ram built with the Category of Bahujans sought to derive from the legacies of Shudras and Ati-Shudra caste leader from the time of colonialism. He sought to discover the ideologues of Bahujans politics in these leaders towards constructing a political discourse based upon Phule-Ambedkar’s thoughts. As part of the legacies of “Bahujan leaders’ ranging from Phuile, Periyar, Narayan Guru, and Ambedkar, the Bahujan narrative endeavoured to overthrow the social, political, cultural arid economic dominations perpetuated by the Hindu social order.

The Kanshi Ram’s political strategy had a revolutionary appeal among the lower castes groups for a real social change in India. The idea of “dalitness” become an identity to assert with. It offered the core value of bahujan political philosophy.

The result of Kanshi Ram’s masterly strategy met with phenomenal electoral success. Within a decade, the BSP rose to power in Uttar Pradesh and within the two decade, it has its own magnificent victory in 2007 assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh.

The success of the BSP had a galvanizing effects on Indian Society, which has not only led to politically empower the Shudaras and Ati-Shudras castes in UP rather it has Changed the discourse of political by bringing the Dalits to centrestage in the electoral politics. Such is the discourse in Electoral politics now that no political outfit can disregard the political and social interests of Shudras and Ati-shudras Castes in Indian Politics. Further, they have shown the way to those who want agreatand inclusive democracy, corruption-free society and state system based on strict observance of law and constitutional norms. The rise of Shudras and Ati-Shudras in Electoral Politics promises to infuse an enduring spirit in the whole democratic system for a required change. The theoretical contribution of the rise of Shudras and Ati-Shudras in electoral politics has been to demonstrate that it is through democratic politics that lower caste does not only change its face, but it changed the power elites to respect and act more democratically. While social changes in many western societies were brought into by social and power elites, in case of India, the power elites have got changed by the lower classes who democratized the system.

Political power in India which was controlled and instrumentally used by the upper casterulingelites for the benefits of a small and exclusive groupof people and has persistently denied the bahujans from its legitimate share. The Rise of Shudras and Ati-Shudras in democratic politics has shown the way.

The rising political consciousness and participation in electoral politics of the Dalits has also witnessed an escalation of caste conflicts and violence. Over the last two decades, there has been a series of violent clashes across the country from Tamilnadu in South to Punjab in North and Bihar in the Eastern part. In these clashes, Dalits are usually found on the receiving end. The conflicts are normally driven with the questions of land, and caste assertion. Land and material possessions still largely lie with the upper case or with dominant castes who engage in violence to protect their social positions and material possessions. The clashes are often ideological and break over the questions of assertion by the Shudras and Ati-Shudras castes for better wages, and more humane and dignified treatments.

Conclusion:

From colonial period onwards, the Shudras and Ati-Shudras castes have risen to be politically dominant groups their rise has been made possible with the democratic character and functioning of political institutions. Electoral democracy has played significant part in the empowerment of these historically “depressed classes” of Shudras and Ati-Shudras Castes groups. The rise of Shudras and Ati-Shydras has not only deepened the roots of Democracy in terms of fair representations and power sharing among the different classes and social groups of India, it has redefined the nature of social and political leadership. In a sense of the rise of Shudras and Ati-Sudras is the rise of Indian Democracy. However, it needs to be see if the identity politics of Shudras and Ati-Shudras should take over the democratic system itself. There is danger and opportunity both wit

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