and/or www.mantra.com/jai (Dr. Jai Maharaj)
2010-04-02 10:33:12 UTC
Move beyond politics of victimhood
It's time Mayawati takes up political
issues that matter, writes C P Bhambhri
Op-Ed
The Pioneer
Friday, April 2, 2010
Simplistic categories of analysis and interpretation cannot help in
capturing the complexities and contradictions of BSP chief Mayawati's
political and personal qualities and angularities. She is a bundle of
contradictions which gets revealed and reflected in her personal
responses in public life.
It deserves to be clearly stated that the chief ministership of Uttar
Pradesh is the most coveted political office because a mix of myth
and reality had been built around persons who became Chief Ministers
of such a crucial State beginning with Govind Ballabh Pant who
dominated the State politics and exercised power at the Centre.
After Pant, every Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh had a dream to
graduate from State politics to national politics. Mr Narain Dutt
Tiwari, Mr HN Bahuguna and Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav had the dream of
becoming Prime Minster of India. After the Lok Sabha election of 2009
Ms Mayawati too cherished the same dream. Though her dream didn't
fulfil, she got a prized catch in the form of chief ministership of
Uttar Pradesh and that too because of the sole effort of her party.
Ms Mayawati came to power in alliance with the Samajwadi Party in
1993-95 and the BJP in 1995, 1997, 2002-2003. Unfortunately, these
short-lived coalition Governments in Uttar Pradesh were setbacks to
Ms Mayawati's strategies of alliance formation. She claimed, even
asserted, that all allies during the elections took advantage of "her
Dalit vote-Bank" but their vote-banks did not transfer to the BSP.
She was losing in alliance politics but at the same time
consolidating her own Dalit vote-bank. Only Dalit vote-bank could not
bring real and decisive electoral victory to Mayawati in Uttar
Pradesh. Hence, on the eve of 2007 State Assembly elections, she
created a bloc of Dalits and Brahmins and out of 403 total seats in
the State Assembly, she for the first time won 206 seats leaving her
political rivals red-faced.
However, she did not learn any relevant lesson from her unquestioned
victory of 2007 State Assembly elections. On March 15, during silver
jubilee celebrations of the BSP, she earned herself the name --
daulat ke beti (daughter of wealth) by accepting currency garlands.
On the other hand, attacking Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi,
who is trying to emerge as an alternative Dalit icon, shows that Ms
Mayawati is feeling the heat. Her speech on March15, besides flaying
Mr Gandhi, clearly tried to convince people that she was the only
authentic leader of the Dalit castes and other backward castes.
Mayawati's insecurities and anxieties have started haunting her and
she has shown nervousness because a large State like Uttar Pradesh
consisting of 71 districts is full of problems and difficulties, and
it seems that her strategy of building statues and monuments is
gradually not able to pay political dividends. This deserves to be
clearly stated that Ms Mayawati has strong and staunch defenders and
they have very aggressively maintained that her display of 'currency
garland' is not at all vulgar or unheard in Indian politics because
other political leaders too have been decorated in similar manner by
their supporters.
Ms Mayawati has claimed that she has been victimised and flayed
because her critics view her as Dalit. Is Chief Minister of a
formidable State a victim of the past? The answer is a big no.
Therefore, the story of victimhood cannot be carried beyond a point
and Ms Mayawati should fight politics on the basis of alternative
political issues.
http://dailypioneer.com/246202/Move-beyond-politics-of-victimhood.html
More at:
http://www.dailypioneer.com
Jai Maharaj, Jyotishi
Om Shanti
o Not for commercial use. Solely to be fairly used for the educational
purposes of research and open discussion. The contents of this post may not
have been authored by, and do not necessarily represent the opinion of the
poster. The contents are protected by copyright law and the exemption for
fair use of copyrighted works.
o If you send private e-mail to me, it will likely not be read,
considered or answered if it does not contain your full legal name, current
e-mail and postal addresses, and live-voice telephone number.
o Posted for information and discussion. Views expressed by others are
not necessarily those of the poster who may or may not have read the article.
FAIR USE NOTICE: This article may contain copyrighted material the use of
which may or may not have been specifically authorized by the copyright
owner. This material is being made available in efforts to advance the
understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic,
democratic, scientific, social, and cultural, etc., issues. It is believed
that this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as
provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title
17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without
profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included
information for research, comment, discussion and educational purposes by
subscribing to USENET newsgroups or visiting web sites. For more information
go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
If you wish to use copyrighted material from this article for purposes of
your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the
copyright owner.
