Hello steemians!
When Obama was elected as first black President of United States of America, many thought that days are going to change for the people of color in the country. Unfortunately, nothing good happened for them. We saw more discrimination, more extrajudicial killings of black people by police and larger number of black inmates in the jails of Washington for petty crimes (whether they committed them or not). Notion of white supremacy among the White population of USA grew stronger and stronger and as a result US got Donald Trump as its President. Under his leadership, conservative forces in American society are being encouraged and the noose around the neck of colored people is tightening day by day.
This shows that eight years of the presidency of Barack Obama have changed nothing for the black people but the situation for them became even worse. Therefore, such dramatic gestures by elite and exploitative class of a country are just for deceiving common people. The ruling classes have their allies and puppets in all layers of the society who are always willing to sell themselves for a price. Despite of belonging to the marginalized section of the society, they act as pawns of establishment and the elite.
In #India, ruling Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) is planning to appoint a president from Dalit caste. Dalit is considered to be lowest caste in the Hindu religion; so low that even touching them physically renders a person belonging to higher caste dirty and impure. BJP rule in India is characterized by Hindu nationalism, atrocities against minorities especially the Muslims and Dalits. BJP leadership consists of wealthy and powerful people of upper Hindu castes and incidents of violence against minorities are widely happening all across India under their patronage. Broad daylight murders and burning down of Dalit and Muslim villages does not raise eyebrows of the Indian leadership. Although, there is resistance by liberal intelligentsia against such acts by the BJP-led Indian government but that resistance is very weak as conservatism is spreading very quickly in once a highly pluralistic Indian society. International media is also taking notice of the human rights violations by Indian government in the country and counter-narrative is also starting to build against ultra-nationalist Hindus.
In order to thwart such an impression, BJP is planning to appoint President of India from the lowest Dalit caste. But we should know that such measures are only cosmetic ones. Nothing is going to change fundamentally in India with this act. Dalits will remain Dalits and Muslims will continue to be treated with suspicion by Indian security establishment. Old wine in new bottle.
It is high time for pro-democratic, liberal and secular forces in India to stand up against the elitist and exploitative policies of BJP and raise awareness among the Indian people against deceptive measures taken by the current Indian government. A pluralistic, diversified and multi-cultural India will look way more beautiful than a divided, bloodied and jingoistic India.
Indian Journalist Jawed Naqvi has written beautifully about it in his recent article which can be read here:-
https://www.dawn.com/news/1345978/the-wood-in-the-axe
@ugetfunded
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