1.
Long time ago, in the picturesque city of Prague, the jews found themselves on the receiving end of oppression by the christians. This time however, the jews went to their chief priest and appealed to him, “Rabbi Judah! The christians inflict violence upon us, they are in greater numbers and possess political power. Use your knowledge of ancient spells to save us”.
The rabbi listened to them, reflected deeply and then he ordered the jews, “thou must create a statue of magnanimous proportion, use clay as material and keep the head hollow like a skull.”
The jews rushed to prepare a statue. Meanwhile, the rabbi prepared a clay tablet, inscribed with the 99 names of YHWH, which he inserted into the hollow head. He then inscribed the body of the beast with mystical spells from the Kabbalah and upon its forehead he scribbled the word מֵת (met) meaning ‘dead’. At last, he added an א (aleph) in the front, to make it Emet and the Golem became undead.
Then the Golem went rampaging against the christians who became terrorised, “Hide! The Golem is coming”, they screamed at its sight. Now, the jews could venture freely on the streets of Prague.
However, humans are imperfect and so are their creations. It’s God’s prerogative to blow life unto living beings and the rabbi merely made the Golem ‘undead’. So when the christians were no longer visible, the Golem turned against the jews. They again rushed to their rabbi, “Rabbi Judah! Now the Golem inflicts violence upon us. Use your knowledge of ancient spells to save us”.
The rabbi agreed to help them but not before delivering a sermon unto them, “Only fools release snakes in their neighbour’s backyard, hoping to avenge a quarrel. Wise men know that the same snakes shall, one day, slither back to poison their own.” The rabbi then went ahead to erase the א (aleph) from the forehead of the Golem and it became dead again.
2.
A week ago, the Marathas marched onto Mumbai to demand a share for themselves in the OBC quota. With a recent history of impirialism, one ought to find their demand for inclusion in “other backward classes” to be absurd. How does the average Maratha juggle between the polar opposite images of being a member of an erstwhile conquering state and being a member of a community deprived enough to need support from the state? A good case for psychoanalysis. But a more pressing question is what is in it for us?
Many Ambedkarite leaders and intellectuals alike have actively supported Marathas’ demand. However well intentioned it may be, I believe this solidarity is misplaced. Before we figure out why it is the case, here’s another story.
The Dalit Masses have historically been on the receiving end of violent oppression by Caste Hindus. But this time they had a class of intelligentsia among them, courtesy of Poona Pact. Like the jews of Prague, the Dalit masses appealed to their intellectuals, whom they thought to be knowledgeable enough, to find a solution for their condition. Much like the rabbi, our intellectuals then reflected and came up with a solution, to create a Golem of our own.
Perhaps, they thought that in order to create a political majority and gain power, a variety of castes and communities could be brought together on a common ground. The one thing in common being that they all have historical grievances against Brahminism. A massive political body was thus formed and upon its head, our intellectuals scribbled a name: Bahujan. Thus by means of social engineering, the Golem of Bahujanism came into existence.
It was expected that Bahujanism shall bulldoze the political, and consequently the social, landscape of India into a level playing field. Such a premise could then become a foundation for a true social democracy, contrast to ritual elections and other paraphernalia, as Dr. Ambedkar labelled it. Initially though, Bahujanism did its job. We even got an SC woman as a CM of the most populous state, four times. But that was it. Because all human creations are subject to error. Contrary to our intellectuals' lofty expectations, the Golem of Bahujanism was animated not by a love for justice or solidarity with the oppressed, but by a much older conflict.
In the case of the Marathas, this conflict is clearly apparent. The numerically strong, feudal communities like them have been politically squaring off against brahmins, ironically for validation which the latter refuses to give easily, since the days of Chh. Shivaji Maharaj. In brief, the grievance they hold against the brahmins is that the latter refuse to elevate them to the rank of Kshatriyas eligible for Vedic rites, and instead are made to settle for Puranik ones. This holds an implication that were they to be accepted as Kshatriyas, they’ll be glad to offer their services at Brahmins’ disposal. I'll write about it in detail elsewhere.
Thus, upon knowledge of this background lies the Brahminical counter to Bahujanism. “Hide! The Golem is coming”, they screamed and hid inside a temple, made religion a bit more accessible to the Shudra masses and negated the ‘Bahujan’ on the Golem’s forehead by simply striking it off with a tilak. Maybe they even gave it cool saffron tinted sunglasses. All of this made them invisible to the Golem. Now, in absence of a target, the Golem of Bahujanism, much like that of Prague, turned against those whom it was meant to serve.
Finally, the rabbi’s sermon to the jews of Prague must serve us as a warning. The enemy of our enemy isn't necessarily a friend. The whole notion of Bahujan politics needs an extensive review or maybe it is already passé and we must now look for new narratives. Because the Golem with a tilak is not just a snake in the lawn of our Bhim Nagar, it’s a rampaging Tyrannosaurus Rex.