The state government is not ready to give even two yards of land for the installation of the statue of the person who has dominated UP politics for the last four decades. What message does the UP government want to send by demolishing on Wednesday the platform built to install the statue of a person who served as a minister in the state government for nearly 7 years and was a cabinet minister along with two BJP chief ministers? We are talking about Harishankar Tiwari, seven-time MLA of Purvanchal, who passed away last year. Tiwari had the label of being a strong MLA, but Tiwari was also the manager of about 16 educational institutions. Tiwari was called a mafia turned politician but he was important for lakhs of Brahmins of Purvanchal. It is beyond comprehension why the administration showed such small heart by demolishing the platform built to install the statue of such a person? This decision may seem small, but if this matter progresses further, the ruling party in Eastern Uttar Pradesh may be shaken. It clearly seems that Uttar Pradesh BJP has not yet learned a lesson from the defeat in the Lok Sabha elections and the rise of Congress and Samajwadi Party. The party also has to reach among the public in 2027. After all, what face will the Bharatiya Janata Party show among the public 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 after his demise on August 5 in Harishankar Tiwari’s ancestral village Tada (about 45 kilometers from Gorakhpur city). Leader of Opposition in Uttar Pradesh Assembly Mata Prasad Pandey was also going to attend this program. Obviously, the sentiments of the Brahmins of Purvanchal were attached to this program. Gram Panchayat had passed a resolution and made preparations to install the statue of Harishankar Tiwari on this occasion. But as soon as the Uttar Pradesh government received the news, the platform being built for the installation of the statue was demolished. It is being said from the administration that the village head did not take permission as per rules and regulations. This matter was going on for the last seven days. If the administration had the intention, the matter would have been closed within seven days by taking the application again as per the rules and regulations. But it seems that the administration was taking decisions under political pressure. Obviously this episode of local politics is going to spread across the state. Samajwadi Party President and former Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav have also condemned the incident by tweeting. Samajwadi Party has also raised this matter in the Assembly today.
Actually, both the sons of Harishankar Tiwari, former MP Bhishma Shankar Tiwari and Vinay Shankar Tiwari are in Samajwadi Party. Samajwadi Party had also given MP ticket from Dumariyaganj to Bhishma Shankar. Vinay Shankar has also been an MLA. In 2022, he has contested elections from Chillupar Assembly from Samajwadi Party. Obviously this matter has come to light due to local politics. But now this matter may become more provincial than local. This cannot be doubted.
2- Harishankar Tiwari and Brahmin self-respect
Brahmins have dominated the politics of Uttar Pradesh. Before Mandal politics became dominant, most of the Chief Ministers were Brahmins. There has been tremendous competition between Brahmins and Rajputs in the politics of the state, which has not diminished even today. Gorakhnath Math had great influence in the politics of Gorakhpur. There was a Congress government in the state but in Gorakhpur the Math had dominance. It is said that to break this dominance, a DM of Gorakhpur strengthened Harishankar Tiwari. Since then, the conflict 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 prominent Brahmin leader of Congress, Kamla Pati Tripathi, had come to Harishankar Tiwari’s hometown Barhalganj on his invitation. Harishankar Tiwari was arrested as soon as Tripathi was sent off. In this way, the conflict with Rajputs on three fronts – Math vs Hata (Tiwari Niwas), Harishankar vs Virendra Shahi, Harishankar vs Veer Bahadur Singh made him a symbol of Brahmin self-respect.
Even today, Brahmins in the districts of Eastern UP like Deoria, Kushinagar, Basti, Ballia, Azamgarh, Ghazipur, Allahabad, Jaunpur etc. feel pride in the name of Harishankar Tiwari. The reason for this was that till Harishankar Tiwari, Brahmins were considered to be killers by chanting mantras. Those who have seen the cult movie ‘Haasil’ will remember that Thakur of Allahabad University, who became a student leader, says Irfan, ‘Listen to one thing, Pandit, you did not fire a single bullet. Blow the mantra and kill the bastard. Harishankar Tiwari changed this perception about Brahmins. This is the reason why today Akhilesh Yadav wants to cash in on the legacy of Pandit Harishankar Tiwari.
3-Politics of Brahmins in Purvanchal
Brahmin voters in Uttar Pradesh are around 10 to 12 percent. After Yadav voters, Brahmins have the largest population. Along with this, the political awareness of Brahmins makes them the strongest in the state. There are about 115 seats in the state in which Brahmin voters have good influence. There are 12 districts with more than 15 percent Brahmin voters where victory or defeat depends on their mood. Balrampur, Basti, Sant Kabir Nagar, Maharajganj, Gorakhpur, Deoria, Jaunpur, Amethi, Varanasi, Chandauli, Kanpur, Allahabad are prominent among them. Not only this, in about 100 seats from Eastern UP to Central, Bundelkhand and Western Uttar Pradesh, Brahmin voters may not be many in number, but due to political awareness, they have the ability to influence public opinion. This is the reason why Brahmins have an important role in the politics of UP. The dominance has been complete. In 2022 also, out of 403 seats, 52 Brahmin MLAs have been elected, out of which 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 putting bitter gourd on Neem tree. Similarly, backward castes have left BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. If Brahmins also get angry then BJP’s division is certain.