Diverse Perspectives on the Emergence of Bahujan Samaj Party in Uttar Pradesh

Dalit movement in India and the emergence of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has been explained in different perspectives by different intellectuals, politicians and social activists. Sudha Pai, a JNU professor explains the emergence of BSP as a result of affirmative action and democratization in the 1980s. According to Vivek Kumar the huge army of Dalit employees both in central and state government played an important role in the emergence of BSP. Christophe Jaffrelot considers the emergence of BSP in the Indian politics as a silent revolution as there is a peaceful transfer of power from the upper caste elites to the lower caste groups. Vivek Kumar contests this argument and postulates that the Dalit assertion has always been roaring. He focuses on the development of Dalit assertion mainly through the leadership of BSP. Another dimension to this debate is offered by Kanchan Chandra, who explains the success of BSP in UP (Uttar Pradesh) by applying a theory about the conditions under which 'ethnic parties' are likely to succeed. This paper makes an in depth study of all these theoretical formulations and attempts to identify the areas of conflict and agreement between them.