In what brings the anti-Brahmin sentiment bordering on hatred within the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance in Maharashtra, a Congress Minister Nitin Raut has triggered a major controversy by calling Brahmins “outsiders”.
A senior leader in the grand old party and Chairman of the SC Department, All India Congress Committee (AICC), Nitin Raut was speaking about the National Population Register (NPR) at an event organised by Phule, Shahu, Ambedkar Thought Conservation Committee, when he made hate remarks against the Brahmins.
He questioned if the Brahmins coming from other countries would teach the people of the country about procuring and producing identity certificates. He also said that the NPR would be allowed to be conducted only if it was drafted in accordance with the 2010 format, and not otherwise.
He went on to add that he could show his grandfather’s certificate because he was able to attain education despite being a Dalit, because of Dr. Ambedkar, but what about others who are not privileged enough to receive an education? Further instigating anti-Brahmin sentiment, he said that Brahmins coming from abroad want to teach common sense, but he would never let that happen.
At the outset, it is utterly absurd and far-fetched to make casteist remarks out of the NPR exercise. But looking beyond the inherent casteism in such comments, what it exposes is the anti-Brahmin sentiments that pervade across the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance.
The Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance and its supporters have been fomenting hatred against the Brahmins ever since it came to power. Look at this tweet by hatemonger of a journalist, Nikhil Wagle, for instance, wherein he states, “It is said Brahmins of Maharashtra are unhappy with Fadnavis’ exit. They thought it was their government. But Bahujans and rural masses are very happy to have this new anti-BJP government led by Uddhav Thackeray. It is a clear polarisation. Who cares for 3 % Brahmins!”
It is said Brahmins of Maharashtra are unhappy with Fadnavis’ exit. They thought it was their government. But Bahujans and rural masses are very happy to have this new anti-BJP government led by Uddhav https://t.co/a4uw1zBB86 is a clear polarisation. Who cares for 3 % Brahmins!
— nikhil wagle (@waglenikhil) November 27, 2019
It must be noted that Sharad Pawar is the real power centre controlling the Uddhav Thackeray led Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra. As such the Pawar led NCP has since long followed the political strategy of whipping up anti-Brahmin sentiment and painting the BJP as an ‘Upper Caste’ party, a strategy which it must have pushed further after Devendra Fadnavis- a Brahmin became the Maharashtra Chief Minister. In more than six decades of the state’s existence, Shiv Sena’s Manohar Joshi was the only other Brahmin Chief Minister.
What further pushed the NCP, Congress and even the Uddhav Thackeray led Sena towards instigating anti-Brahmin sentiment is the Maratha quota agitation. The politics of Maharashtra has been dominated by Marathas who constitute 32 per cent population of the state.
Maratha organisations are often accused of harbouring anti-Brahmin sentiment. It was at such a juncture that all the non-BJP players in the state- the Congress, NCP and the Shiv Sena extended support to the Maratha reservation demand giving a new fillip to the anti-Brahmin sentiment in the state.
It is true that Brahmins constitute only 3.5 per cent of the total population in the state. Their minuscule minority further marginalises them in Maharashtra politics. And then the emergence of the Maratha reservation stir has only renewed the traditional ‘Maratha v. Brahmin’ tussle in the state. As the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance seeks to consolidate the dominant Maratha vote bank, Brahmins might come under fire more often than not.