I do understand your point about the caste/varna system and I do not have any problem in accepting the fact that the caste has an important hegemonic role to play in Indian politics. That said, I am bit concerned about the trajectories of Dalit politics in UP. We should remember that late Kanshi Ram's conception of Bahujan was an innovative idea which actually redefined the nature of affirmative action in the Indian context. However, what Mayawati did or has been doing is something which does not very clearly reflect the principles on which the entire dalit movement is based. One can not see philosophy of Ambedkar or political commitments of Kanshi Ram in this kind of politics. So, the point is that Dalit politics should question this kind of politics from the point of view of broader emancipation. We should remember that electoral politics has a limited, though very significant, role to play. But that should not be the ultimate goal. Social and economic emancipation based on the principles of equality should be the goal and for that we need to have a critical approach.
