Why Dalit Protests are Just a Prelude to 2019 General Elections

Sociologist Dilip Mandal feels the Supreme Court has made the SC/ST atrocities act a blunt piece of legislation.

The Quint speaks to sociologist Dilip Mandal about the wider ramifications of widespread protests by Dalit groups. 

(Photo: Kanishk Dangi/The Quint)

Video Editor: Vishal Kumar

The nation on Monday witnessed widespread protests by Dalit organisations over the Supreme Court’s verdict on the SC/ST atrocities act. The protests gain significance in the year before 2019 general elections and raise important questions on the Central government’s stand on the matter.

In the backdrop of these recent developments, The Quint’s Editorial Director Sanjay Pugalia spoke to Socioligist Dilip C Mandal, who said the apex court’s order had made the law rather blunt.

As far as the Centre is concerned, Mandal maintained that it too, had fallen on the wrong side and should have passed an ordinance against the SC’s order.

The SC/ST Act was created to save about 37 million people in the country from oppression. This act should have been defended both by the Centre and the Supreme Court. 

Dilip C Mandal, Sociologist

Echoing Mandal, Pugalia noted that the government had failed to feel the pulse of the Dalit agitation and has been dragging its feet over filing a review petition in the courts.

Erring as the Centre and the court in this case may be, does it justify widespread arson and violence that reportedly left over nine dead on Monday?

Mandal feels it is too early to hold any particular group responsible for the unrest, but he’s sure that it laid bare the anger among Dalit masses in the country. He, however, maintains that violence is not the way out and must not be resorted to at any cost.

Monday’s stir, although spurred by the Supreme Court’s order, does have a wider backdrop, said Pugalia. He cites recent incidents of discrimination against the Dalit community, which have caused them to come out in the streets.

In the 21st century, there can be no restriction on a Dalit not being allowed to keep a mustache, or climbing a horse, or driving a car. And when such news comes, the Dalit community feels distressed.  

Sanjay Pugalia, Editorial Director, The Quint

But as mentioned earlier, the Dalit agitation also speaks to a wider political discourse ahead of the looming general elections in 2019. Pugalia feels that a bevy of Dalit political workers are prepping for the elections, and it is up to the Opposition to amplify these dissenting and powerful voices.

Dilip Mandal says the BJP will have to bear its political loss in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. There is a big difficulty in front of him. Now the government should have brought an ordinance instead of review petitions or should have made the law which was missed.

For now, it’s amptly clear that desperate attempts made by the BJP and the Sangh to bring the Dalit community within the Hinduthva umbrella have backfired and snowballed into a massive Bharat Bandh. In the coming days, its effect will be clearly seen among the political parties of the country.