Most of us have an idea of what is a revolution and what can be termed as a revolution. French revolution, American Revolution, Russian revolution, Cuban revolution, Iranian revolution and the list continues. However, revolutions are not just about politics. They indeed stimulate a significant social transformation, which may continue for years to come. A revolution can be purely social, arising from the roots of society and rising upwards to ultimately affect politics. We have had many happening in our own country. Or even the vice-versa is possible too and is seen very often when significant changes in the political order drastically changes the society in the long run.
In India, casteism creeps in every nook and corner for thousands of years. There is a narrative that caste-system in principle was a novel idea which later distorted into merciless hierarchies. It’s not the “idea” but what transpires on the ground which runs the show in the long run. (However, in today’s time the “ground” has changed to also including social media as a part of reality).
When Periyar and Sri Narayan Guru in south and Ambedakar in the north started questioning the draconian social order, it was nothing short of a historic revolution which ultimately transformed the ways society and politics will be run in these places. We tend to recall Jay Prakash Narayan Ki Kranti in the 1970s as political revolution. It kick-started the “samajwad” based politics in the heartland, which later turned into caste-based politics. But apparently more political changes have been brought through social revolutions than the political ones.
And there are examples of failed ones too. The Left driven naxal Maoist revolution is a ripe example. They succeeded in igniting the imagination of the poor and the tribals in many Indian states. They even succeeded in starting and continuing what can almost be termed as a civil war. But, were they able to bring the changes they were willing to? The whole movement only marginalised the entire region and the affected area fell back by years on the path of development.
The Dalit movement is a revolution which still continues to make strides. It has been successful to carve a niche for itself in politics. Political power leads to social power and vice versa. Constitution has a resounding success here. Impacts are being seen in education, science, business, entrepreneurship and everywhere. Though there is a long way to go, Social Justice is having its way. However, the tribals’ time is yet to come. Post-Independence India has witnessed another revolution called Hindutva. It has single-handedly changed the political landscape in the North, Central, and West India.
A movement moving at a snail’s pace found it’s panacea in the struggle for Ram Janmbhumi in the late 20th century and has managed to spread wings considerably. It is trying hard to be socially inclusive and realise social justice along with, while containing the fringes from inside at the same time. There has been instances when a single decision by a few people on the top has triggered processes which fundamentally change the politics and deeply impact the social fabric. PM VP Singh’s decision to implement the Mandal Commission recommendations first triggered violent protests, then led to the resurgence of the backward classes as politically and socially powerful groups especially in UP and Bihar. Political consolidation on caste identities thus began in the Gangetic plains and trumped over Hindutva movement politically.
Culturally and politically, both Hindutva and Caste consolidation has continued to move forward achieving their respective goals. Alongside all these political upheavals, another revolution kicked off in the 90s whose fruits each and every one of us are savouring. It was not primarily a political or cultural one, but it did affect politics and culture like never before. It was an economic boom, an economic revolution resulting from liberalisation. Though liberalisation was an obligation and not a choice, it was the best thing a nation could be forced for. China had already opened its economy in the late 70s and benefited from post-world-war global economic boom. India missed the train.
The era of rapid export growth which transformed war-ravaged countries like Japan and South Korea into economic powers very quickly was already over. When the world economy was making unbelievable strides India was experimenting with License Raj and busy adding “Socialism” to its Constitution. The infamous “so-called Hindu growth rate” of meagre ~3% was the result. You just can’t redistribute things in the name of socialism if your economy is not creating enough in the first place. Hence, Garibi persisted, even increased, despite lots of Garibi Hatao. Poverty reduced significantly only in the 21st century. 23 crore people were pulled out of poverty (1.9$/day cutoff) between 2011 and 2018, as per World Bank. And this revolution is here to stay, giving rise to multiple new revolutions.
Telecom, IT, automobile, infrastructure, AI everything will witness sea changes in the near future. More social transformations will result and in fact, will depend on them. India is going to witness an unprecedented boom. Living standards will rise dramatically and our society will be more egalitarian than before despite rising inequalities between the rich and the poor. The Indian pie will grow so fast and bigger than now that it will ensure everyone gets decent share despite all complains. If you are planning to leave India, wait. India’s time is just around the corner.