The next general election looks certain to produce another hung Parliament. This will give many politicians a chance to cobble together coalitions and become prime minister. At a recent office discussion, I opined that Mayawati, head of the BSP, had the best chance.
Some youngsters in my office found this disturbing. One said, \”If Mayawati becomes PM, won\’t that lower India\’s prestige? She is corrupt, crude and unprincipled. Doesn\’t India need a prime minister who is more presentable to the world?\”
I explained that Mayawati was actually the most presentable candidate by far. If she becomes PM, India can claim to be the most empowering democracy in the world. Nowhere else has a woman from the bottom of the social and gender ladders risen to the top.
Women are oppressed in India, and Dalits are the most oppressed caste. For a Dalit to rise to the top would be miraculous. For a female Dalit to do so would be doubly miraculous. If Mayawati becomes prime minister, she will become a beacon of hope for oppressed people across the world.
Many middle class Indians want a prime minister from their class who is honest, principled and erudite; who can debate intellectual issues with the best in the world. Mayawati does not qualify. Jawaharlal Nehru had all these qualifications, and so is still admired. Yet, the world has seen many leaders from eminent families, blessed with wealth, status and foreign education. Never before has the world seen a Dalit woman rising to Nehru\’s level.
isited Pakistan in 2003, he was a huge hit. Pakistanis had seen many Indian politicians from top families. They were utterly unprepared for and thrilled by this man who made a virtue of his humble antecedents, who used earthy language and rural aphorisms utterly unlike the sophisticated prattle of the chattering classes. No Pakistani of his class could ever aspire to political stardom, and for that reason Lalu was viewed as a superstar. Ditto for Mayawati.
Dynastic politics has enabled many women to rise to the top in the sub-continent. Consider Indira and Sonia Gandhi in India, Begums Khaleda and Hasina in Bangladesh, Benazir Bhutto in Pakistan, and Srimavo Banadaranaike and Chandrika Kumaratunge in Sri Lanka. All became prime ministers because of their dynastic lineage.
Mayawati has no such lineage. She grew up in a Dalit shanty town, daughter of a lowly clerk. Most Dalit women don\’t dare speak in public. But Mayawati became a school teacher, spitting fire at public meetings. This brought her to the attention of Kanshi Ram, who was organising a Dalit political party. Kanshi Ram persuaded Mayawati to abandon her plans to join the civil service, and plunge into politics instead. The rest is history.
She may be a symbol of what democracy can achieve. Yet, her own behaviour within the BSP is utterly autocratic. She has mercilessly purged old comrades who dared dissent. She is seen as unprincipled since she has first teamed up with and then broken with every political party in sight, for short-term gains.
I once asked Kanshi Ram whether he was rightist or leftist. He replied, \”Neither: I am opportunist.\” So is Mayawati. Her only guiding principle is to promote the interest of Dalits and herself. Everything else is negotiable. She started by castigating Brahmins as oppressors of Dalits. Yet, today she has stitched together a convenient alliance with those very Brahmins.
She can be crude, abusive and arbitrary, and so has antagonised all other parties. Yet, she remains politically attractive. When she allies with another party, her Dalit votes get transferred to the ally\’s candidates. No other party can guarantee this transferability. That makes her an awesome ally. An election jingle says it all: Auron ki majboori hai, Mayawati zaroori hai. (It\’s the misfortune of others, Mayawati is indispensable).
Like many other politicians, she faces several criminal cases, notably the Taj Corridor case. Other politicians seek to hide their ill-gotten wealth, but Mayawati glories in it. Her Dalit followers view her wealth as a symbol not of corruption but Dalit empowerment: she has beaten the upper castes at their own corrupt game.
Her self-declared assets rose from Rs 16 crore before the 2004 general election to Rs 52 crore before the UP election in 2007. This made her far richer than other chief ministers such as Prakash Singh Badal (Rs 9.2 crore), Karunanidhi (Rs 22 crore) or Chandrababu Naidu (Rs 21 crore).
She paid income tax of Rs 26 crore in 2007-08, making her one of the top taxpayers in India, in the company of film stars and industrialists. Mayawati has faced prosecution for having wealth disproportionate to income. She says the money represents gifts from well wishers. And a tax tribunal recently upheld her contention.
The world is not interested in the gory details. Politicians everywhere face sundry charges, and the world notices only if this results in political dismissal. So, if Mayawati becomes PM, the world will lionise her as a Dalit heroine. And it will lionise India as a democracy without parallel.
