125 feet tall statue of Dr. BR Ambedkar in Hyderabad. , Photo Credit: Nagra Gopal
CCentral Hyderabad now houses a 125 feet tall bronze statue of BR Ambedkar, a few yards away from the recently inaugurated Dr. BR Ambedkar Secretariat. While Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao inaugurated the statue on Ambedkar Jayanti near Hussain Sagar Lake, an event for which Dalits from all 119 assembly constituencies of the state were invited, Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister KT Rama Rao unveiled a small statue Kiya’s version of the statue in another part of the city.
By unveiling the tallest statue of Ambedkar in the country, and building a new secretariat named after Ambedkar, spread over 28 acres with the Ashoka emblem on the main dome at a height of 265 feet, the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) has clarified Given that it is trying to woo Dalit votes in its favor as elections are due in the state later this year. These initiatives are part of its outreach to Dalits over the years. For example, in 2021, the Telangana government launched the Dalit Bandhu scheme, which provides a one-time capital grant of Rs 10 lakh to Scheduled Caste (SC) families to start their own business or entrepreneurial venture.
Telangana has a sizeable Scheduled Caste population. The 2014 Samagra Kutumb Survey had shown that 17.48% of Telangana’s population was SC. In 13 out of 32 districts of the state, the SC population is more than 20%. In Mancherial district, which has three assembly constituencies, the Scheduled Caste population is 26%. The 2011 census figures pegged the Scheduled Caste population at 15.45%.
A decade ago, Mr. Rao promised a Dalit chief minister if his party came to power. After his decisive victory in 2014, that promise was forgotten. Dr. T. Rajaiah, who belonged to the Madiga community, was sworn in as Deputy Chief Minister, but was sacked before the government completed one year. Since then, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi, now called the BRS, has been wooing Dalits time and again. The party won 13 of the 19 seats reserved for Scheduled Castes in the state in the 2014 assembly elections; In 2018, this number increased to 16.
As the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) try to mobilize the Other Backward Classes (OBCs), which account for around 29% of the population, the TRS is witnessing a churn in its vote share and hence is now focusing on Is. Dalit vote. BJP is using religious symbols to attract OBCs. The party has sought the support of the Munnuru Kapu community, which is economically and culturally powerful, and the Mudirajus, given that other prominent OBCs such as the Gouds and Yadavs are leaning towards the TRS. After the success of Bharat Jodo Yatra, the Congress, which has rejuvenated itself, is also eyeing OBC votes. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has called for caste census. This fear of vote shift has compelled the BRS leadership.
The change in affiliation with the Scheduled Castes may also have something to do with the BRS’s desire to expand its footprint in neighboring Maharashtra. Mr Rao invited BR Ambedkar’s grandson Prakash Ambedkar, who has a significant following in Maharashtra, for the inauguration.
These pro-Dalit moves are notably a change from a year ago when Mr. Rao came under fire for insulting the community. After the Union Budget was presented in 2022, Mr. Rao had stressed on the need to draft a new constitution. He said that even after 75 years of independence, the text was unable to meet expectations and that successive governments in Delhi had curtailed the powers of the states instead of strengthening them. These remarks drew sharp reactions from the opposition parties. The Congress alleged that the chief minister’s views showed his disrespect for Ambedkar. Bahujan Samaj Party convenor and retired IPS officer RS Praveen Kumar said the statement “exposes a deep-rooted conspiracy to subvert all safeguards guaranteed to minorities and weaker sections.” And some Dalit organizations asked Mr. Rao to apologize and withdraw his remarks.
On the other hand, during the inauguration of the new secretariat complex, the Chief Minister said, “Ambedkar’s message for the development of all sections is a great inspiration for the state government… [His] The vision to enshrine Article 3 in the Constitution helped in the creation of Telangana.”