Developmental State and the Dalit Question in Madhya Pradesh: Congress Response

Sudha Pai

• Publisher: Routledge India
• Year: 2013
• Print ISBN: 9780367459147
• eBook ISBN: 9781136197840
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: Civics & Citizenship
• Index: Politics & International Relations

Dalit assertion has been a central feature of the states in the Hindi heartland since the mid-1980s, leading to the rise of political consciousness and identity-based lower-caste parties. The present study focuses on the different political response of the Congress party to identity assertion in Madhya Pradesh under the leadership of Digvijay Singh. In Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, in response to the strong wave of Dalit assertion that swept the region, parties such as the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) used strategies of political mobilisation to consolidate Dalit/backward votes and capture state power. In Madhya Pradesh, in contrast, the Congress party and Digvijay Singh at the historic Bhopal Conference held in January 2002 adopted a new model of development that attempted to mobilise Dalits and tribals and raise their standard of living by providing them economic empowerment. This new Dalit Agenda constitutes an alternative strategy at gaining Dalit/tribal support through of state-sponsored economic upliftment as opposed to the political mobilisation strategy employed by the BSP in Uttar Pradesh.

The present study puts to test the limits of the model of state-led development, of the use of political power by an enlightened political elite to introduce change from above to address the weaker sections of society. The working of the state is thus analysed in the context of the society in which it is embedded and the former's ability to insulate itself from powerful vested interests. In interrogating this state-led redistributive paradigm, the study has generated empirical data based on extensive fieldwork and brought to the fore both the potentials and the limitations of using the model of 'development from above' in a democracy. It suggests that the absence of an upsurge from below limits the ability of an enlightened political elite that mans the developmental state to introduce social change and help the weaker sections of society.

Part I: The Congress Party: Dominance, Inclusion and the New Dalit Agenda

1
The Congress Party in MP: Origins and Early Patterns of Dominance

Madhya Pradesh has been one of the major bastions of the Congress party in the post-independence period in the Hindi heartland. The origin and establishment of the INC in the colonial period and its early pattern of dominance vis-à-vis the lower castes and tribals, has been similar to the other states of the region particularly UP, Bihar and Rajasthan. The leadership of the party both in the colonial and post-colonial period in this region has been from the upper castes, but it has been able to gain the support of the lower castes/tribals, albeit through the system of patron—client relationships, which made them a vote bank of the party. Social and political consciousness among the disadvantaged groups has been low until recently with no large anti-caste movements in all these states compared to southern and western India.

However, the Congress party in MP exhibited some specific characteristics in the post-independence period that distinguished it from its counterparts in other states of the Hindi heartland: traditional upper-caste leadership but with a strong feudal element, region-based factionalism and the early establishment of a two-party system. Legacies of the colonial period, the first two were due to the socio-political context in which the party arose, the manner in which the Central Provinces and later the state of MP was formed, its social structure, the process of elite formation and the resultant patterns of mobilization. The third is due to the rise of right-wing organizations such as the Hindu Mahasabha and the RSS in the CPs, which laid the basis for the Jan Sangh and later the BJP. The importance of these features lie in the fact that they helped shape the differential response of the Congress party in MP to the dalit upsurge beginning in the 1980s across the north Indian plains.

Accordingly, an attempt is made to trace the rise and establishment of the INC in the erstwhile CPs, the impact of the formation of the new state of MP and the nature of the Congress party in the immediate post-independence period. While a traditional and hierarchical outlook due to the leadership being in the hands of the upper castes, particularly the Brahmins, is a feature of the Congress party in the Hindi heartland, in MP, two accompanying features are a strong feudal orientation due to the former princely rulers comprising the Thakurs and Rajputs and the important position occupied by the Banias or trading castes. These features have been responsible for the continued dominance, after independence, of the landed and trading upper castes/classes and former princely rulers and jagirdars in all political parties, including the Congress. Another important reason is that the OBCs, dalits and tribals, despite their substantial number in the population, were not politically active. This is because the process of democratization in MP has been slow compared to the other states of the Hindi heartland, leading to low levels of political consciousness and absence of mobilization.

