Abdul Bari Masoud analyses how the Congress is fully focused on social engineering while getting ready for the upcoming elections. The party has not only set aside 50% of its organisational positions for Dalits, tribals, underprivileged minorities, and women, but has also proposed caste-based census, a separate ministry for OBC, and other social justice and empowerment initiatives.
It appears that the Congress is fully focused on social engineering while getting ready for the upcoming elections. In an effort to retain its base of supporters, the party has not only set aside 50% of its organisational positions for Dalits, tribals, underprivileged minorities, and women, but has also proposed caste-based census, a separate ministry for OBC, and other social justice and empowerment initiatives.
In addition to this, at its 3-day 85th Plenary Session in Raipur, the Congress has also promised to introduce the “Rohith Vemula Act,” a specific piece of law, to address issues of caste-based prejudice encountered by minority and SC/ST students in educational settings.
The conclave adopted six resolutions, one of which specifically addressing social justice. Minority-related issues, including the rising frequency of mob lynchings and hate crimes, were too addressed in the 46-point resolution on social justice.
It talks of the party re-committing itself to “strongly resist the attacks on India’s welfare and affirmative action architecture by engaging in constructive politics and implementing creative policies”.
It underlines that “over the past nine years, the BJP Government has been undermining these constitutional rights and entitlements. Driven by their ideological imperatives, the RSS-BJP have unleashed deliberate and relentless efforts against the interest of India’s religious minorities, as well as Dalits, Adivasis, OBCs and women. Today, each of these sections of society faces severe threats to their rights, livelihoods, culture and sense of identity and dignity. This poses a grave threat to the principles of social, economic and political justice espoused by the freedom movement and enshrined in our Constitution.”
The resolution expresses commitment to “further strengthen the legal mechanism for ensuring protection of rights of these communities” and mentions mob lynching, a term that has been used for several incidents in the recent past where mob violence over issues like cattle smuggling has claimed several lives, particularly in the BJP-ruled states.
“Mob lynching particularly against minorities, atrocities against SCs and STs and violence against women have touched record highs in the last nine years. The sense of insecurity and agony among these communities/groups is extremely high because they are being continuously targeted with hate and gruesome violence by the BJP-RSS and their affiliates.”
The party also made a number of commitments, including to abolish prejudice in educational settings if it comes to power in 2024.
The 24th point of the resolution says, “To redress the discrimination faced by the students from SC, ST, OBC and minority communities in educational institutions, the Congress Party commits to enact a special Act called the Rohith Vemula Act to protect and safeguard their right to education and dignity.”
Rohith Vemula died by suicide on January 17, 2016. His passing away caused demonstrations and indignation throughout India, and it received extensive media coverage as a case of state-sanctioned discrimination against Dalits in the educational institutions.
In his death 26-year-old PhD student Rohith Vemula has become a symbol of resistance to injustice and indignity. He was a member of the Ambedkar Students’ Association, which fights for the rights of Dalit (formerly known as untouchable) students on the campus. He was one of five Dalit students who were protesting against their expulsion from the university’s housing facility.
Vemula’s suicide has put the spotlight on the issue of caste discrimination and harassment plaguing higher educational institutions. The latest in this series is the death of Darshan Solanki, 18, a student at IIT Bombay. He died ostensibly after jumping from the seventh storey of his dormitory building on the campus of the university in Powai in Mumbai. There was no suicide note, and the police have started an inquiry into the death as an accident. But, investigations are still ongoing since, according to a student organisation, he committed suicide as a result of hostility on campus towards people from the Scheduled Caste.
In an Instagram post, the Ambedkar Periyar Phule Study Circle alleged that it is “no hidden fact that students from the SC/ST community face immense harassment and discrimination on the campus from students, faculties and employees”.
In 2019, a Muslim tribal girl Payal Tadvi took her own life by hanging from a ceiling fan. She was a second-year MD student at Mumbai’s TN Topivala National Medical College (TNMC) in Mumbai. Payal Tadvi’s suicide points to deep-seated prejudices towards Dalit and tribal students. Seven months before she hanged herself, Tadvi, 26, had confided in a friend that seniors were troubling her, even joking that everyone feared she might commit suicide.
Bowing to the demands of Dalits, the Congress promised to enact the anti-discriminatory law.
