Keeping up with UP: Why ban on caste references may boomerang

When the idea of caste is ingrained in the social and political fabric, can a ban on references to it be feasible and make a difference

In the 2024 national polls, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) seats in Uttar Pradesh fell from 62 out of 80 in 2019 to 33, as the party’s overall tally dropped below the majority mark in parliament. The Samajwadi Party (SP) bagged 37 seats, up from 32, and the Congress increased its count to six seats from one. In 2014, the BJP won 71 seats. Three years later, it swept to power in the state, winning 312 out of 403 assembly seats.

Chief minister Yogi Adityanath. (HT PHOTO)

Ahead of the 2022 assembly polls, chief minister Yogi Adityanath sought to make it an “80% versus 20%” election, in what was seen as an attempt to consolidate Hindu votes. Hindus roughly account for the state’s 80% population, and Muslims 20%.

The BJP swept back to power in 2022. Two years later, the 2024 Lok Sabha election results in Uttar Pradesh were a major setback for the BJP and its ideological fount, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. A unified Hindu vote bank they have sought to create for decades appeared to be fragmenting.

Buoyed by its performance, the SP, which also emerged as the third-largest party in the Lok Sabha, accelerated its efforts to counter the “80% versus 20%” formulation through its Pichra, Dalit, and Alpsankhyak (PDA) formula of consolidating backward, Dalit, and Muslim voters, taking a leaf out of the Bahujan Samaj Party Kanshi Ram’s book.

Kanshi Ram envisaged a “bahujan samaj” as a similar social coalition, when the BJP was projected as a party of the upper castes, estimated to account for less than 20% of the population.

The BJP’s 2024 poll slogan, “Ab ki baar, 400 paar” (over 400 seats in the 543-member Lok Sabha), was seen to have created a perception among marginalised communities that the brute majority could be used to effect constitutional changes needed to abolish the quota system. Its welfare schemes remain a source of leverage among lower castes.

The Uttar Pradesh government’s order last month for the removal of caste references from police records, public notices, and vehicles in compliance with the high court can prove counterproductive when the upper castes, especially the Rajputs, are seen to be ruling the roost.

A society free of caste discrimination remains a much-cherished dream. Socialist leader Ram Manohar Lohia advocated inter-caste marriages, doing away with caste symbols for it. Lohia pointed out that even those who outwardly deny caste live within its framework, as it governs major life events, birth, marriage, and death.

When caste is ingrained in the social and political fabric, can a ban on caste display be feasible? Even Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis disagreed with the move.

The state government could have challenged the high court directive, but chose not to do so. The Gujjar-Rajput tussle over ninth-century ruler Raja Mihir Bhoj’s legacy, with both communities claiming it, may have been among the reasons for banning caste references. Many Gujjar meetings were cancelled, and some of their leaders were also arrested amid the tensions between the two communities.

Ajay Som, who heads Rajput Utthan Samiti, said police have stopped them from even putting up the organisation’s banner for their apolitical meetings. He added that he had to cancel a press meet. “The police should take action against those who instigate caste clashes, but not against social organisations. Sometimes, they are selective in their actions, too,” he said.

Journalist Sunil Kashyap said the administration has been removing caste-based banners and posters. Many question how the Rajput panchayats in support of Adityanath, a Rajput, were allowed ahead of the 2024 elections. Others pointed to the desecration of BR Ambedkar’s statues and the refusal to allow the Dalit marriage procession to pass through Rajput villages. There has been unease over inaction after the Rajput organisation Karni Sena ransacked the house of SP lawmaker Ramji Lal Suman in Agra.

Kashyap said the ban on caste references against this backdrop would strengthen the SP’s PDA formula. “It is a decision taken in haste without considering the pros and cons.”

Successive state governments announced public holidays or named buildings and roads after these caste heroes for their votes. Many point to Adityanath’s comments that he is proud to be born a Rajput, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s references to his backward caste background. Surnames of most political leaders reflect their caste. BJP’s ally Sanjay Nishad’s Nishad Party is named after his caste. Interestingly, on the day the state government issued the caste reference ban order, the BJP was holding a caste convention.

Caste is the major factor in politics. It reflects in the selection of office bearers, candidates, and even government appointments. Kanshi Ram played up the caste configuration of his government and the official team. Others have been more subtle. Caste has played a role in the formation of the cabinets and in the appointment of bureaucrats. It is too deep-rooted for an administrative decision to change anything.