Another opportunist alliance has come to power in Uttar Pradesh after the fall of the Mayawati Government. After its ascent to power, attacks on Dalits have begun intensifying in various places.

It is the BJP which was the most pressurized following the triangular results of the 2002 elections in UP. This party went down to the third position after being the largest prior to the polls, and the mutual struggle for supremacy among the leaders of the upper castes intensified. Secondly, there was pressure to remain in the government in UP – centre of its Ram Janambhoomi agitation, and the most populous and an important state – so that the 24 party alliance of the Central Govt. would not come under pressure from an opposition Govt. in UP.

Internal dissidence was already on in the BJP prior to polls, and mutual conflicts intensified between Lalji Tandon, Kalraj Mishra and Rajnath Singh groups after the removal of Kalyan Singh. These groups were fuelled by the Central leaders – Atal Bihari Vajpai and L.K. Advani. Ram Prakash Gupta became Chief Minister as a result of these fights. Rajnath Singh was later made Chief Minister in a bid to project a ‘capable’ leader in the coming state assembly polls, and it was natural that mutual clashes among these groups would intensify after electoral defeat.

In this weak position, BJP agreed to an alliance with BSP and to Mayawati as Chief Minister for the entire term. But due to the internal struggles in BJP, this alliance was continually under pressure. On the one hand, some BJP leaders, who were close to Rajnath Singh and whose names the party did not submit for ministership, rebelled. On the other hand, some independent MLAs under Raja Bhaiyya intensified the pitch of rebellion. The indiscipline of the Rambhakts continually dominated the Mayawati led alliance based as it was on a weak majority. Ministers who called for the unity of the country in the name of Hindutva, themselves broke away in the race for ministerial posts. The rebel MLAs raised the banner of ‘principles’ and RSS was unable to hold its ranks together. In a bid to save her Govt., Mayawati used POTA, Gangster Act, issues of illegal occupation of government land, personal tax, sales tax law violations and other laws against some of them; especially against relatives of Raja Bhaiyya, so that the number of the rebel MLAs should remain low.

All the actions against Raja Bhaiyya of Pratapgarh are living proofs of the unbounded properties illegally acquired by him. Violating the Zamindari Abolition Act, and holding on to several square kilometres of land, not paying income tax and sales tax, keeping a feudal control over politics in the area including law and order, electoral machinery and police administration machinery – all these were brought to light and became the subject of discussions. But even a tiny portion of the land, ponds and gardens confiscated from him were not distributed among the poor landless of the area by the Mayawati Government – neither among the Harijans, nor among the other poor. The Kunda tehsil of Pratapgarh district is a living example of the sway of landlords in ‘independent’ India, of how bonded labour is alive, how a feudal ‘democracy’ runs in the villages. These actions of the Mayawati Govt. definitely created some enthusiasm among the village poor, but the aim of these acts was not to render relief to the poor. They were only done with a view to protecting her Govt.

This was the third time that Mayawati had become CM of UP. But, as before, she did not solve any of the problems of the people. In the Asarvai Village in Bara tehsil of Allahabad, a landlord had occupied over 300 acres of land, the 94 pattas of which belong to the village poor. As soon as the government was formed, Mayawati talked about giving possession to all patta holding Harijans, with which, in villages like Asarvai, officials began touring the area. After the tours, the officials began pressurizing the Harijans to sign the certificates for getting possession and to hand them over. Alerted by the government pronouncements the landlords also obtained stay-orders from courts and the patta holding poor were left making rounds of the district officials and Lucknow along with their leaders. However, the process for giving possession never even started!

The three terms of Mayawati’s rule have reinforced that while it is possible for some Dalit leaders, elected by the vote bank of the poor, to find their place in some administrative posts and corridors of state power, they cannot change the sway of the landlords or their hold over lands, nor the anti-poor, biased attitude of the administration, police and courts. Rather the fact is that the Mayawati Govt. did not even try to make any such change. She remained busy in touring the districts to ensure the carrying out of her orders, and transferring some officials. But her orders remained confined to completing some public programmes in a few villages of the areas, designated as Ambedkar villages. So the officials worked day and night to put together something in villages she toured and pretended that work had been completed. On the other hand, even BSP’s own functionaries made many applications regarding the problems of pattas of Harijans in villages such as Asarvai, but no action was taken. In its entire term, BSP neither raised the question of giving land to the tiller, nor of raising wages, nor of loan waivers for the poor. Rather in this term of theirs, the UP Govt. distorted a Supreme Court ruling and issued orders cancelling all pattas on land of old ponds.

