Conferring Bharat Ratna on social justice icon: Modi's pre-poll masterstroke

JUST a day after the inauguration of the Ram temple in the northern Indian holy town of Ayodhya, the Narendra Modi government decided to posthumously confer Bharat Ratna, the country's highest civilian award, on Karpoori Thakur, a champion of social justice on the occasion of his birth centenary.

Modi himself announced the decision on X, saying, "I bow to Jan Nayak Karpoori Thakur Ji on his birth centenary. On this special occasion, our Government has had the honour of conferring the Bharat Ratna on him. I’ve penned a few thoughts on his unparalleled impact on our society and polity."

Thakur, who was born on January 24, 1924, in British India, was fondly called 'Jan Nayak' or the people's leader.

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The decision to honour Thakur seems nothing sort of a masterstroke by Modi. Just months ahead of the national elections, the move has stirred up the politics of the northern state of Bihar where Thakur lived and served as its chief minister twice. The chief minister of Bihar, Nitish Kumar, a disciple of Thakur, and his deputy Tejashwi Yadav (Yadav's ailing father Lalu Prasad was also a notable disciple of Thakur), welcomed the move, saying it was an old demand.

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But for the observers, the move means much more than merely honouring the late leader.

Thakur, who passed away in 1988, left a deep legacy on Bihar's deprived sections. He was considered a messiah of social justice and is often given the credit for making the backward castes' voice stronger in politics. He was one of the major faces during India's Emergency in the 1970s to oppose the repression carried out by the then Indira Gandhi government. The man was also known for his integrity, simplicity and advocacy for social justice.

By conferring the Bharat Ratna on somebody who fought for the empowerment of the socially backward sections, Modi's BJP made a shrewd move to gain prominence in Bihar.

First, the state's Nitish Kumar government along with the opposition Indian National Congress have been backing caste surveys and last November, the data related to such a survey was released by the state government. Modi's opposition are seeking such a move to counter the BJP's mobilisation of the Hindu voters through appealing factors such as temples. By giving the top award to Thakur, the saffron party showed that it is no less concerned with the backward sections in a bid to solidify the Hindu vote bank ahead of the elections, something the opposition forces are seeking to undermine with the demand for caste census.

Secondly, by announcing the decision to honour Thakur just a day after the consecration of the Ram temple, Modi's BJP is clearly exhibiting a strategy to subsume all castes under one roof -- Hindu. It would help it nullify opponent leaders such as Nitish Kumar, considered a heavyweight in contemporary Indian politics and can emerge as a leader of the backward sections by highlighting the inner inequality among the Hindu communities, posing a potential challenge to Modi, often called as the 'Hindu Hriday Samrat' (emperor of the Hindu heart).