PNIB NEWS INDIA- Editorial Board Issue.
The Downtrodden society of India and the Agenda of Political Parities in the regard, in view of Election 2017, so called politics in and in favour of Dalits.
Dr. Sathi's Interview in view of Ajenda of political Prties against Dalits and MBCs. 1993
Lucknow: "will the BJP ensure that the head priest of the proposed ram temple be an M.B.C. or an extreme dalit or will the post continue to be reserved for an upper caste?
Why is the congress suddenly going gaga over my report.
It had full 10 years at its disposal to implement the same. the truth is that it is neither the bjp nor the congress or even the sp or bsp which have a genuine concern for these castes. they are all using them for their vested interests." for octogenarian dr chhedi lal sathi the wheel has come a full circle.
Having scripted the Sathi’s most backward classes commission report in the seventies (and also seen it thrown in the lumber room), he now finds political parties of all hues waxing eloquent on the need to better the lot of this section of society. but Sathi knows that nothing will come out of these efforts. "chunavi hathkhnade hai" (they are election stunts), he says wryly. and not without reason. it was in october 1975 that then uttar pradesh chief minister H.N. Bahuguna requisitioned the services of Dr. Sathi for compiling a report on the MBCs with its main thrust on how to improve their economic status. "all communities of the BCs are caste based who have been following their traditional professions down the ages. I had emphasised on the need to equip with modern tools those who wanted to continue with their traditional profession while simultaneously ensuring special quota and licence benefits to those who wanted to branch out. the other aspects were free education, better living conditions etc.
The stress obviously was on economic uplift," he said. but the well-known differences between former prime minister indira gandhi and bahuguna saw the report being shelved. says Sathi: "Bahuguna was removed within 13 days of constituting the commission. his successor ND Tewari showed no inclination towards this issue. when i submitted the report in 1977, there were no takers in the congress for it. the upper caste bias was all too evident despite the lip sympathy for the sc/sts and mbcs." the lip sympathy is bjp's hallmark also, he feels. sathi finds this sudden concern on the saffron party's part amusing, especially in the light of its opposition to the implementation of the mandal commission's report which eventually led to the fall of the vp singh government.
"mandal ko lekar hi to kamandal chala (the temple politics was a fallout of the mandal) . the bjp had to take recourse to this stunt. mulayam walked off with the yadavs, some lal patel with the kurmis, kalyan singh with the lodhs and mayawati with the dalits. who was left with the bjp. the party on the eve of elections has raked up the issue of mbcs and extreme dalits. you can't have me believe that it is an apolitical decision," he says.
Interviewed in 1993
From the Collection Treasure of
Abraham Lincoln
Bureau Chief.
PNIB NEWS INDIA