Ram Vilas Paswan: A mainstream leader of the Dalits fell short of the rebel image

His dream was pretty big but what went wrong actually?

Friday, 9th October 2020

Ram Vilas Paswan reflected the most intriguing political paradox. On one hand he had been the most popular, visible & famed Dalit leader and that too for one of the longest tenure on the political firmament of the country while on the other hand he was unsuccessful in gaining ground in the mainland Indian politics beyond the periphery of Bihar, his native state.

What described the indefatigable and affable Ram Vilas Paswan was the never-ending desire he had to rise to the stature of a pan-Indian community leader and representative whose newfound ambitions and aspirations matched well with the rise he himself had experienced at the time of the Mandal Movement. 

Though Paswan had perhaps chosen the best timing for everything, his image as an inseparable facet of the "mainstream" reversed his rebellious trait and that made him appear as an "outsider" for his community.

So, amid the soaring hopes of Ram Vilas Paswan a fiery duo of Kanshi Ram-Mayawati which was then a nameless, unrecognizable duo, emerged and grabbed much of the prevent thunder.

The BSP turned out to be what Ram Vilas Paswan might have desired for. Of course, the BSP was mentored and literally led by the leaders from the famed Jatav community whose presence across India was massive. In comparison to them, the Paswans are just located within Bihar and despite being an assertive community, national spread was seriously lacking in that community.

Source: Times of India