In bastion Shikaripur, BSY’s son faces backlash, protests
Yediyurappa has represented Shikaripura seven times in assembly since 1983
“BJP sarkarakke dhikkara (down with the BJP government)...Tanda bachao, BJP hatao (Save the village, remove the BJP”.
These were the comments that greeted Shikaripur Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate and son of former Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa, BY Vijayendra, as he entered Taralaghatta Tanda for campaigning on Sunday.
The Banjara community that accounts for a significant proportion of the population of the village was clearly not in a welcoming mood. They continued to shout and Vijayendra, 50, was forced to leave.
In the nearby village of Hosadoddanakoppa, the story was the same. The women of the hamlet stood guard as BJP leaders arrived to seek votes. A man, who was working in a field close by, rushed to inform the rest of the villagers about his arrival. Even before the men could arrive from the fields, Vijayendra and his entourage left without stepping out of their vehicles.
The growing disgruntlement in the Banjara community against the new internal reservation announced within the overall reservation for Scheduled Castes is palpable in Shikaripur. Residents of several tandas (Banjara villages) have called for a boycott of all political parties, but especially the ruling BJP. “We feel cheated, and our community will continue to boycott them till the government withdraws the Sadashiva Commission report,” villagers say.
On the threshold of assembly polls in the state, the Basavaraj Bommai-led BJP government tweaked the reservation quota for people from the scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and other backward classes, a move aimed at accommodating long-standing demands for more reservation from various communities so as to maximise the electoral returns.
Last year, the state government under Bommai approved the increase in the reservation in educational institutions and government jobs for the scheduled castes to 17% from 15%, a change that has been challenged before the high court.
Then, on March 24, the state said it would fix internal quotas within the 17% earmarked for scheduled castes -- 6% has been awarded to the SC Left group, 5.5 % to the SC Right category, while Touchable communities got 4.5% and the other SC communities got the remaining 1%. SC Left, SC Right and Touchable are categories defined by the state.
It is said that during Adi Karnataka in 17th century, those who used to work in farms now constitute Dalit Left and those, who were administrators, are now Dalit right. All 101 caste groups, who were considered original inhabitants of Karnataka and had faced oppression from invaders, were given SC reservation after Independence. Touchable community are the ones who were allowed to work in homes of upper castes such as LIngayats and Vokkaligas. Dalits constitute 20% of the state’s population.
The Banjara community, which falls under the touchable group, are in arms, as they believe that their reservation has been reduced from an open 15% earlier to 4.5%.
On March 27, agitating members of the Banjara community pelted stones at Yediyurappa’s house at Shikaripur in Shivamogga district . They also protested in other parts of the state.
Yediyurappa has represented Shikaripura seven times in assembly since 1983. He announced his retirement from electoral politics on July 2022, and successfully lobbied and got the seat for his son Vijayendra. BJP leaders have sought to discredit the agitation and claimed the Congress is behind it. Yediyurappa has also attempted to assuage community leaders, but in vain.
Banjaras in Shikaripur
The Banjaras, also knows as Lambanis, are a semi-nomadic community, predominantly found in Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh , and in some parts of northern India. In multi-ethnic villages, they tend to live in small isolated hamlets .
Historically, Banjaras were known to be nomadic people who moved from one region to another in search of good pasture land for their cattle. With time and relatively better educational and job opportunities, they have stopped doing so, but mainly work as daily wagers.
According to the 2011 census, there are about 3,300 Banjara villages in Karnataka, with a total population of 1.2 million. They are mostly concentrated in Kalaburagi, Vijayapura, Koppal, Raichur, Chitradurga, Haveri, Davanagere, Shivamoga, Chikkamagaluru, Tumakuru, and Chikkaballapura districts.
“ As per the community estimate, there would around 2.5 million people from the community in the state,” Savitha Shivakumar Naik, former director of Karnataka Thanda Development Corporation Ltd, said.
Karnataka Thanda Development Corporation was established in 2009, when Yediyurappa was the chief minister, for the welfare of the community. “This helped them progress in all spheres of life, and provided them with roads, schools, anganwadis, etc,” Naik said, outlining the work done by the corporation.
T Ramanaik, a lawyer and a BJP worker, said Yediyurappa saw the community’s struggle of collecting commodities from forest and gave them land. “As a result, they have progressed economically and in terms of education as well,” he claimed.
“The state government also assured them that the reservation would not be removed. But some miscreants protested and issue become political,” he added.
However, Manju, a member of the Banjara community from Taralaghatta Tanda said: “We know that they will not remove us from the SC list. We fear that our children will get lesser reservation benefit because of the Sadashiva Commission report...All the information is available online. No one is being mislead. We are educated and capable understanding things.”
Internal reservation is the main issue, Manju pointed out. “The earlier 15% for SCs was like an open field. For example, in a race, anyone who runs the fastest comes first. Now, with 4.5%, they have limited our quota,” he explained.
“Another issue is, this is unscientific. The 17%, which they have announced, has not been given a nod yet. It has only been send to the Centre. According to the Sadashiva Commission, it’s 3% for us. So, we’re confused whether we’ll get 3% or 4.5%. That’s why our community feels injustice has been done. We will boycott the BJP in the upcoming elections,” he said.
The Justice Sadashiva Committee report, submitted on 2012 (seven years after it was constituted), when reservation for scheduled castes was 15%, recommended a 3% reservation for the Touchable Groups category. The BJP was in power in the state in 2012.
Political fallout
In Shikaripur, of the total 1.9 lakh voters, at least 35,000 are Banjaras. The constituency has about 46,000 Lingayat voters, 33,000 people from other Scheduled Castes, 20,000 tribal voters, 26,000 Mulsims, 14,500 Kurubas and about 6,000 Idigas, according to local party leaders. Yediyuruppa needed votes of other communities to win and the Banjaras always supported him , said Ramanaik.
Manju agreed that Yediyurappa has done a lot for the community. “But the internal reservation (change) has taken away the trust we had on him,” he said.
Another member of the community, who did not identify himself was quick to add, that the community is not against Yediyurappa or his son but is opposing the BJP. “If it wasn’t for the internal reservation issue, whatever love and respect people have for Yediyurappa, they would shower double the amount on Vijayendra. They have the support of other communities but not ours in the upcoming elections.”
Shikaripur Congress leader Raghavendra Naik said, “The BJP has backstabbed our community. When Yediyurappa became the MLA here, the society didn’t back him, the SC and other backward communities did. He’s at the position he’s in today because of these communities. After he became an MLA, he distanced himself from them and got close to others. He’s a casteist politician. ₹13 crore for the Sadashiva Commission was released by him and it couldn’t have been recommended to the Centre without his knowledge. He’s directly responsible for the situation today and the community will teach him a lesson in the upcoming elections.”
Political expert Chambi Puranik said, “The margin of victory might have an impact to some extent, but not so much that will result in his defeat. If Yediyurappa and Vijayendra clarify regarding the issue in their campaigns, they might convince the community, and the younger generation especially. People in Shikaripur don’t have any good alternative. Therefore, it is not alarming and the BJP might safely retain the constituency.”
Vijayendra himself is upbeat about his prospects, though. Last week, he stated that he had already toured the constituency and reached out to every village and every booth. He maintained that he was willing to take up any challenge given to him by the party. “All communities are supporting me,” he said, when specifically asked about the Banjaras.