Of two contesting models of social justice

RIn addition, in the village in the Bhojpur Region, I heard a Bihar, most of which was dominated by the background (MBC), a sOhar (birth song) sung by several women without document. Goes, “Babua Hamar DM Hyihe, Okara Upar Cm Hoyihe (My son will be a magistrate to the magistrate and will be the prime minister at the same time).Oy Sele Lenge CM, PM, Aakshan Se Lenge Collector, DM (I will be the prime minister of reservation votes and the prime minister of the magistrate judge) ””. Both expressions reflect the aspirations for social justice. They also show that the politics of the longing of the backward communities are the essence. Together, these jokes show how the driving force of social justice in the base development and policies in Bihar.

In Northern India, for several centuries, the Bhakti movement challenged social hierarchies and encouraged equality and inclusion. However, the road to social justice was still long and full. Leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi, Br Ambedkar, Mahatma Phule and Ram Manohar Lohia had their own vision and social justice versions; These various dreams continue to exist together in India.

In many parts of India, the discourse of social justice is centered around the castes and planned tribes, while the most dominant social justice discourse in Bihar is from other retrospective classes (OBCs). According to the Bihar Kast study in 2023, the OBCs and extremely retrospective classes make up more than 63% of the state population.

This is not new – Bihar politics has always been largely dominated by OBC politics. OBC communities, especially Yadavs, Kurmis and Koirees, began to emerge as sub and middle peasants due to various land -based reforms implemented both independent and independent India. In 1934, the leaders of these three communities formed Sangh in 1934 and began to claim their voices for political representation. In the following years, other leaders repeated the wishes of the OBC communities. In addition to OBC social justice discourse, Bihar has other social justice models that can be loosely categorized as Gandhian, Congress, Nehruwadi, Ambedkarite, Lohiyaite and Bharatia Janata Party (BJP) (BJP) (BJP)Samgra saamajik nyay model).

Bihar will go to this year’s polls. During my field study, I saw that the competition would first take place between the two models. The first is the social justice model prepared with selective interpretations of Ambedkar and Lohia’s views. Caste -based historical inequality emphasizes. Rashtria Janata Dal (RJD) Chief Lalu Prasad, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. RJD and Congress are part of Mahagathbandhan. This model seems to be singular because it focuses on the extension of demands and reservations to the caste census.

The second is Samgra Samajik Nyay model. Caste combines the arguments of historical inequality based on other horizontal forms of social inequality that emerged during the distribution of democratic resources. BJP, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, introduces this model that combines the visions of Swami Vivekananda, Deendayal Upadhyaya and Ambedkar. In Mr. Modi’s book Samrasata SamrasataWe can find traces of the evolution of this social justice model. This model combines historical injustices with developmental injustices. He tries to address the vertical and horizontal injustices faced by marginal communities. Social justice seems to be a versatile strategy to resist the retroaches of various forms. Resisting to caste -based injustice depends on the useful politics that expresses the use of government welfare programs and its benefits for targeted communities. The useful politics emerged with the implementation of various social support plans for back castes, dalites, adivasis and women.

Thus, both alliances have two different but overlapping social justice models. The difference is that the National Democratic Alliance, led by BJP, has several advantages. Both Mr. Modi and Prime Minister Nitish Kumar enjoy a positive image. On the other hand, Mahagathbandhan is represented by Mr. Lalu Prasad, whose regime is perceived as corrupt. Deputy Prime Minister Tejashwi Yadav’s image as a popular youth leader seems to have not yet served a counter -balance. And the benefit of the caste census advocated by the opposition led by RJD was minimized by the Union Government’s announcement of a caste numbering in the census.

Badri Narayan director, Govind Ballabh Pant’s Institute of Social Sciences