The politics of caste and religion

OPINION

India has a complex social structure largely dominated by casteism. History reveals a pattern wherein roots of political parties have been based on caste or supported by voters belonging to a particular caste. Examples of this would be Shiv-Sena, Bahujan Samajwadi Party, Vishawa Hindu Parishad or Maharashtra Navnirman Sena. You may like to go through this list here - and categorize parties which are representative of a particular caste or religion. There are way too many. History also tells us that all these parties were formed to preserve the interest of a particular group, caste or religion or to free them from some kind of "oppression". Aam Aadmi Party is also a result of oppression - there was no party which preserved the interest of hard working, tax paying, law abiding, common man who did not believe in these separatist ideologies, or who was tired of corruption.

But the existence of these caste-based political parties in itself is questionable. If you look at it, the Indian Constitution provides enough provisions for "trouble-makers". Let's say - for instance - if a Hindu is troubling a Muslim, the troubling Hindu will be put behind bars. If a Muslim is troubling a Hindu, the troubling Muslim will be put behind bars. If someone from upper caste is oppressing someone from the lower-caste, the person from the upper-caste will be put behind bars. I only mention this to make a point - the Indian constitution and Indian Penal Code does not take into account any particular caste or religion as a parameter - then what is the reason for a political party to be based on a particular caste or religion? Don't these political parties believe in the power of Indian Constitution and Indian judiciary?  

If we look at 'caste' separate from politics, you may agree that the "norms" within a particular caste by itself are not bad, and objectives can be achieved without the political shell. Take for instance, the objectives achieved by Anna Hazare in his village of Ralegan Siddhi where villagers themselves constructed ponds, reservoirs, and small dams on their own, and planted around 4 lakh trees. Elsewhere, in Rajasthan, a labor union Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS) or Workers and Farmers Power Organisation is known to frequently obtain access to official expenses under the Right to Information Act. This group cross-checks expenses made by the government, and assesses the actual work done on its basis. The group, though less-educated, has ably exposed several frauds within the government. This proves one thing – politics, based on caste system, achieves much less. And even heavy labor workers, who may not have much education, can achieve their goals without giving political tone to their motivations. This leads us to a question - political parties, which are run on the basis of caste, do have an ulterior motive  -they mainly cite protection from 'external threat' as a reason for their existence - when there is none. The common man, who doesn't necessarily believe in this theory of 'external threat' has to pay a heavy price - in terms of utilization of national resources - and the way in which policies are framed to appease a particular caste or religion.

Aam Aadmi Party's motive is to cut these barriers raised by political parties which have not contributed to India in anyway. AAP's ideology is simple - give power back to hard working, tax paying, law abiding citizens of this country irrespective of their religion, caste or creed. If you are one - make sure you vote for AAP.