The alleged rise in violence against Dalits, rampant inward migration and the “development divide” between the lower and upper regions of the state are some of the key issues in poll-bound Himachal Pradesh, political observers have said. Elections to the 68-member Himachal Assembly will be held on 9 November.
Holding the Virbhadra Singh-led Congress government responsible for most of the problems in the state, Ramesh Dhawala, a former minister and Dalit face of the Bharatiya Janata Party in Himachal Pradesh, told The Sunday Guardian, “The Congress government has been ignorant about the problems faced by Dalits in Himachal.”
“The incumbent Congress government has failed to address the issues related to atrocities against Dalits,” Dhawala added.
However, denying the allegations of the BJP leader, Karan Singh Chauhan, Congress legislator from Himachal Pradesh, said: “The charges of the opposition party against the government are baseless. I have no knowledge of incidents of any violence against Dalits in Himachal. On the contrary, the condition of Dalits has improved a lot in the state during the Congress regime.”
“For the Congress, all the party workers are dedicated to the development of Himachal Pradesh,” Chauhan told The Sunday Guardian.
As per the Socio-Economic Caste Census-2011, after Punjab, Himachal Pradesh has the largest population of Dalits in the country—over 25.49%—but their literacy rate is alarmingly low and they have only 13.7% land holdings in the state.
Manindra Nath Thakur, a professor and political commentator from JNU, told The Sunday Guardian: “The Dalit population comprising almost one-fourth of the electorate has been facing caste-related violence in Himachal Pradesh, but politicians in the state have been ignorant about this fact.”
Dalits in Himachal Pradesh have started mobilising against caste-based discrimination under several Dalit social movement groups.
Manjeet Verma, an office bearer of the Dalit Shoshan Mukti Sabha, a social movement group working in the state, said: “Dalits have realised that numbers are important in a majoritarian form of democracy and, therefore, they have started mobilising on the ground. Now, Dalit youths are aware of the benefits of caste-based politics and no one can make a fool of them.”
With 17 seats reserved for Scheduled Castes in Himachal, the Dalits are mostly concentrated in districts like Sirmaur, Kullu, Mandi and Solan. “The Dalit factor is going to be crucial for the Assembly elections in Himachal. Unlike earlier occasions, when local and regional issues dominated the scene, the Dalit factor could impact the election’s outcome this time,” Verma added.
On the face of it, the BJP, while mobilising its core supporters among the Brahmins and Thakurs, is also trying to woo the Dalit voters in Himachal. A local BJP leader said: “Along with parivartan yatras, which the BJP is taking out across the state, the party is also holding Dalit swabhiman sammelans to garner sizable votes from this segment of population. In order to reach out to Dalit voters, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is also in touch with several religious leaders like Baba Nirmal Das who has a great following in Himachal.”
Besides the issue of Dalits, the other issues which are being discussed by political observers include the rapid inward migration and the development gap between the upper and lower regions in the state.
Virender Chauhan, who teaches political science in Himachal University, told The Sunday Guardian: “The hill state is divided into upper and lower Himachal. The electorate in the old Himachal and newly merged parts of the state differ in their political and economic development, and social mobilisation.”