Dalit Woman to Lead Uttar Pradesh

[Guest guest]

LUCKNOW (May 16, 2007): Contrary to all forecasts, Mayawati, a Dalit

woman, was sworn in on Sunday as chief minister of Uttar Pradesh,

India's largest state.

 

For almost 20 years, no single party has managed to hold two thirds

of the state's assembly seats. Instead, coalition governments have

had to share power. Mayawati's party -- the Bahujan Samaj Party

(BSP) -- has been in power on two earlier occasions but with the

support of other parties. This time, however, Mayawati swept the

state all on her own.

 

A former primary school teacher, Mayawati belongs to the lowest

strata of society. When her mentor Kanshi Ram founded the BSP with

the aim of seeking dignity for Dalits -- the untouchables -- Mayawati

left her job and devoted herself completely to the cause.

 

The BSP had some success but at the same time it was in ideological

confrontation with all the other major parties, which Mayawati

accused of being monopolistic parties of the upper strata. Mayawati's

party had set out to bring social change but moved too quickly. This

radical approach resulted in violent clashes on a number of occasions.

 

For two to three years, Mayawati chose to lay low. She was facing

numerous corruption charges and her mentor had died after a prolonged

illness. But while Mayawati shunned the limelight she was busy

scripting a new political story.

 

Mayawati realized that the upper caste Brahmins, the highest caste in

the hierarchy, were left isolated by the different political

alignments as each party tried to woo Muslims and other backward

castes. Although Mayawati was disliked by the upper caste Brahmins,

who were uncomfortable with her brand of politics, they started

hearing from her aides. Gradually she changed her party's antipathy

toward them and gave them more than a fair share of representation --

40 percent.

 

The astounding victory is being described as a masterstroke. More

significantly, in the light of this reconciliation can be had social

change. Mayawati is already setting about to re-engineer the state.

She is considered a very tough master. Just after the swearing-in

ceremony, she transferred hundreds of officials.

 

After her victory Mayawati declared that her next target was to be

prime minister. It is worth noting that most of India's prime

ministers have come from Uttar Pradesh.

 

Only nine countries in the world are more populous than the state of

Uttar Pradesh and sweeping it in this fashion is a remarkable feat

indeed.

 

For the people of the state, their hope now is to no longer be left

behind in the developmental strides that the country is making.

 

SOURCE: OhmyNews, South Korea. " Dalit Woman to Lead Uttar Pradesh: A

change in tactics brings Mayawati a big win. " By Ashok Kumar

Jha.

URL: http://tinyurl.com/2lnf4r