Nationwide ‘Bharat Band’ that happened on September 06 resulted in the Akhand Bharat Mission.
Devkinandan Thakur, Krishna Katha orator who led the Sawarna Andolan across many places in India, raised his voice against the overturning of the SC-ST Act, but unfortunately, the government didn’t respond to that. So now after holding silence for so long, he has decided to form a party whose name would be announced once Devkinandan returns to India, giving warning of a month to the central government that the SC-ST Act must be turned as Supreme Court ordered. Devkinandan Thakur’s party will contest elections from Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chattisgarh, as it saw the major influence of Sawarna Andolan.
It is not very rare that you see an evolution of a political party as a result of a protest. If we look in the past then there were many who joined hands with politics stating that they have entered to contest elections with the objective to save the democracy in India but later after they contest the elections which are most common to see among them is the split. Let’s look at few parties that saw its emergence after certain protests:
TEST OF THE INDIAN DEMOCRACY
UPSURGE OF THE ANTI-BRAHMIN IDEOLOGY
As India became an independent state but agitation was on its row, as the introduction of Hindi as official language revoked agitation among the South belt of the Indian population. The adoption of Hindi has violently debated the issue in the formation of the Constitution. After an exhaustive and divisive debate, Hindi was adopted as the official language of India with English continuing as an associate official language for a period of fifteen years, after which Hindi would become the sole official language.
Hindi was introduced C. Rajagopalacharya who led the Indian National Congress in south Indian states in 1939 was earlier opposed by E.V Ramasamy (Periyar).
The agitation, which lasted three years, was multifaceted and involved fasts, conferences, marches, and protests. The government reacted with a crackdown resulting in the death of two protesters and the arrest of 1,198 persons including women and children. Imperative Hindi education was later withdrawn by the British Governor of Madras in February 1940 after the resignation of the Congress Government in 1939.
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) (English: Dravidian Progress Federation) evolution was a result of anti-Brahmins, anti-Hindi and anti-Aryan movement in 1949. It was the heir to two strands of the pre-independence period movements in Tamil Nadu the non-Brahmin movement, which had led to the formation of the pro-British Justice party in 1920, and the strongly reformist anti-caste, anti-religion Self-Respect Movement led by E.V. Ramaswamy Naicker, popularly known as Periyar (Great Sage). Earlier in 1938 Naicker and others had organized a movement against the Congress ministry decision to introduce Hindi in Madras schools, labeling it to be an aspect of Brahmanical North Indian cultural domination. DK (Federation) was a movement in 1939 against the Hindi language that was led by Periyar. In the South DMK also decided to oppose what it described as the expansion of Hindi ‘imperialism’. However, a homeland for the Dravidas its main demand in the form of a separate independent South Indian state—Dravidnadu or Dravidasthan, consisting of Tamil Nadu, Andhra, Karnataka, and Kerala.
Earlier it carried a secessionist movement but later it gave up the demand of secession. The demands shifted from secessionism to greater state autonomy, more powers to states, while limiting the power of central government, an end of the unfair treatment of the south and domination by the Hindi-speaking North, and allocation of greater central economic resources for the development of Tamil Nadu. Later it declared itself to be a party of all Tamils, further softened its anti-Brahmin stance and would accommodate Tamil Brahmins.
Annadurai established DMK which saw its split from DK in 1949; he was a dexterous orator, writer, and strong organizer. He was accompanied by his great follower M Karunanidhi and great film star of that time MGR (M.G. Ramachandran) along with other film personalities. Annadurai used drama, film, journals and other mass media to reach most of the mass of south India and especially the youths with a political wish. The DMK was strongly anti-Brahmin, anti-North and anti-Aryan and southern Brahmins and North Indians were seen as Aryans, all other South Indians as Dravidas.
In February 1969, after Annadurai’s death, M. Karunanidhi became the chief minister. In 1972, by being upset from Karunanidhi’s issue of dynasty and family, his friend MGR formed another party the All-India Anna DMK (AIADMK), and the DMK witnessed the split and became the political foe. Now the two-party system emerged in Tamil Nadu but operated between the two Dravida parties, and since then both parties alternating in power in the state.
One must be doubtful that when both the parties claimed that their main intention was to protect the rights of South Indians then what was the need of the internal split, and forming to separate parties with the same objective?
JANATA ERA IN NORTH INDIA
Political analysts have excused no effort to describe why the Emergency happened and why India’s democracy borrowed itself to the kind of distortions which were seen in 1975-77. Jay Prakash drew a movement in 1974 as JP movement that was first initiated against the corruption in Bihar but later turned against Indira Gandhi’s government. JP movement involved all the leaders who were opposing the then Prime Minister. It was called as Sampoorna Kranti.
The years 1975–77 have been described as the years of the ‘test of democracy.
