Modi government’s decision to posthumously honour Karpuri Thakur with Bharat Ratna is a fitting tribute for a mascot and champion of social justice, dignity and empowerment who fought tooth and nail for restoring the rights and dignity of lower castes and classes in Bihar. Being a two time deputy chief minister and chief minister of Bihar he was inspired by the ideals of Jayprakash Narayan and Ram Manohar Lohia carrying a huge influence and impact on his political life and career.
Hailing from the nai community (barber) he well understood the plight, conditions and sufferings of those at the lower rungs and bottom resisting and showing a mirror to the oppression and atrocities that these groups had to face at the hands of those in top of the caste pyramid.
A messiah for many he was both a reformer and a politician underlining the laxities of representation for lower caste groups particularly EBCs (Extremely Backward Castes) on which Bhartiya Janta Party has an hawk eye like in UP where it stood distinct in matching up to the expectations of lower OBCs apart from Yadavs a political formula for mobilizing, consolidating and galvanizing electoral base of significantly smaller groups of OBCs.
Puncturing the pitch of both Laloo and Nitish banking on the pitch of caste census promoting social justice and dignity for those at the threshold particularly EBCs numbering around thirty six percent in Bihar. BJP by smartly orchestrating it’s act is trying to leverage as much as it could announcing a Bharat Ratna for Karpuri babu is all but a part of this political plot investing in leader minus his ideology is a clear ploy by BJP to appropriate Karpuri babu at all costs by taking away the momentum from JD(U)- RJD in the state delivering a blow to Karpuri’s Socialism which has been a great leveller for the upliftment and amelioration of scores and scores of people who otherwise had to fend for themselves in order to be heard, recognised and represented.Grand alliance should wisely read and decipher these signals for in politics nothing stays permanent with everything almost having a shell life !
Message is amply loud and clear