Factionalism has been a feature of the Congress party in all the states of the Hindi heartland, but in MP it is region-based, that is, between leaders based in distinct regions of the state. Dating from the colonial period, it is a product of the manner in which diverse regions were brought together to create the erstwhile CPs and later the new state of MP. Mayne Wilcox, writing in the 1960s, held, ‘MP was formed because there seemed to be nothing else to do with its constituent parts … the state was not created on the basis of an indigenous demand and its constituent units in fact possessed almost no political affinity … the parts of the state are greater than the sum’ (Wilcox, 1968: 128, 132). Factionalism has allowed different factional leaders to co-exist and helped in the survival of the party in MP, albeit within a bipartisan political structure. But high levels of self-destructive factionalism have weakened the party, necessitated constant intervention by the central Congress leadership and effectively undermined the space available for dalit and tribal leaders. There has been little effort to make vertical alliances or to give dalit and tribal leaders positions of power and responsibility; most have been co-opted as pliant followers of upper-caste leaders. Factionalism, in short, has reinforced the traditional outlook of the party, as it is a struggle for position, power and patronage within the party.

Region-based factionalism also contributed to the early formation of the two-party system as Congress factions could capture only certain core regions where the party was well established since the colonial period, leaving the others to the Jan Sangh and later the BJP. Bipartisanism has supported the conservative character of the state. Both the Congress and the Jan Sangh/BJP remain traditionalist forces that have reinforced the elitist character of the society and polity. A bipartisan political system also made it imperative for the leadership of the Congress party beginning in the 1980s to co-opt dalit and tribal leaders into the party and government and implement numerous policies and programmes for their upliftment using state power ‘from above’ in a bid to strengthen the base of the party among them and meet the challenge posed by the opposition party. The narrative presented forms a background to the next two chapters that analyze state-sponsored attempts in the 1980s and 1990s by Congress leaders to strengthen the support base of the party among dalits and tribals, leading finally to the Dalit Agenda at the Bhopal Conference in January 2002.

Origins and Establishment of the Congress: A Background

The CPs was an artificial contrivance created by the British colonial rulers for their administrative convenience in 1861 by uniting the Hindi-speaking regions of Saugor and Nerbudda in the north and Marathi-speaking regions of Nagpur and Berar in the south with little regard for their geographical, social and economic affinities (Baker 1979: 9). Prior to unification these disparate regions did not at any time constitute a single administrative unit and were ruled by diverse rulers at different points of time consisting of Rajputs, Marathas and even the Mughals in some parts. Politically the earlier administration of these two areas by two separate units under the British had not worked well. Hence, it was both administrative and political necessity that led to the unification of these regions into one compact province (Khan 1979: 15).

There were differences between the two regions from the very beginning which remained throughout the colonial period. The population of the province was divided into two linguistic communities—those in the north speaking Hindi or its dialect Chhattisgarhi, and the other in the south speaking Marathi— that provided politics in the province its distinctive form. These communities also displayed differences in caste complexion, social customs and sense of identity (Baker 1979: 2). The population of the Hindi-speaking population was descended largely from those who conquered or entered into the area from the north or northwest; similarly invaders from other parts had entered into the southern districts of the CPs. These developments transformed the society in the southern plains as the Gonds withdrew into the hills and the language of the invaders—Marathi—replaced that of the original population (ibid.). These regional differences were responsible for a process of elite formation different from other states in the Hindi heartland. They had significant consequences for the formation of the new state of MP in 1956 that was formed out of the northern Hindi region of the erstwhile CPs, which were socially backward compared to the southern districts that were more progressive and witnessed a number of social movements.

Up to the late 1800s it was notables from among the landed and trading classes created by the colonial authorities through land revenue settlements and trading concessions with big landowners, who were influential in the Congress in all parts of the CPs.¹ Initially, the socio-economic changes leading to urban movements, the activities of the Congress and the leadership were largely confined to the southern Marathi districts around Nagpur (Baker 1993: 322). In contrast, the INC took root very slowly in the northern districts (ibid.: 327). Consequently, a process of differentiation arose between the two regions. The leadership of the early Congress in the Hindi region—the big landowners, bankers and traders—was gradually displaced by the educated middle class in the late 19th century who were also from the upper castes. In contrast, in the southern region, though initially Maharashtrian Brahmins were dominant due to their upper-caste status and prestige and early establishment in politics, an educated, urban middle-class arose in the region with extensive interests in land, banking and commerce. Beginning from about 1918 onwards the position of the former began to be successfully challenged by the non-Brahmin movement and the Mahar movement under the leadership of Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar (Baker 1979: 17).

