Nothing brings home the fact that Bihar is still in the grip of extreme casteism than this incident:
A statue of Ram Manohar Lohia was washed down with water by members of the RJD’s student wing and members of the Lohia Vichar Manch in Saharsa, northern Bihar. After it was garlanded by Jitan Ram Manjhi, who was Chief Minister of the state until February this year.
To put it differently, Lohia’s statue was washed by workers of a party that is dominated by Yadavs, an OBC grouping, because it was touched by Manjhi, who, as a Madalit, is a member of the Scheduled Castes.
Both the Yadavs and the Mahadalits have protested against casteism for decades.
The irony doesn’t end there.
Ram Manohar Lohia devoted his life to the erosion of caste politics. Something that the workers of the Lohia Vichar Manch might have wanted to keep in mind.
Here’s what Manjhi had to say.
The incident comes at a time when the ruling elite of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh want to reunite Yadavs, Mahadalits and Muslims under a new formation provisionally titled the Samajwadi Janata Party or the Janata Dal.
Up to two months ago, Manjhi was still part of the JDU which will be part of this new political formation along with the SP and the RJD.
Terming the incident unfortunate, Lok Janshakti Party chief and Union Minister Ramvilas Paswan said people need to change their mindset.
Manjhi was on his way to Saharsa in connection with a political programme when he stopped at Lohia chowk to garland the statue of the freedom fighter.
After he left , members of student wing of RJD and Lohia Vichar Manch washed the statue with water, removed the garland placed by Manjhi and replaced it with another garland of their own.
Manjhi is a man hungry for power and hence has no moral rights to garland statue of Lohia.
—Dukhi Lal Yadav, Supual district chief of Lohia Vichar Manch
One person was arrested after an FIR was registered.
A similar controversy had broken in Madhubani district late last year when Manjhi alleged that a temple was washed after a visit by him.
(With inputs from PTI)
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