India desperately needs a Muslim, Dalit or tribal PM
In 2008, Barack Hussein Obama became the 44th president of the US and its first African-American president.
It was not just a symbolic achievement but a fulfilment of the civil rights movement, led by Martin Luther King Jr to end racial discrimination against black Americans and to secure legal and political recognition for them as equal citizens, as had been promised by the founding fathers of the United States, through the covenant of the Constitution, with its glorious immortal declaration that "All men are created equal".
Constitution
The Indian Constitution too, in its Preamble, makes it amply clear, that much like the US, our leaders had intended and resolved, irreversibly, that every Indian citizen, irrespective of his caste, creed or religion, would be secured "JUSTICE, social, economic and political; LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship and EQUALITY of status and of opportunity." These three ideas when read together and translated into the contemporary political narrative of a robust democratic republic like ours, must necessarily lead to one conclusion. That no office, howsoever high or powerful it may be, should be out of bounds for any citizen solely on the grounds of his religion or community.
The highest office in the land is that of the president but under our constitutional scheme, the real executive power is vested in the office of the prime minister. And while we have had a Dalit and even Muslims as presidents, we have unfortunately, even after 68 long years of Independence, have neither had a Dalit, tribal, Christian nor a Muslim as the prime minister of India.
Generally, the trend is that, by and large minorities and lower castes are being denied the right to hold this office, which is quite evident. Now before the right wing attacks this author for being communal or casteist or both, let me clarify that not for a moment am I suggesting this job should be reserved for anybody nor am I hinting that it should be given to somebody merely because he or she belongs to any of those groupings. Obama did not become president because the top post was "reserved" for an African-American.
He became the president because he was talented and he got a chance from the system, to showcase those talents both within his party and amongst the public, he was judged not on the colour of his skin but the "content of his character" as Martin Luther had hoped, and most importantly, there were no hurdles, denying him that opportunity.
The reality in India is that there is an undeniable, almost invisible hurdle within the system that impedes and obstructs, the ascension of a Muslim, or a Dalit, tribal or Christian to the post of the PM and until that is removed, we would be in violation of the promises made under the constitution to all its citizens. So far we have had 15 prime ministers in India.
Bias
The last one belonged to the Sikh minority community that makes up for just 1.7 per cent of the Indian population. Whereas the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up for almost 25 per cent, Muslims for 14.2 per cent per cent and Christians for 2.3 per cent. Together, they account for over 40 per cent percent of the population yet they have had no opportunity to occupy the top post till date!
Part of the reason for this is the bias against this 40 per cent that exists in the entire system - media, political parties, civil society and corporate structures - which has denied meaningful political power to these communities despite using them for their votes and services. Why is it that none of the members of this community have been afforded the political platform within political parties and by our democratic political set up to lead the nation?
Do they inherently lack the talent, integrity or the ability to lead India or is it only their community or caste that disqualifies them for the post notwithstanding their abilities?
When a Kanshiram asserts his caste he becomes casteist, when VP Hamid Ansari talks about affirmative action, he becomes communal but when right wing groups talk about militant Hindutva policies, they are lauded as "Hindu Hriday Samrats"?
When a Hardik Patel demands reservation for empowered folks like Patels and brandishes weapons, incites violence, media gives him wall-to-wall coverage and if a Haider Pathan would talk about scholarship in education, it would be termed as "minority appeasement".
Hypocrisy
This is exactly the kind of hypocritical Manuwadi thinking that has denied many communities their legitimate share in the sociopolitical space. One look at the ownership of corporate entities that fund political parties, the structure of political parties, the structure of the media and their ownerships, NGOs and even the judiciary, reveals how heavily it is tilted in favour of a few handful at the cost of the remaining 40 per cent of India.
The reality is that the deprivation of sociopolitical power to this 40 per cent has also resulted in the lack of their development and progress on various socioeconomic parameters. Today, SCs, STs, and Muslims fare lowest on education, housing, employment, incomes and other indices. They suffer from the same levels of discrimination as the blacks did in USA during the sweltering heat of racial segregation. Clearly, the solemn promises made to citizens under the Constitution are being breached each day.
For the sake of better policies, a more representative democracy and for realising promises made to all citizens in our Constitution, it is high time the office of the Indian PM also reflects the social diversity of India in a meaningful way. Not out of charity but as part of our collective commitment to the values enshrined in the Constitution.