Perhaps Mayawati understands that without solving the problems of the poor despite repeatedly forming the government, it is not possible to continue to fool the people with slogans of ‘Dalits’, ‘85%-15%’, ‘Bahujan vs. Brahminism’. That is why in the course of this term she repeated several times that in order to solve problems, a BSP Govt. will have to be formed at the Centre.

Mulayam Singh tried very hard to break the alliance of the Mayawati Govt. He and his party repeatedly labelled the proceedings against criminal and tyrannical feudals like Raja Bhaiyya as atrocities on the people and a violation of democracy. While the BJP leadership could not support these MLAs due to their anti-government activities, the SP activated leaders like Amar Singh and continually opposed the Govt. Along with, with a view to increasing the internal tension within this alliance based on upper castes and Harijans, in many places, Thakur landlords attacked Harijans.

It is important to note that the ‘Samajwadi’ Party did not oppose the BSP-BJP Govt.’s privatization of power sector under the dictates of World Bank, nor the non-payment of dues to sugarcane farmers, nor the privatization of health and education services, nor the hike in electricity tariffs, nor the interference in the work of governance in UP by World Bank officials. All these items are inalienable parts of Mulayam Singh’s ‘samajwad’ (socialism) and he is going to do the same.

The current ruling alliance is based on a caste alliance, the most important basis of its unity in the village being the opposition to Dalits. That is why, as soon as the Mulayam Singh Govt. was formed, atrocities on Harijans began not only in Kunda Tehsil of Pratapgarh but even in other districts. Antisocial elements attacked Harijans and such incidents are continuing. In reality, Mulayam Singh’s coalition Govt. is based on the unity of criminal feudal forces. And this coalition also has the support of CPI and CPM! The change in the attitude of the police also substantiates the anti-Harijan attitude. Those police officials, who used to hesitate to openly threaten Harijans during Mayawati’s term, today openly abuse them. Neither did they register the cases of Harijans earlier, nor can any such expectation be had from them now.

The activities of both the Governments, especially Mulayam Singh’s Govt., show quite clearly that these looting ‘gangsters’ have nothing to do with law and order or with rules. As soon as the Govt. changed, without the permission of the Court, the criminal Raja Bhaiyya was taken from the jail to the hospital on pretext of illness. The Gangster Act was revoked without being proved baseless, and the same DM, Commissioner, IG and SP who were accusing Raja Bhaiyya of being a terrorist, are willing to revoke this allegation as soon as the Govt. has changed. On the other hand, when leaders of revolutionary organizations challenge that the cases heaped on them and the people under Terrorist, Gangster and Arms Acts, are false, politically motivated and lodged by the police to terrorize the people, these same authorities counsel that such arguments should be placed before the court, though everyone knows that courts will not give justice even after tens of years. All these officials are guided not by law but by politics, a politics that is against the people and in favour of their looters.

The people should take lessons from the experiences of Mayawati and Mulayam Singh of government formation. Both the governments are administering / running the rule of big bourgeoisie, big landlords. Both are abolishing existing welfare activities for the people by implementing World Bank dictated policies, whether it is in the name of developing Ambedkar villages (thereby terminating development activities in other villages) or in the name of the ‘socialism’ of big Mafia. The big, tyrannical, criminal feudal groups active under the flag of BJP have been active in the formation of both governments. Neither of the two governments has any programme for the development of the people.

The people should also take the lesson that they can only get their rights when the landless poor, a major section of which is Dalits and minorities, make their own fighting unity and challenge the exploitative classes and their protector governments. Forces like SP and BSP divide the unity of the struggling people on the basis of caste. On the other hand, the feudal elements in the countryside organize their caste for oppression and so increase their own strength. Caste and communal divisions are important weapons of the ruling classes to sustain their rule, and opposition to these is possible only by uniting the people in the course of struggles on their problems.

In the fall of the Mayawati Govt., the BJP revoked support in the name of Taj Corridor issue and allowed the Mulayam Singh Govt. to be formed in order to defer polls. The BJP fears the people, and all fascist forces fear having to go back repeatedly to the people. As far as corruption is concerned, the BJP has established many new records in this field, knowing that the Indian legal system does not hold any big thief to be guilty. On the score of open license to make money, ‘Ramraj’ is already on for NDA leaders. Mayawati also took her chance for a few days to make hay while the sun shone.