In the run-up to the Uttar Pradesh elections, the Jats are working behind closed doors to wrest the vote away from the saffron party.
On January 8, the All India Jat Arakshan Sangharsh Samiti (AIJASS), which comprises hundreds of Jat khaps in North India, took a momentous decision at a rally of nearly 40,000 people in Kharad village of Muzaffarnagar: to not vote for the BJP in the upcoming assembly elections and to rebuild the Jat-Muslim alliance that was broken in the aftermath of the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots.
In the office of a construction company that is located on the ground floor of an incomplete mall in Ghaziabad, Yashpal Malik, the convenor of the AIJASS, is piecing together a new strategy that may change the outcome of the upcoming UP assembly elections in which voting starts February 11. The 2013 communal riots disrupted the equilibrium of western UP politics and consequently the communal harmony in the region as well. Jats shifted en masse in favour of the BJP.
Three years is a long time when it comes to hinterland politics. The Jat community which was beguiled by the lofty promises made by the BJP in the run-up to the 2014 elections is now increasingly wary of the BJP/RSS and its brigade. According to Malik, the community is no longer enthralled by the saffron party and wants to return to pre-2013 riots status quo. Malik says, “The Jats and the Dalits are no longer going to fall in the trap of communal forces.” The estrangement of Jats from the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) should not come as news to those who follow the politics of this region. There was concern discernible in Malik’s analysis when he discussed the possibility of Muslims abandoning Jats and joining hands with the Dalits to give a fillip to the BSP’s chances in Western UP.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der February 2017-Ausgabe von Hardnews.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der February 2017-Ausgabe von Hardnews.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
The Making Of A Hard State
By ratcheting up nationalistic sentiments to a fever pitch, the BJP is trying to reap political dividends.
The Business Of Encounters
The UP police claim that it has seized over ₹146 crore from ‘gangsters’ in the state in a matter of 11 months deserves closer scrutiny as allegations mount of arbitrariness in seizing properties
Cases 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000: What Is Happening To Netanyahu
Everything you need to know about the cases against Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu
India's Botched-up Id Project
The SC verdict in the ongoing case to ascertain the constitutional validity of Aadhaar will have far-reaching consequences
A 'Softer' Islam, For A Moderate Modi
DESPITE BEING UNDERRATED and under editorialised by the Indian media, there is nothing that anyone can really take away from the importance of the event organised by the Indian Islamic and Cultural Centre (IICC) to provide a forum for the visiting King of Jordan, His Majesty, King Abdullah II, to expound his views on the moderate nature of Islam and the imperative to fight radical Islam.
Net Neutrality and an Open Internet
In recent years, the campaign to maintain citizen's right to the Internet - and protect them from practices that would benefit only a few - has become firece and noisy.
Referendum on Cash Ban
If early polling is anything to go by, then the assembly elections across five states could mean an all or nothing scenario for the BJP
changing the demonetisation narrative like a chameleon changes colours
no matter what the spin around the note ban, it is clear the move was a politically expedient decision rather than a principled policy move.
Come and See The Blood In The Streets
Incidents of violence targetting the minorities have become routine in the last 16 months. Prime Minister Modis government has done little to shun the belief that the culprits dont enjoy its patronage.
The Gates of Memory: Two Hundred Years Of Silence
People take part in a ceremony at the monument "The Gates of Memory"near the village of Trostenets.