Indira Gandhi suddenly announced on 18 January 1977 that in March elections to the Lok Sabha would be held. She also concurrently released political prisoners, eradicated the press censorship and other restrictions on political activity such as holding of public meetings. Political parties were freely allowed to campaign. On 23rd January 1977 immediately after coming out of the jails, all Opposition leaders announced the merger of Congress (O), the Jan Sangh, Bharatiya Lok Dal (BLD) and the Socialist Party into the new Janata Party. It gave a blow to the Congress.
On 16 March the elections were held in a free and fair atmosphere. The people also treated the elections as a referendum on the Emergency. But when the results came it virtually wiped out Congress, it was clear that Congress had been thoroughly defeated. Both Indira Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi lost their entire seats. Indira Gandhi issued a statement accepting the results of the people with ‘due humility’.
When the gigantic win was achieved a new crisis arrived over the issue of prime ministership. There were three aspirants Morarji Desai, Charan Singh, and Jagjivan Ram. Then later it was left to the senior leader Jay Prakash Narayan and J.B. Kripalani, who decided in favor of the 81-year-old Desai. Morarji Desai became the first non-Congress prime minister in independent India’s history and sworn in as prime minister on 23 March.
JANATA PARTY CRISIS
By the end of 1977, the political momentum of the Janata Party started to decline. The uneasy coalition began to disintegrate, but the government still remained in power until July 1979.
Jana Sangh was communalist and populist with its ties with RSS, which provided it with ideology and was not willing to let it be incorporated in or integrated with other parties. Congress (O) was secular but conservative. BLD was definitely secular but was strictly a rich-peasant party with no all India developmental vision. The socialists were rootless except in Bihar and were ideology less.
In the middle of 1979, the factional struggle in the Janata government and the party took an acute form. On 30th June 1978, the then home minister Charan Singh was forced to resign from the cabinet but later was brought back as Finance Minister in January 1979. In July he broke up the party and the government with the help of the Socialists, who walked out of the party, government as well on the refusal of giving up the dual membership by the Jan Sangh members of the Janata Party and the RSS. On 15 July, Morarji Desai’s government resigned as it was reduced to a minority.
In January 1980, the elections held, that were primarily fought between Congress (I), Congress (U), the Lok Dal, the new party formed by Charan Singh and the Socialists, and Janata, that now consisted of the Jan Sangh and few of old Congressmen such as Jagjivan Ram and Chandra Shekhar; except in West Bengal and Kerala, the CPM and CPI were not in the picture.
Each of them played politics in their own way, and appealing were made separately. The Janata Party appeals included warnings against the threat to democracy and civil liberties if Indira Gandhi came back to power. ‘Peasant Raj’ was talked by Charan Singh. And Indira Gandhi merely concentrated on Janata’s non-governance, asking the people to vote for ‘a government that works’.
Once again the results were in favor of Congress (I), which secured 353 out of 529 seats, that is, a two-thirds majority. The Lok Dal with 41, Janata with 31 and Congress (U) with 13. The CPM and CPI alone faced the Congress tide and won 36 and 11 seats respectively.
Soon after the elections, once again the Janata Party saw split, with the old Jan Sangh leaders leaving it to form the Bharatiya Janata Party at the end of 1980 and Jagjivan Ram joining Congress (U).
Soon many other parties separated from one or the other party due to the clashes among the ideologies of one or the other leaders few present day example of it are:
Janta Dal was formed under the leadership of V. P. Singh, united the entire disparate spectrum of parties ranging from regional parties such as the Telugu Desam Party, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, and the Asom Gana Parishad, and together formed the National Front with the ideology of Secularism, Socialism, and Altruism. Later the government was formed by Janata Dal-led United Front after the Indian general election, 1996 with the outside support of the Indian National Congress. But after all this the Janata Dal primarily disintegrated into various largely regional parties Biju Janata Dal, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Janata Dal (Secular) and Janata Dal (United).
The origin of Janata Dal (United) goes back to 1999 General Election. A major split occurred in the Janata Dal leading to the formation of Janata Dal (Secular) under H. D. Deve Gowda, who wanted to remain halfway from both national parties; and Janata Dal under Sharad Yadav.
Then Lalu Prasad Yadav, Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, Kanti Singh along with supporters gathered at New Delhi on 5 July 1997, and formed the new political party, Rashtriya Janata Dal. It was formed as a separate party from of Janata Dal. Lalu Prasad was elected as the first president of RJD.
AAP- AAM AADMI PARTY
Founded: 2nd October 2012
Formation:
During the Congress-led UPA regime, a civil society movement was evolved in the backdrop of corruption scandals of political tickets in April 2011. To demand the enactment of the Jan Lokpal Bill (a legislation that had been stuck among the Parliamentary committees for decades), a group of activists from various backgrounds came together on a platform. The demand for a stronger law was made that could deal with a corrupt political establishment and it also noticed the widespread support among the public. People rose up in protest under the banner of India Against Corruption, against the government at that time, demanding the immediate passing of the Jan Lok Pal Bill.
