LUCKNOW, May 4: The die is `caste' in Mayawati's Uttar Pradesh, and the players are scrambling to catch on. The state's cooperative minister, R.K. Chaudhury, has now decided to suffix Pasi to his name. Pasi denotes the caste he belongs to - the final determinant under the new dispensation. In a bid to consolidate her Dalit and Most Backward Class (MBC) vote-bank, Mayawati has been patronising casteism with a vengeance. Three of the four secretaries in the Chief Minister's secretariat belong to the Scheduled Castes and Sri Ram Arun, who was made the DGP on Saturday, too is a Dalit. On Friday, the state Assembly speaker yielded to the request of seven MLAs, most of them belonging to Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), to suffix their castes to their names. Thus Sri Ram will now be known as Sri Ram Pal and Bhagwan Singh as Bhagwan Singh Shakya. The phenomenon was first seen in the last assembly and parliamentary elections when a large number of candidates attached their castes to their names in buntings, banners and posters. While Chaudhury's banners termed him as R.K. Chaudhury Pasi, those of a former minister, Gauri Shankar, identified him as Gauri Shankar (Chamar). Purnima Varma appeared on posters as Purnima Varma (Pasi). Mayawati, of course, has made it amply clear that there's a lot in a name. The four-day grand Ambedkar Mela organised here last month by her had almost all sports and cultural events based on the various castes among Dalits and MBCs. There was a hockey match between Pasis and Chamars. Similarly, other sports like Gada-yudh, mala-yudh, wrestling, tonga race and kite-flying too were held on the basis of different castes. Moreover, goods prepared by members of the Julaha (weaver) and Kumhar (potter) communities dominated the handicraft exhibition organised as part of the mela. Even the dances presented at the four-day extravaganza, like the Karma dance of tribals from Mirzapur, the Saira by Madhya Pradesh tribals, the Kalbelia by tribals from Rajasthan and some other items presented by Pasis and Dhobis, were aimed at infusing a sense of pride among BSP supporters. Mayawati herself admitted that the purpose of the mela, organised on the occasion of Dr B.R. Ambedkar's birth anniversary, was to bring a ``Dalit renaissance'' through culture. Inaugurating the mela, the Chief Minister said: ``The Ambedkar's statue, to be installed at the Ambedkar Amusement Park, would be taller than the Taj Hotel that adjoins the park, so that the Dalits visiting Lucknow take pride in the honour bestowed on a member of their community.'' As much as Rs 20 crore has been earmarked for the park and Parivartan Chowk. Work is on at a feverish pace in the two projects under the direct supervision of the chief minister, clearly reflecting the priorities of her one-month-old government. Not to be left behind, her mentor and BSP chief Kanshi Ram recently announced institution of ``Ambedkar Gaurav Awards'' for eminent Dalits excelling in various fields. The award carries a prize of Rs 1.25 lakh in cash and a citation.
