India’s Second Dalit President

Light of Truth

P.A. Chacko, SJ

The title of this article is a misnomer. The President of India, who is the First Citizen of the nation, should not be identified by his caste or creed. He is a human person. More than that, he represents India as the head of the nation. Hence, its titular head.

Ram Nath Kovind was elected as the 14th President of India. A member of the BJP, he won with a steamroller majority because the BJP had a major vote share in the election. The fact of his being a Dalit should not be made much of, in a way. But, by all calculations the BJP wanted to project a Dalit face to cover up its image as an anti-Dalit party. Moreover, the nation would not have appreciated an openly fast forward Hindu Rashtravadi candidate. Hence, the strategy worked well in its favour!

The opposition too played a Dalit card by projecting Meira Kumar. But, it was clear from the outset that Meira would not harness as much votes as Kovind. By his own admission, Kovind had humble beginnings. On hearing his winning the election, his sentiments went back to his onetime thatched hut in Kanpur. He recalled that the leaky thatched roof kept him and his siblings huddled in a corner during torrential rains. He also gracefully recalled that by dint of hard work and strong will he came up in life and reached this stage. On that rainy day in the capital it was symbolic that he called his home experience way back in the late forties and early fifties of the previous century. He concluded his reminisces by saying: ‘That Kovind who struggled in early life is still fresh in my memory and today’s suffering farmers remind me of my struggling days and I promise that their interests are close to my heart.’ A good enough statement from the new head of the State!

Although he is a Party’s candidate, it is too early to say that he will carry his party ideology into the Rashtrapati Bhavan. The nation will watch with keen interest his moves and actions. As the head of the nation he is the guardian of the Constitution. He has the grave responsibility of protecting the sanctity of the Constitution. It guarantees to every citizen fundamental rights to life, equality, expression, freedom of religion, freedom from all forms of exploitation etc. There are no first class citizens and second class citizens in the concept of the Constitution. Yet, the nation is going through a crucial phase as we are told in our face that some are privileged citizens because they belong to the majority Hindu community and others like Christians, Dalits, Moslems and the Indigenous are second class citizens. The great rule of the Animal Farm is here: All are equal, but some are more equal!

The new President should be aware of this and much more. One expects that his erudite scholarship and intelligence will come to the fore to bring sanity and substance in the thinking of religious fanatics and fundamentalists. His own Dalit experience should be a calling card enabling him to stand up and speak up against all forms of exploitations and cruelties meted out to the weaker sections of our Indian society. I am sure he is aware of the sinister move of some sections of society to remould the sacrosanct Constitution to fit it to their vision and mission. He knows very well the great Dalit leader Ambedkar who stood beyond caste and creed and helped to frame a Constitution that guarantees equal rights and protections to all sections of society. There are people who mouth praises of Ambedkar for political opportunism but care least for his noble principles. Will Kovind be one such person who will mouth inanities in praise of Ambedkar but stab the Dalits in the back? Will he be party to those who want to destroy the sanctity of the Constitution? Will he keep mum when Indian citizens are told by fanatics to go and get lost in Pakistan? Will he be a mute spectator when lynching mobs perform, in free abandon, the gory street plays of spilling innocent blood in public gaze? Will he join such foolhardy politicians and law keepers to write off such incidents as just law and order problems? Will he, as the head of the Armed Forces, inflate politically sensitive feelings against neighbouring countries to boost our ego and display our megalomania? One thinks not!

The nation expects that the Presidents’ allegiance to the nation and his devotion to its sacred traditions will not play hide and seek game. He should prove false the suspicions of those who think that he will play Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde when it comes to upholding the sacred principles of the Constitution and the nobility of the nation. We wish the new President good innings of memorable performance.

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