A revolution was begun that was led by Anna Hazare, social activist, under whom thousands of people sat on fasts in several locations on three separate occasions to construct support for the Jan Lokpal Bill, and pressurize the government into acting on people’s demand. At the end of the final fast, the parliament didn’t pass the Jan Lokpal.
Later Arvind Kejriwal, IAC activist’s leader decided to join politics, form government and clean the system from inside, as according to him it was the only way to rid this country of corruption. And thus India saw the emergence of Aam Aadmi Party.
In spite of all this, the Aam Aadmi Party continued to take blows from within because at the time of protest AAP was formed a party with the involvement of such popular faces, sooner or later they untie their knot with the party. The movement earlier included: Kiran Bedi, Lieutenant Governor, Pondicherry, Prashant Kishore, Advocate Supreme Court, Yogendra Yadav, President of Swaraj India, Kumar Vishwas, Ashutosh, V Balakrishnan, former Infosys executive; Meera Sanyal, the former chairman of Royal Bank of Scotland; Adarsh Shastri, the grandson of former PM Lal Bahadur Shastri; activist Oscar Rebello; and Captain Gopinath, the pioneer of a low-cost airline. If all were with the same intention then why they left the support of the Aam Admi Party?
So the question that pops is when a group of people can’t save or shall say protect their own internal democracy then how the public would rely upon them to protect the democracy of the nation?
TURNING PAGES OF SAWARNA ANDOLAN
On Dalit community protested against the Supreme Court’s verdict of 20th March, the court had diluted the stringent provisions under the Atrocities Act which mandated the immediate arrest of the accused without conducting a preliminary investigation. The protest turned extremely violent killing at least 14 people. Demands were to make the law as earlier. Later being pressurized by the protest and violence government took it to the parliament and on August 1, the SC/ST Amendment Bill, 2018 was approved by Union Cabinet.
“The basic principle of criminal jurisprudence implies that once the investigating officer has reasons to suspect that an offense has been committed, he can arrest an accused. This decision to arrest or not to arrest cannot be taken away from the investigating officer.” – Amendment Bill
The government reversed the law of the Supreme Court stating that the atrocities against Dalits will never end, and this only provoked the upper class to do something that happened for the first time in the history. Under the leadership of Pandit Devkinandan Thakur, Krishna Katha orator, Upper Class walked to streets to protest and this overturning of the law.
Upper class clearly stated that they didn’t have any issue with the privileges that are being given to the lower class but instead wanted a justice to take place with the upper class so that no innocent should be charged with false accusations. Devkinandan led this protest in many cities in the opposition to the vote bank politics.
TIMELINE
September 4th– In Gwalior, Mahasabha was organized, through which government was warned that if a law isn’t changed then something will happen that never happened before.
September 5th– In Mathura, Vipra Mahakumbh was organized, with the repetition of the same warning.
September 6th– The throughout protest due to the agitation of the overturning of the law resulted in the Bharat Band, its effects were observed in many areas of Bihar, MP, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.
“If our own government takes such a step, then I do not have the right to be able to keep my point? We should have a SC-ST act, but as the Supreme Court has said. After this law people will fear that if I sit with them, then I will be jailed.” –Devkinandan
September 9th– Devkinandan announced an organization, Akhand Bharat Mission with the intention that further protests would take place under it.
September 11th– Devkinandan was arrested in Section 151 in Agra, with the accusation that he didn’t take the permission of press conference.
MULTI-PARTY SYSTEM CREATED A MARSH
No doubt India has a Multi-party system, but in the recent time, this entire system has turned into a complete mess. On a continuous basis, many parties on a regional or national level are being formed but still what is much required is the change in the development of this nation. Because this continuous formation of parties have definitely increased the number of parties but no development has been observed. Politicians only for the sake of power contest elections but after winning the elections they forget their objective through which they contested elections. It’s yet to see what change can be brought in by Devkinandan through his new party.
Earlier elections were contested for the sake that each and every poor must be avail with all the basic needs and necessities, but now with the greed of power, the politics of giver has transformed into politics of snatcher. Nepotism on the large scale has affected the politics of India.
With the passing of the time, one can’t rely on today’s politicians as history may answer it a way better that while contesting elections lengthy promises are made, manifesto might carry a bundle of pages but soon after coming to the power all the written texts from these bundles fades away and promises are forgotten. In situations as such how one can trust upon politicians. No doubt few promises were kept but few is not enough.
In India, while voting or while contesting elections, what impacts the most is the face value. Today domination of BJP in entire India is somehow the resulted factor of the face value of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In other countries, citizens always focused on objectives but that’s not similar in India.
However, we cannot judge someone with the deeds of others. So it’s much awaited and yet to see that what and how the changes will be brought in Devkinandan’s tenure, or like others he will be going with the flow.