Date: Sun, 13 Oct 1996 19:23:43 -0500
From: sushma-AT-Brown.edu (Sushma Joshi)
Subject: Why blame the BJP?


Deepa Reddy wrote:
        "I have to ask, though, why we must blame the BJP for all problems in
States that are under thm or under their allies.  The problem of
custodial rape or police/government cover-up has precious little to do
with *which* political party happens to be in power - as Partha Banerjee
himself notes.  I may or may not support what the BJP stands for,
but again, we would be fooling ourselves if we believed that such
things are party-specific and *not systemic*."

        Deepa, I agree with you that human rights abuses go on all the time
in the sub-continent, regardless of which political party is in power.
However, the BJP's ideologies, which originate in the belief that India is
the home of Hindus ("Hindutva"), cannot deal with the "lower caste" groups
in anything but a problematic fashion.  Although the BJP may say that they
treat all Indians as equals, the whole framework of orthodox caste beliefs
go against this. Many people in the sub-continent (and outside) still
believe that people of the "lower castes" are lesser, and with the coming
of power of the BJP, this has legitimized the rise of violence against
them. The RSS, and especially the Shiv Sena, have been known for their acts
of deliberate violence and targeting of non-Hindu groups, especially the
Muslim minority, and the "lower caste" groups, as we saw in the riots after
the Babri masjid incident where many of the people killed were low caste
Hindus and Muslims.