Mahatma Gandhi link>was a“casteist and racist” who wanted to preserve the caste system and paid lipservice to Dalit upliftment for political gain, Indian American writerSujatha Gidla said here today, Indian Express has reported.

Gandhi only wished to “prettify” the caste system, the New York-based Dalitwriter said at the Jaipur Literature Festival. “How could one say Gandhiwas an anti-caste man? He really wanted to preserve the caste system, andwhy he paid lip service to the upliftment of untouchables is because Hindusneeded a majority against Muslims for political representation in theBritish government. That was the only reason Hindu leaders ever took upcaste issues,” Gidla said.

The author of “Ant Among Elephants: An Untouchable Family and The Making ofModern India” was speaking at a session titled, “Narratives of Power, Songsof Resistance”.

To validate her argument, she recalled an episode from the politicalleader’s time in South Africa where he said “black” people were “kafirs”and “losers”. “In Africa, when they were fighting against the British forinstituting the passport… he said, ‘Indians are hard working people, theyshould not be required to carry these things. But, black people are kafirs,losers and they are lazy, yes, they can carry their passport but why shouldwe do that’?” she recounted.

“Gandhi was very casteist and racist indeed and any red-blooded untouchablewill know what Gandhi’s real intentions were,” she added.

Gidla, also took a dig at contemporary Indian Dalit leaders like Mayawatilink> and Jignesh Mevani who, she said,have “chosen to work under the framework of electoral politics”.

The author, who now works as a conductor in the US subway, said aparliamentary party like the Bahujan Samaj Partylink> (BSP) can only workfor the Dalit community from within the limited framework they choose tooperate in. “Everyone says BSP has given rights to untouchables, it gavethem self-confidence and dignity. But really nothing came out of it.Mayawati made herself very very rich, her brother made himself very veryrich. And that is all that happened to Dalits,” she said.

Gidla moved to New York City with the first-hand experience of differentialtreatment of untouchables in India. While she “applauded” Mevani’ssincerity, she also accused the young Dalit leader of “empty rhetoric”.“Jignesh Mevani right now seems militant and his protest against Unaflogging are very admirable but then again he has chosen to work under theframework of electoral politics and there is only so much he can do fromwithin it.

Gidla did not spare the opposition either. Taking a dig at the Congress,she said the party was not different from the ruling dispensation and wasin fact the “pioneer of communalism”. “Congress or any other party thatruled before BJP was not different from Modi. Just like in the US, thedemocrats are really not different from Trump… Congress is shy about theircommunalism. But Congress was the pioneer of communalism,” she said.

She cited the 1984 storming of the Golden Temple, and the subsequent riotsfollowing the assassination of Indira Gandhilink> in Delhi in which over 3,000Sikhs were massacred. “It was communal. And Congress was the one that didit. Not BJP,” she said. “So the only difference between them and BJP isthat BJP is open about it, Modi is open about his communalism,” she added.

Gidla was joined by Jovan Mays, a poet from the US, who talked about thecondition of Black Americans over the years, while drawing a parallel tothe Dalit situation in India.