The southern districts also witnessed the establishment of the Hindu Mahasabha by B. S. Moonje in 1923 and the RSS formed by Keshav Baliram Hegdewar with a strong presence in Nagpur and Berar (Malhotra 2006). Economic factors in the Marathi districts also played a role such as building of the railways, cotton growing and industry. The decision to create Congress branches along linguistic lines in the 1920s created three branches: the Hindi region, the Marathi region and Berar, further isolating the northern conservative leadership (Baker 1993: 343). The result was in the Marathi region the non-Brahmin and the Mahar movement took up social issues of caste inequality and untouchability challenging the narrow view of the Congress (Baker 1979: 115). In contrast, in the Hindi region the Gandhian ‘Orthodox’ Congress, particularly after the entry of Gandhi in 1920, rarely took up social causes, its focus being on political activities centred on satyagraha, noncooperation and civil disobedience for attaining swaraj (ibid.). This made the Congress, as it evolved, a socially traditional party in the Hindi areas with little interest in issues of caste or inequality.

Two developments contributed to the narrow traditionalist view of the Congress in the northern region. Gandhi’s new style of politics gained the support of a younger generation of upper-caste political leaders such as B. D. Shukul, Ravi Shankar Shukla and Govind Das, representing the educated middle-class notables and big money-lending landlords who had earlier supported the colonial authorities. By the 1930s such nationalist but tradition-oriented elements, built on an alliance between the upper castes and the landowning/banking interests, formed the base of the Congress in the northern region. The most important one, which shaped the politics of the region to a large extent, was the alliance between D. P. Mishra representing the educated upper castes/classes and Seth Govind Das, a wealthy landowner and banker.

A second development was that the Hindi region from 1918 onwards moved away from the socially progressive politics of the southern region and came under the influence of various organizations from the Hindi heartland, which propagated the use of Hindi rather than English or other local languages. Prominent among them was the Hindi Sahitya Sabha, a body bringing together men of different political views from the Hindi-speaking areas of northern India. In 1910 many representatives from the province attended the first meeting of the Hindi Sahitya Sammelan called by the great protagonist of Hindi from the United Provinces, Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya. This organization was firmly established in the CPs by 1918 and many annual meetings were held in the province.

Political leaders from all the major factional groupings were associated with these activities: D. P.Mishra, Ravi Shankar Shukla and Makhanlal Chaturvedi (ibid.). They all belonged to the upper castes, in most cases were Brahmins or in some cases Banias, supported Hindi and were keen to maintain the position of the upper castes in public life. This process drew the Hindi region into the vortex of the National Movement led by the Congress in the traditional and socially backward Hindi heartland region, particularly Allahabad and Varanasi in the United Provinces that was also in control of the National Congress and separated it from the socially more progressive Marathi region (Baker 1979: 128–30).

All this meant the emergence at independence of the state of MP under the leadership of upper-caste leaders of the Congress of the Hindi region. This was the triumph of the ‘orthodox’ Gandhian Congress in the Hindi region. In contrast, the non-Brahmin leaders joined the Nagpur Congress in large numbers in the late 1930s as in the Bombay region, and the Congress which emerged there was under the control of non-Brahmin Maratha leaders such as Y. B.Chavan. By independence there was a transfer of political leadership in the CPs from Marathi-to Hindi-speaking politicians. This was part of a larger shift on the national front with gradual assumption of power by Hindi politicians from northern India over the INC. Once the southern districts were removed and the princely states were added to the northern districts in 1956, a conservative and feudal state of MP emerged in which the lower castes, until recently, did not play a role in politics.

