Politicising Ambedkar: Are Kapus being painted in dark to project Dalits as victims over renaming of Konaseema?

Coastal Andhra Pradesh witnesses fierce political slugfest between the state government and the Opposition over the renaming of Konaseema. Police make several arrests, after identifying the miscreants involved in violent activities

Lakshmana Venkat Kuchi

Political blame game has begun after violence and arson broke out in Amalapuram town in the newly carved out district of Konaseema in coastal Andhra Pradesh. Police made several arrests, after identifying the miscreants who allegedly engaged in violent activities, including setting fire at the residences of a state minister and an MLA, through CCTV footage.

On Wednesday, the situation was tense but under control after the administration imposed Section 144, shut off the Internet, and cordoned off the town. State home minister Taneti Vanitha said that the culprits will be brought to book.

It is unfortunate that over 20 police personnel were injured in the violence and stone-pelting by the mobs. The minister promptly blamed “some political parties and anti-social elements for the violence”, evoking a sharp response from the Opposition parties Jana Sena and Telugu Desam Party. They in turn point a finger at the ruling party and the government for failing to anticipate the sentiments of the people and botching up the situation.

Jana Sena chief and actor Pawan Kalyan was quick to lash out at the “government’s failure on the law and order front” and said the government was trying to shift the blame of its failures onto Jana Sena. “The government is solely responsible for the situation in Amalapuram and bringing the name of BR Ambedkar into controversy. “It is nothing but a diversionary tactic of the government to hide its failures on several fronts,” Pawan Kalyan said. Echoing similar sentiments, even Congress leader Sailaja Nath alleged that “it is nothing but Jagan’s political ploy.”

The BJP too denied any role in the violence and described it as a failure of the YSRCP government. BJP MP GVL Narasimha Rao on Wednesday said, “It is the YSRCP government that triggered the controversy over the name of Dr BR Ambedkar. The feelings of those opposing the change of name of Konaseema district should have been assuaged through talks.”

Countering Pawan Kalyan and others, state minister Dadisetti Raja said that many of those arrested were shouting slogans in favour of Pawan Kalyan and his party when being taken away by police. He also alleged that former chief minister and TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu was instigating trouble through Pawan Kalyan and his party. Another minister, Bosta Satyanarayana, held TDP and Jana Sena squarely responsible for violence and charged them with playing petty politics, and sadly are using Ambedkar as a political tool.

Bandaru Srinivas, a Hyderabad-based political analyst, expressed surprise over the turn of events and said that it was a clear case of intelligence failure. Going by the history of the region, the past violence, and the presence of strong for and against sentiments over the renaming issue, the administration should have seen what was coming and prevented it, he said, adding: “It is sad that the name of an icon like BR Ambedkar has been dragged into such an unseemly controversy.”

Politicising Ambedkar Are Kapus being painted in dark to project Dalits as victims over renaming of Konaseema

Protesters torch furniture outside Andhra Pradesh minister P Viswarup’s house in Amalapuram town on Tuesday. Image Courtesy Twitter

Putting the issue in perspective, Professor Harati Vageesan of NALSAR, Hyderabad, said that it was the result of counter assertion from the powerful and dominant Kapu caste to Dalit assertion. “The violence should not be surprising as it has been commonplace in Konaseema for over four decades,” Prof Vageesan said, adding that it was pure politics at play in the renaming, almost as if it was an afterthought.

It is a matter of record that several Dalit organisations were demanding the naming of the district after Ambedkar. “Even Opposition parties, TDP, YSRCP and other Dalit organisations too were demanding the naming of Konaseema after Ambedkar,” said state tourism minister Roja.

Advisor to state government, S Ramakrishna Reddy, said that he was sure the TDP and Jana Sena party were behind the conspiracy to create trouble in Amalapuram. “Even Chandrababu Naidu had demanded the naming of Konaseema after Ambedkar,” Reddy said and added, “Now the same Opposition parties were creating trouble and enmity between communities.”

Political commentator Vageesan opined that the ruling party may have tried to use the issue to mobilise and consolidate Dalit votes, and more importantly, isolate the Kapus. He lamented that Ambedkar has become a vote-catching entity for the ruling party, and even others.

“Ambedkar could have been a modernising, integrating icon, but neither the government, nor the civil society, nor the Dalits work towards that,” Vageesan said. “It is sad that he has been used as a mobilising tool of Dalits and vote-catching.”

It appears to be a political game in which Kapus are to be painted as the epicentre of negativity and present Dalits as victims, Prof Vageesan said.

It is for this reason that Pawan Kalyan stepped in with a strong denial of involvement in the violence and arson. He, in fact, alleged that people of the ruling party themselves set fire to their houses and indulged in arson and now are shifting the blame onto others. This line was taken by TDP leader Kinjarapu Acchayya Naidu, when he charged the ruling party with “orchestrating violence to distract public attention from the failures of the state government”. And the most immediate reason for this, the TDP leader said, was the growing unpopularity of the YSRCP government after the death of a Dalit youth.

Had the state government chosen a local Dalit icon instead of Ambedkar, political commentator Vageesan wondered, would there have been so much reaction? What one sees on the ground is the use of Ambedkar for Dalit mobilisation and assertion and the reaction to it from Kapus and other communities, he opined.

Some of the new districts were named after local icons — cultural, social, political — belonging to different castes like NT Rama Rao, Annamaya, Potti Sriramulu, and there have been no issues. But in the case of Dalits, Ambedkar was chosen — the icon used for Dalit assertion, drawing angry response from other communities.

In fact, in Andhra too there have been several instances of desecration of Ambedkar statues and consequent violence, indicating that deep fissures exist in the society on this count. The violence, thus, has come as no surprise, Vageesan said.

The state government had issued a preliminary notification seeking to rename Konaseema as BR Ambedkar Konaseema district and invited objections, if any, from the people, which triggered protests. The new district of Konaseema came into being on 4 April 2022.

The author is a senior journalist tracking social, economic, and political changes across the country. He was associated with the Press Trust of India, The Hindu, Sunday Observer and Hindustan Times. Views expressed are personal.

Courtesy : Firstpost

Note: This news piece was originally published in firstpost.com and used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes exclusively for Human Rights.