Last Updated on 01/08/2024 by wccexam Desk
The state government is not ready to give even two yards of land for the installation of the statue of a person who dominated the politics of UP for the last four decades. What message does the UP government want to give by demolishing the platform built to install the statue of a person who was a minister in the state government for about 7 years, a cabinet minister with two BJP chief ministers, on Wednesday? We are talking about Harishankar Tiwari, a seven-time MLA from Purvanchal, who passed away last year. Tiwari was branded as a strongman MLA, but Tiwari was also the manager of about 16 educational institutions. Tiwari was called a mafia turned politician, but he mattered to lakhs of Brahmins of Purvanchal. It is beyond comprehension why the administration showed such a small heart by demolishing the platform built for the installation of the statue of such a person? This decision may seem small in appearance, but if this matter moves forward, the ruling party in the state may be shaken in eastern UP. It is clear that the Uttar Pradesh BJP has not yet learned a lesson from the defeat in the Lok Sabha elections and the rise of the Congress and the Samajwadi Party. The party also has to go among the people in 2027. After all, how will the Bharatiya Janata Party show its face to the people by taking such action?
1- Is there political pressure on the administration
Preparations were being made to celebrate the first birth anniversary of Harishankar Tiwari in his native village Tara (about 45 km from Gorakhpur city) on August 5 after his demise. Leader of Opposition in Uttar Pradesh Assembly Mata Prasad Pandey was also going to attend this program. It is clear that the sentiments of Brahmins of Purvanchal were attached to this program. The village panchayat had passed a resolution and made preparations to install a statue of Harishankar Tiwari on this occasion. But as soon as the Uttar Pradesh government got the news, the platform being built for the installation of the statue was demolished. The administration is saying that the village head did not take permission under the rules and regulations. This matter was going on for the last seven days. If the administration had the intention, then the matter would have been hushed up in seven days by taking an application again under the rules and regulations. But it seems that the administration was taking decisions under political pressure. It is clear that this chain of local politics is going to spread throughout the state. Samajwadi Party President and former Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has also condemned the incident by tweeting. Samajwadi Party has also raised this matter in the Assembly today.
So far, BJP’s bulldozer used to run on shops and houses, now it has started running on the honour and respect of the deceased as well.
On the birth anniversary of the late Shri Harishankar Tiwari, the seven-time MLA of Chillupar and former UP cabinet minister, the demolition of the proposed installation site of his statue by the BJP government is extremely shocking. pic.twitter.com/quV9bE372b
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— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) August 1, 2024
In fact, both the sons of Harishankar Tiwari, former MP Bhishma Shankar Tiwari and Vinay Shankar Tiwari are in the Samajwadi Party. Bhishma Shankar was also given the MP ticket from Dumariyaganj by the Samajwadi Party. Vinay Shankar has also been an MLA. He has contested the 2022 Chillupar assembly election from the Samajwadi Party. Obviously, this matter has gained momentum due to local politics. But now this matter can go beyond local to provincial. There can be no doubt about this.
2- Harishankar Tiwari and Brahmin self-respect
Brahmins have dominated the politics of Uttar Pradesh. Before the Mandal politics started dominating, most of the Chief Ministers were Brahmins. There has been a fierce competition between Brahmins and Rajputs in the politics of the state, which has not diminished even today. Gorakhnath Math had a lot of influence in the politics of Gorakhpur. There used to be a Congress government in the state, but the Math had dominance in Gorakhpur. It is said that to break this dominance, a DM of Gorakhpur strengthened Harishankar Tiwari. Since then, the struggle between Math vs Hata continued in Gorakhpur city. In 1985, Veer Bahadur Singh became the Chief Minister of the state. Veer Bahadur Singh was also a Rajput by caste and was a resident of Gorakhpur district. To establish his dominance in the local politics of Gorakhpur, he got Harishankar Tiwari arrested. On the day Harishankar Tiwari was arrested, another powerful Brahmin leader of Congress, Kamlapati Tripathi, had come to Harishankar Tiwari’s hometown Barhalganj on his invitation. Harishankar Tiwari was arrested as soon as Tripathi was sent off. Thus, the struggle with the Rajputs on three fronts, viz. Matha vs. Haata (Tiwari residence), Harishankar vs. Virendra Shahi, Harishankar vs. Veer Bahadur Singh, made him a symbol of Brahmin self-respect.
Even today, Brahmins in eastern UP districts like Deoria, Kushinagar, Basti, Ballia, Azamgarh, Ghazipur, Allahabad, Jaunpur etc. feel proud of the name of Harishankar Tiwari. The reason for this was that before Harishankar Tiwari, Brahmins were considered to be those who kill by chanting mantras. Those who have seen the cult movie ‘Haasil’ will remember that Irfan, who plays the role of a Thakur student leader of Allahabad University, says, listen to one thing Pandit, you cannot shoot. Kill the bastard by chanting mantras. Harishankar Tiwari changed this perception for the first time. This is the reason why today Akhilesh Yadav wants to cash in on Pandit Harishankar Tiwari’s legacy.
3- Politics of Brahmins in Purvanchal
Brahmin voters in Uttar Pradesh are around 10 to 12 percent. After Yadav voters, Brahmins have the second largest population. Along with this, the political awareness of Brahmins makes them the strongest in the state. There are around 115 seats in the state in which Brahmin voters have a good influence. There are 12 districts with more than 15 percent Brahmin voters where victory or defeat depends on their mood. Among these, Balrampur, Basti, Sant Kabir Nagar, Maharajganj, Gorakhpur, Deoria, Jaunpur, Amethi, Varanasi, Chandauli, Kanpur, Allahabad are prominent. Not only this, Brahmin voters may not be in large numbers in around 100 seats from eastern UP to central, Bundelkhand and western Uttar Pradesh, but due to political awareness, they have the ability to influence public opinion. This is the reason why Brahmins have completely dominated the politics of UP. In 2022 also, out of 403 seats, 52 Brahmin MLAs have been elected, out of which the maximum 46 are from BJP while five have won from SP and one from Congress. Similarly, 49 MLAs have won from Thakur community, out of which 43 are from BJP alliance, 4 from SP, one from BSP and Raja Bhaiya from Jansatta Party.
The way the government in the state has been accused of being anti-Brahmin, this incident is like adding insult to injury. In the same way, backward castes have deserted the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. If the Brahmins also get angry, then the BJP is sure to be ruined.
Source (PTI) (NDTV) (HINDUSTANTIMES)