Sudha Pai and Sajjan Kumar, Maya, Modi, Azad: Dalit Politics in the Time of Hindutva (Harper Collins, 2023), 336 pp., ₹599.
Maya, Modi, Azad: Dalit Politics in the Time of Hindutva by political scientists Sudha Pai and Sajjan Kumar is a narrative-based account of how the rise of Hindutva as a dominant political phenomenon under Narendra Modi has impacted Dalit politics. The book focuses on Uttar Pradesh (UP) in particular, where the resurgence of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has damaged the Dalit politics led by the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Mayawati. The book, divided into eight chapters, mainly argues that Dalit politics in UP has entered a post-BSP phase. Both authors argue that the BSP’s politics, which started in the 1980s, have created political consciousness and a sense of dignity among Dalits. The BSP’s founder Kanshiram and his lieutenant Mayawati posed an ideological challenge to the political hegemony of the so-called upper caste and ensured that Dalits do not remain a mere vote bank for any party. The BSP benefitted from its political moves and obtained a significant vote bank of Dalits in the 1990s and the early 2000s. According to Pai and Kumar, because of the BSP’s politics, a small but assertive Dalit middle class has emerged in UP. This assertive section now wants to move forward from politics of self-respect to material advancement, looking for parties beyond the BSP as their avenue. more...