Why should mayawati become PM just because she is a dalit?What sort of shallow sense of equality is that?It would’nt benefit dalits in any way as they worst treated in UP and tamil nadu politics is only for backward castes,not dalits!BTW we have had a dalit president in R.K.Narayan.Besides brahmins were poor in pre-colonial India(self imposed) and powerless.They are poor and powerless today too(atleast 30%).Still electing a brahmin to power merely to empower seems unthinkable,does’nt it Mr.Liberal?brahmins carry all the burden of the supposed evil of the caste system.They were and are the worst affected by it! Dalits were much better off in comparison,with some even having ancestral properties.BTW why should castes be involved in everything?Why should a poor OC or brahmin be denied an engineering or medicine seat despite scoring 98%?under the justification that an OBC,BC,Dalit who scores 50% has more eligibility over it merely because of his/here birth?Is that what promotes equality?No it merely replaces one underclass with another.The brahmins are merely vindicated because they are docile,peacefull,3% of population in this filthy representative democracy.brahmins thought they were nationalistic in adopting a one child policy in the 70s so as to help the population explosion taking place then.They did their part,unfortunately others did’nt care and boomed the population of their repsective castes leading to more representation.India today truely does’nt care for the welfare of all and people like modi who practise true inclusive development are communalised by the congress and liberal hippies like yourself just because of that one riot.According to your logic,we should’nt vote for the congress either because of the party backed pogroms against the sikhs in 1984.They have also engineered multiple other riots.The DMK and periar,kamarajar and other dravidian leaderws openly discriminated against brahmins?Their only fault being brahmins were successfull…without any sort of reservation or support.why don’t we consider the DMk or congress communal?Because this whole modi/BJP is communal concept has been created by congress and our India media awash with petrochemical dollars.
India does’nt need a dalit like mayawati or a communist like nehru or a BC.What we need is good,modern, forward thinking leaders-caste no bar.
Thanks for this article.. i wish mayawati become the PM
Yes, Mayawati deserves to be PM of India and it is going to be materialised in near future. She is not representing the Dalits but the countrymen as a whole. The World will witness her incumbent as PM of one of the biggest democrary with applause.
Great article..
It is 100% sure that BSP Supremo will be Next P.M of India.
As you said Mayawati one of the most INCOME tax payees in india than how can she be a corrupt , UP is now (akhilesh govt) becoming like kashmir, we have two personalities for PM One is Mayawati and another one is Narendra Modi JAI HIND
Mayawati ji is the most deserving condidate as PM.
Yes. Why should’nt Mayawati become the Prime Minister of India ? She is only politician who has guts to dismiss her own cabinet colleague when found involved in a crime. She does not brook indiscipline and it was during her regime law and order situation was most satisfactory. She may be blunt, she may indulge in bulldozing,but at least she did not engineer communal or caste riots. The hypocrisy quotient is least in her. She never appeases any category including hers beyond a point. She stands for Bahujan Samaj-an inclusive structure in which all castes shall have equal share in political power. With some corrections in her policies she would make a very pragmatic and progressive PM. She alone has a pan Indian appeal and she alone can best Modi on any turf. It would be naive to believe that only Dalits admire her. I am an upper caste non Brahmin Hindu. I root for her.
yes mayawati will b the PM of India. only she can solve the problems of Indian. not Modi r Rahul gandhi
Mayawati can built India according to constitution of INDIA. She is only iron person who can built India Sorrow free. So my choice for the post of PM is Mayawati.
Behanji will be the PM of India.. If she becomes PM all proproblems of bahujans will be solved which have not solved by bjp n congres yet
Great Article !!
Behen Mayawatiji represent true India and she will ensure that every Indian is empowered to take this country to the glory of King Ashoka’s period.
Very interesting and thought provoking article !!!
We very much want to see Behan Mayawati Ji as PM of India , she will not only unite all the Dalits ST and Backward classes but will also provide the equal share of resources to the mentioned backward people who are deprived of their share from thousands of years . It will increase the stature of the country in the whole world .
Interesting. So people say that communalism is not good, but have no objection to accepting somebody as a PM just becuase she happens to be of a specific caste. These people cry foul when people talk of Hindutva, but when somebody seeks to be a PM just on the basis of minority religon or minority caste, the so called secularist welcome it. What absolute jokers and hypocrites.
I was reading your article in sunday TOI. Now it has been proved that newstrader like you only writes for money or misguide pepole.Now do u have any answer for BSP peformance of this gernal election BSP got 0 in UP.Any comments ?
If the dalit queen Mayabati want to be next PM of India.She should put more priority to each state as UP.Specially,if she put focus on Odisha easily BSP can make CM.Bcz most of Dalit people are in Odisha.I hope the Iron lady Mayabati will be next PM in India.