Five decades after the Representation of the People Act was passed, Mahatma Gandhi's prediction comes true today. A person belonging to a scheduled caste has been elevated to the highest office in the land. The rest of the prophecy, however, stands completely subverted. Gandhi could never have conceived of the new form of untouchability that the polity appears to be headed for, with the evolution of a discrete Dalit bloc that is politically assertive. Neither could he have foreseen that this new bloc would be so diligent in picking up the least palatable features of the upper-caste groupings. Therefore, K.R. Narayanan takes the presidency at an extremely critical moment in the history of the movement against casteism. A time when Dalits no longer wish to be called Harijans. When laws passed in their interest, like the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act, stand accused as instruments of iniquity. When social justice is nothing more than a political lever. It may be in their interest for the scheduled castes and tribes to band together, but it is certainly not in the national interest. The Constitution encourages integration, not the formation of groups that, in effect, perpetuate the divides of the casteist society. A Dalit force is no more progressive than a Yadav or Kurmi grouping. When these groups begin to subscribe to the methods of the other castes, it is doubly wrong. For instance, there is no substantial difference between Kanshi Ram's attitude to the Press and Bal Thackeray's. It is often difficult to tell Mayawati's preferred form of governance apart from Jagannath Mishra's. Both put a premium on complete control over the administration. And in Mumbai, the Dalits have always been more than willing to fight the Shiv Sena on its own turf, with weapons of its choice. Meanwhile, a Pakistani daily referred to Narayanan as the `untouchable president', back in the days when his candidacy was first being considered. For the scheduled castes and tribes, the way ahead looks pretty confused.In this situation, Narayanan can, hopefully, be a stabilising influence, a role model for a community that seems to be headed towards a new ghetto. A better, more secure one than the political space they are determined to quit, but a ghetto nevertheless. A form of tokenism by a patronising upper class may have got Narayanan to Rashtrapati Bhavan, but nevertheless, his appointment advertises the fact that social mobility is no mere directive principle it can be an actual fact. He is, therefore, a far better role model than any community leader fighting over the scraps of Ambedkar's legacy. Hopefully, he will use his position to advantage. He stands apart from the rest of his community in the limited sense that he has been more fortunate and could always look forward to better advancement. But, having made it to the top, he now has a moral responsibility to that community, if only as an advisor. He may be taken up by larger affairs of state, but this is a responsibility he cannot shirk.
