On the occasion of Diwali

The subject of this column is the confusion of Asif Ali Zardari, on the nature of his Hindu subjects.

The Saarc summit in the Maldives is finally over and the prime ministers of India and Pakistan have met again, promising to take the bilateral relationship forward. This week, though, the subject of this column is the confusion of Pakistan’s head of state, Asif Ali Zardari, on the nature of his Hindu subjects.

“I wish to extend, on my behalf, on behalf of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and on behalf of the people of Pakistan, heartiest greetings to the Hindu and scheduled castes community on the occasion of Diwali,” The Express Tribune quoted Zardari as saying a couple of weeks ago around Diwali, considered by many Hindus to be one of their most sacred festivals.

Nothing wrong with that, especially since Mr Zardari, I’m more than sure, is a terribly secular guy. One careful look at the language of his statement above, however, betrays signs of a terrible chaos in the mind of the Pakistani state.

First, there’s a separate reference to Hindus and scheduled castes, which shows that Mr Zardari hasn’t read the Puranas carefully — or even Wikipedia — especially since the scheduled castes have been generally considered part of Hinduism’s eclectic umbrella even if in reality they still remain beyond the pale.

Secondly, who exactly is Mr Zardari wishing on behalf of the PPP and Pakistan? The Hindus (and scheduled castes) of Pakistan or India? If he was wishing the Hindus of Pakistan, then he clearly doesn’t consider them to be part of his country, and if he was wishing the Hindus of India as well as the rest of the world, then the question that arises is, why is he singling out only one community? In India, as I’m sure in Pakistan, both Hindus and Muslims celebrate Diwali and Eid and Holi and Christmas and everything else in between.

Zardari’s comments came to mind, albeit a few weeks late, because of the rising interest in India’s middle-class in Dalit affairs. Certainly, most of it is fuelled by Mayawati, the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh (UP), India’s most populous state at 175 million people, of which a large number belong to Hinduism’s lowliest of low castes.

Now Mayawati, the shrewd politician that she is, created a political coalition of castes in 2007, when she won a simple majority in UP, combining Dalits with high-caste Brahmins and Thakurs, outsourcing seats to each powerful caste lobby as she deemed fit. It was a fantastic strategy, befitting some of the sharpest minds of our time.

Except that she wore bright pink shalwar kameez and fat, sparkling diamonds in her ears and liked to celebrate her birthday with multi-tier wedding cakes — yes, the press had a field day.

That special attention was reserved for UP’s iron lady recently when she inaugurated a grand park studded with statues of Dalit leaders, including her own. Which leader does that, we scoffed, laughing behind the palms of our hands, when they’re still alive?

But maybe Mayawati will have the last laugh. Perhaps we don’t understand her usage of political symbolism and how Dalits are beginning to honour and even revere the fact that she’s thrusting herself into the roll-call of history.

So far, Kashmir has been a major bone of contention between India and Pakistan, but with MFN out of the way, it might be time to look at a Dalit reconciliation strategy across the border. It could be the beginning of a great leap forward.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 14^th,  2011.