Kranthi Kumar Mungamuri
Ever since the movie Jai Bhim was released, it has brought back the fundamental questions in intellectual circles and University student politics about the title ‘Jai Bhim’. Some people have come forward to support the title of the movie ‘Jai Bhim’ and the story as well. Others raised very valid points with regards to the manifestation of Marxism and latent Ambedkarisim in the movie.
It is very important to bring to light the hypocrisy of leisure Caste Hindu Communist and Marxist students’ organisations that engaged in the celebration of the movie in University campuses like JNU without contributing to the emancipation of oppressed communities in the campus as well as outside the campus. On the one side, we see the Left organisations’ greater injustice done to the marginalised communities within and outside the JNU campus, and on the other side we witness their celebrations of the movie Jai Bhim movie pretending to be saviours of the oppressed communities who have raised pertinent questions against the Indian Marxist hypocrisy within and outside the campus.
Saheb Manyavar Kanshiram once said,”Communist Parties have become the biggest stumbling block for social transformation in India. They always talk about change, but they work for the status quo. In this case, BJP is better as they are not concerned about change. Thus, they do not deceive people. It is true in Indian society in the context of Communist Politics. For the last many years, they have deceived all oppressed identities in the name of social justice, but they did nothing for them.The fact is that oppression was rampant in their regime, either in University spaces or in the mainstream society. The result is also visible in JNU and states like Kerala and West Bengal when they were in power”.
Saheb’s statement is significant to understand Left hypocrisy in their politics. Before exposing caste Hindu Communist hypocrisy, it is crucial to discuss the movie. There is no doubt that this movie received a lot of attention and appreciation across the country. Actual incidents that happened in the 1990s in Tamil Nadu inspired this movie. It is related to Rajakannu, an Irula tribal’s lock-up death case. Justice K Chandru (a role played by actor Surya) stood by Sengani (Rajakannu’s wife) until she got justice. Justice Chandru is also known for the fight against caste discrimination and the fight for the rights of the backward class communities without charging any fee in his real life. The movie depicted humiliation, discrimination and stigmatisation of the tribal identity and police torture under the pretxt that the tribals are criminals in their everyday life.
This movie made many academicians, social activists, and student activists to debate and discuss it. The subject allows many people to satisfy their intellectual ego in intellectual circles. However, they failed to address two critical questions, which is required to be understood by every Ambedkarite:
1. How can the movie be related to Marxism and how can the Indian Marxists’ children celebrate this movie in JNU and outside the campus when a true Marxist does not believe in the state and the Indian Constitution which is of course what the movie is based on? Therefore, we can argue that the movie resulted in a transformation from unconscious Marxism to conscious Ambedkarisim. It also proved the irrelevance of Indian Marxism in addressing the social problems in India due to their deliberate ignorance of the caste question.
2. Who are these people who sacrificed their lives for the causes of the left movement, like Justice Chandru? It is imperative to answer these questions to expose the leftist organisations in University spaces and outside. The leisure caste Hindu Marxists’ celebrations expose their hypocrisy in politically capitalising on the pain and agony of the oppressed without accepting the injustice they have done to the marginalised communities in the JNU campus. For the last many years, they have been in power in the campus and the whole University is dominated by Left-Liberal professors and they failed to resolve the issues of the Adivasis, Dalits, Backward Class Communities and Minorities.
They failed to resolve the problems of the marginalised, and the Left-leaning students and Professors played their Brahminical role in humiliating, discriminating against, and forcing marginalised students to discontinue their studies in the campus and to sabotage the Bahujan Movement. It is visible in the case of Mohit Pandey and Kanhaiya Kumar, and both played an important role in destroying the Najeeb and Rohit Vemula movement that was against the existing Brahminisim in higher education.
Both have appeared as Manu warriors who can strengthen Brahminism in the name of revolutionary slogans and they diverted Bahujan masses from their everyday problems. The whole episode of the leftist disappearance in engagement with the problems of the marginalised one the one hand and their active presence near dead bodies of the oppressed reveals their political hypocrisy.
It is also essential to trace the social location of those who worked tirelessly for the cause of the oppressed in the feft movement. Without any doubt, one can say that the Bahujan masses or oppressed communities sacrificed their lives in fighting against the caste system and landlordism. They worked for emancipation of all Bahujan communities or working classes. History bears witness to the work of many famous personalities across the country— for instance, Namdeo Dhasale, Bojja Tharakam, Gaddar, K.G. Satyamurthy, Kalekuri Prasad, for that matter Thol. Thirumalvaran and many others had walked into left movement in their youth and early years. They played a significant role in taking the left movement across states and became victims of Brahminism in the hands of pseudo- progressive Communists (or Caste Hindu Communists).
In the end, they all became Ambedkarites and led the anti-caste movement against spiritual brahminisim and progressive brahminisim till their last breath. They all have come from the oppressed communities, not from upper castes. The answers to the questions raised above strongly argue that upper caste Communist organisations do not have any moral right to own the sacrifices made by Bahujan personalities for oppressed communities in the Left movement in India.
Babasaheb has himself condemned left Brahminisim and their inhumanity. To quote his words, “You can get thousands of Caste Hindu Youth to join in Political propaganda, but you cannot get one single youth to take up the cause of breaking the Caste System or removing untouchability” (Mr Gandhi & The Emancipation Of The Untouchables, by Dr Ambedkar).
On these lines, one can argue that the Indian Communists on the campus and outside use oppressed communities for their political benefit without addressing the various levels & forms of discrimination in their everyday lives. Even their silence on Deepa P Mohanan’s hunger strike against caste discrimination in M.G. University exposed them. It shows that the Left is more interested in dead bodies of the oppressed and less interested in them as living beings. This incident is also a tight slap on the self-proclaimed progressive and casteist Communist Kerala State. Instead of appropriating oppressed sacrifices for oppressed communities in the Left Movement, they should feel ashamed about their forefathers who are responsible for the inhuman condition of Adivasis, Dalits, Other Backward Classes and Minorities in their everyday life in University Spaces as well as outside. This is a humble suggestion to all Caste Hindus to watch Jai Bhim to humanise and democratise themselves and lead the Anti Caste Movement in their Agraharas and to further inculcate humanitarian values in themselves.
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Mungamuri Kranthi Kumar is from Andhra Pradesh and worked as a BAPSA activist.