Post-Independence Period: Continuation of Elite Dominance

The state of MP was formed in 1956 out of the northern Hindi-speaking districts of the erstwhile CPs in which the upper castes were dominant and there were no organized social movements. To this were added three unions into which the former princely states had been integrated: Madhya Bharat (MB) consisting of 25 princely states in the Malwa plateau region the main ones being Gwalior and Indore; Vindhya Pradesh (VP) a union of 35 princely states in the Vindhya mountain region, the two big ones being Bundelkhand and Baghelkhand; and the large state of Bhopal. The more socially progressive Marathi-speaking areas were removed and added to the state of Maharashtra, and Berar to Hyderabad.¹ Due to the manner in which it was carved out of the former CPs, a tradition-bound and feudal state of MP emerged.

Consequently, most of the leaders of the Congress party in MP in the immediate post-colonial period were from the twice-born upper castes/classes which furthered their economic and political dominance. While most of the early leaders in the Congress were from the landed and educated Brahmin and trading Bania community, after independence Thakurs and Rajputs belonging to the former princely families also came to have an important presence. As no large middle castes such as the Jats or Yadavs exist in MP, or a large Kayastha population as in UP, apart from the lower castes or tribals the Congress had to depend on the upper castes and the former princes. Change has taken place since the late 1980s and more particularly the 1990s. But it has been slow, and despite the entry of the OBCs, dalits and tribals into the party and into politics, the dominance of the upper castes, particularly some sections, has remained. This is despite the fact that the upper castes are numerically not very large compared to the lower castes. Based on the 1931 census Wilcox pointed out that the upper castes constituted about 12.9 per cent of the population (Wilcox 1968: 129). While Brahmins and Rajputs are approximately 5 per cent each of the population,the Vaishya 2 per cent and Jains form only 1 per cent (Singh 1999). In Bihar also Brahmins are 5 per cent of the population but in UP their numbers are much higher, reaching 9 per cent (ibid.). The Rajputs are the largest social group in MB numbering more than 9 per cent of the population, which is more than in Rajasthan, and the presence of a number of former princely states makes them important (Jaffrelot 2003: 356).

Despite their smaller number, the upper castes are concentrated in parts of the state making them politically dominant. Brahmins are over 15 per cent in the northern districts of Morena, Bhind, Gwalior, Rewa and Siddhi. A thinner but long patch is discernible from Khajuraho in the north to Hoshangabad and Seoni in the south and from Mandsaur in the north to Khandwa in the south running through Indore and Ujjain (Singh 1999). The Rajputs are found in the eastern parts of the state where they migrated from Rajasthan or Gujarat. They are also concentrated in the northern districts forming 15 per cent of the population in Morena and Bhind bordering eastern UP and all the extreme eastern districts up to Vidisha except Jhabua (ibid.). Apart from Bhopal, which was ruled by a Muslim family, Hindu Rajput Rajas ruled the remaining former princely states of MB and VP.

The presence of a large number of princely states whose rulers and family members are still active in politics imparts a feudal outlook to the Congress party. In the 1950s the Congress attempted to co-opt a number of the former princes as within their own areas they had considerable social standing and influence in a number of constituencies. In 1957 about 170 out of 296 constituencies, that is, more than half, were located partly or wholly on the territories of former princely states (Jaffrelot 2004: 215). Until 1967 the princely families in Gwalior, Rewa Narsingarh and Chhattisgarh supported the Congress because they were not confident of their own position in the new dispensation (Purohit 1975). In the 1967 elections 36 princes and princesses stood for election: eight for the Lok Sabha and 28 for the assembly elections; 17 in the latter category were Congress nominees (Chandidas 1967: 1509). After 1967, however, the Maharani of Gwalior supported the Jan Sangh, and the Congress lost its hold over this part of MB which gave a fillip to right-wing and feudal politics in the state. Once privy purses we...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• List of Tables
• List of Abbreviations
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction: Developmental State, the Dalit Question and Political Response
• Part I: The Congress Party: Dominance, Inclusion and the New Dalit Agenda
• Part II: Land Reform for the Disadvantaged: An Experiment in Public-private Partnership
• Part III: Moving Beyond Reservations: The Supplier Diversity Experiment
• Part IV: Political Fallout: The Dalit Agenda and the 2003 Assembly Elections
• Conclusion
• Postscript
• Glossary
• Bibliography
• About the Author
• Index