Since newsgroup posts are being removed
by forgery by one or more net terrorists,
this post may be reposted several times.
It's time Mayawati takes up political
issues that matter, writes C P Bhambhri
Op-Ed
The Pioneer
Friday, April 2, 2010
Simplistic categories of analysis and interpretation cannot help in
capturing the complexities and contradictions of BSP chief Mayawati's
political and personal qualities and angularities. She is a bundle of
contradictions which gets revealed and reflected in her personal
responses in public life.
It deserves to be clearly stated that the chief ministership of Uttar
Pradesh is the most coveted political office because a mix of myth
and reality had been built around persons who became Chief Ministers
of such a crucial State beginning with Govind Ballabh Pant who
dominated the State politics and exercised power at the Centre.
After Pant, every Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh had a dream to
graduate from State politics to national politics. Mr Narain Dutt
Tiwari, Mr HN Bahuguna and Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav had the dream of
becoming Prime Minster of India. After the Lok Sabha election of 2009
Ms Mayawati too cherished the same dream. Though her dream didn't
fulfil, she got a prized catch in the form of chief ministership of
Uttar Pradesh and that too because of the sole effort of her party.
Ms Mayawati came to power in alliance with the Samajwadi Party in
1993-95 and the BJP in 1995, 1997, 2002-2003. Unfortunately, these
short-lived coalition Governments in Uttar Pradesh were setbacks to
Ms Mayawati's strategies of alliance formation. She claimed, even
asserted, that all allies during the elections took advantage of "her
Dalit vote-Bank" but their vote-banks did not transfer to the BSP.
She was losing in alliance politics but at the same time
consolidating her own Dalit vote-bank. Only Dalit vote-bank could not
bring real and decisive electoral victory to Mayawati in Uttar
Pradesh. Hence, on the eve of 2007 State Assembly elections, she
created a bloc of Dalits and Brahmins and out of 403 total seats in
the State Assembly, she for the first time won 206 seats leaving her
political rivals red-faced.
However, she did not learn any relevant lesson from her unquestioned
victory of 2007 State Assembly elections. On March 15, during silver
jubilee celebrations of the BSP, she earned herself the name --
daulat ke beti (daughter of wealth) by accepting currency garlands.
On the other hand, attacking Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi,
who is trying to emerge as an alternative Dalit icon, shows that Ms
Mayawati is feeling the heat. Her speech on March15, besides flaying
Mr Gandhi, clearly tried to convince people that she was the only
authentic leader of the Dalit castes and other backward castes.
Mayawati's insecurities and anxieties have started haunting her and
she has shown nervousness because a large State like Uttar Pradesh
consisting of 71 districts is full of problems and difficulties, and
it seems that her strategy of building statues and monuments is
gradually not able to pay political dividends. This deserves to be
clearly stated that Ms Mayawati has strong and staunch defenders and
they have very aggressively maintained that her display of 'currency
garland' is not at all vulgar or unheard in Indian politics because
other political leaders too have been decorated in similar manner by
their supporters.
Ms Mayawati has claimed that she has been victimised and flayed
because her critics view her as Dalit. Is Chief Minister of a
formidable State a victim of the past? The answer is a big no.
Therefore, the story of victimhood cannot be carried beyond a point
and Ms Mayawati should fight politics on the basis of alternative
political issues.
http://dailypioneer.com/246202/Move-beyond-politics-of-victimhood.html
More at:
http://www.dailypioneer.com
Jai Maharaj, Jyotishi
Om Shanti
o Not for commercial use. Solely to be fairly used for the educational
purposes of research and open discussion. The contents of this post may not
have been authored by, and do not necessarily represent the opinion of the
poster. The contents are protected by copyright law and the exemption for
fair use of copyrighted works.
o If you send private e-mail to me, it will likely not be read,
considered or answered if it does not contain your full legal name, current
e-mail and postal addresses, and live-voice telephone number.
o Posted for information and discussion. Views expressed by others are
not necessarily those of the poster who may or may not have read the article.
FAIR USE NOTICE: This article may contain copyrighted material the use of
which may or may not have been specifically authorized by the copyright
owner. This material is being made available in efforts to advance the
understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic,
democratic, scientific, social, and cultural, etc., issues. It is believed
that this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as
provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title
17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without
profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included
information for research, comment, discussion and educational purposes by
subscribing to USENET newsgroups or visiting web sites. For more information
go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
If you wish to use copyrighted material from this article for purposes of
your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the
copyright owner.
Since newsgroup posts are being removed
by forgery by one or more net terrorists,
this post may be reposted several times.