At the session, the former ruling party also declared that it would uphold secularism in letter and spirit and would take the lead in defending the rights of minorities, SCs, STs and OBCs.
The 16th point of the resolution alleges that “The BJP has methodically weakened India’s political, economic and social institutions, which has seriously affected the nation’s interest, particularly that of SCs, STs, OBCs, and Minorities. There is therefore an urgent need to create a new institutional architecture that can redress structural fault-lines and problems created in the last nine years”.
It proposes of setting up a ‘National Council for Social Justice’ on the lines of National Development Council, which will not only review the progress and gaps in implementing India’s social justice policies and legislations but also tangibly safeguard, strengthen and defend the rights and entitlements meant for SCs, STs, OBC, and Minorities throughout India.
“The Council will also undertake surveys across the country to study inequalities and comprehensively map the socio-economic and political status of these sections in India and publish a “State of Social Justice Report”, along the lines of the National Economic Survey, a day before the Budget is presented every year”.
The BJP’s National Education Policy 2020 has received harsh criticism from the party in its resolution on education. The draft states that NEP2020 “aims to damage the public education system by attempting to limit the complete education to that of reading, numeracy, and skilling.”
While addressing the concluding session, Party President Kharge dubbed the New Education Policy as “Nagpur policy” (referring to RSS headquarters).
On minorities which have been experiencing a lot of hardships and existential crises, the party says “National Commission for Minorities plays an important role in protecting the rights and livelihoods of Minorities. Congress Party is committed to accord Constitutional status to the National Commission for Minorities to endow the Commission with powers to serve the community better. Congress Party commits to implement a special welfare scheme for minority welfare based on the recommendations of the Sachar Committee. The Multi-Sectoral Development Programme (MSDP) and the 15-point programme for minorities (as enunciated by Smt Indira Gandhi, reformulated by Shri Rajiv Gandhi and effectively implemented by Dr Manmohan Singh) shall be implemented in full.”
It also assures OBCs that the party commits to creating a dedicated ministry for the empowerment of the OBCs. The Ministry will focus on expanding educational and employment opportunities of OBCs and provision of civic amenities in their habitations.
There have been hints that the party is getting ready to play the social justice card in the coming days ever since prominent Dalit politician Mallikarjun Kharge was elected president of the Congress. This year, there will be assembly elections in states with a significant Dalit and tribal population, including Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka. In such scenario, the Congress has begun attempting to communicate with these sections.
Why the Congress is keen to woo back these sections of the society can be understood from the following facts:
1- There are around 15 percent tribal people in Gujarat, and they have a significant influence on 38 assembly seats.
2- In Madhya Pradesh, there are 47 seats designated for the ST class, however there are 84 seats where this class has a significant electoral impact.
3- The ST group makes up roughly 12.5 percent of the population of Rajasthan, and 25 seats are set aside for them.
4- Tribal voters make up 23% of the electorate in Odisha as well, and 24 seats are set aside for them.
5- In Chhattisgarh, where the ST population is more than 30% of the total, 29 assembly seats are set aside for them.
6- In Jharkhand, where the population is over 26% of the total, 28 assembly seats are set aside for STs.
Even at the plenary session Dr. Ambedkar’s pictures and cut-outs were also prominently displayed.
The party started the Hath se Hath Jodo campaign after the Bharat Jodo Yatra. Party supporters are urged to knock at the doors in isolated villages, as instructed by the party leadership. The Chhattisgarh government recently enacted the reservation bill, in which a quota of 32% was allocated to tribals, 13% to Dalits, 27% to OBCs, and 4% was allocated to the general category. Throughout the Bharat Jodo Yatra, Rahul Gandhi made every effort to assist tribals and Dalits. He observed Birsa Munda’s birthday in Maharashtra and paid respects at the monuments to Tantya Mama, Shahuji Maharaj, Jyotiba Phule, and Dr. Ambedkar.
It is believed that the Congress will gain from its social engineering in states like UP and Bihar. BrijlalKhabri, a prominent Dalit leader in Uttar Pradesh, has already been named the party’s president of Uttar Pradesh Zone. Remember that the Dalit, Brahmin, and Muslim classes were previously the Congress’s main voter base, but after the Mandal-Kamandal politics, it became dispersed. The party now appears to be working towards this goal with a clear plan. How successful the grand old party will be with this new outreach initiative remains to be seen.