co m m u n a l i s m
saffronising the jats Tikait’s heirs are willing to sacrifice their father’s inclusive approach to politics for a few favours from the BJP DHIRENDRA K JHA
R
akesh and Naresh Tikait, the
commanders of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), have long been two of the most unpredictable farmer leaders in western Uttar Pradesh. The communal conflagration in Muzaffarnagar and nearby districts shows they have entered a period when they could become even more unpredictable than usual—and perhaps dangerous too. The new axis they have formed with the BJP, in order to realise their political ambitions, has already delivered a serious blow to the social fabric of the Jatland. The sequence of events by which an isolated crime turned into a widespread communal flare up in Muzaffarnagar and other nearby districts of western UP clearly bears the stamp of this axis. In fact, the 7 September Mahapanchayat that gave way to a series of clashes in the region was called by the Tikait brothers, sons of BKU founder Mahendra Singh Tikait. According to police records, the Tikait brothers, together with BJP leaders Hukum Singh, Sangeet Som and some others, addressed the Mahapanchayat. Provocative statements were made, and once the meeting ended, communal clashes began. Singh is the leader of the BJP in the Uttar Pradesh assembly, while Som is an MLA from the Sardhana constituency. 16 open
The Mahapanchayat had been convened over the murder of two people from the Jat community. The two murders followed the killing of a man from another community on 27 August over alleged vulgar remarks passed at a girl in Kawal village, Muzaffarnagar district. For almost a decade, the Tikaits have been trying to reap the political harvest of the popularity the BKU had achieved under the leadership of their father, but all their attempts so far have failed miserably. It is widely believed in Muzaffarnagar and nearby districts that with the help of the new alliance the Tikaits, particularly Rakesh Tikait, may be getting ready to test the political waters once again. It is too early to know whether the new alliance will actually help them get a political foothold, yet recent events show they have already become part of the brutal polarisation politics to which UP has been subjected for the past couple of months. BKU spokesperson Dharmendra Kumar denies these allegations, asserting that ‘there is no nexus between the BJP and the Tikait brothers’, and that the sons of Mahendra Singh Tikait have ‘no political ambitions’. He insists, however, that ‘the murder of two persons belonging to the Jat community at Kawal village on 27 August and the administration’s failure in nabbing the culprit—and not the provocative statements made at the
Mahapanchayat on 7 September—resulted in communal backlash in the region.’ Whether the Tikait brothers have any political ambitions or not, they have plainly allowed themselves to be used by those trying to communalise what was essentially an isolated crime. Also if the murder of two persons belonging to the Jat community was the trigger, the communal flare-up would have started immediately after the crime and would not have waited till the Tikaits’ Mahapanchayat on 7 September. 23 September 2013