'They Came from Russia': RJD Leader Berates Brahmins, Rekindles Memories of 'BhuRa BaL Saaf Karo'

The Rashtriya Janata Dal has branded itself the ‘A-Z party’, but that has not stopped its leaders from speaking out against Brahmins. While addressing cadres at an RJD-sponsored event in Bihar’s Supaul district, former party MLA Yaduvansh Yadav recently said, “Brahmins do not belong here. We (Yadavs) are the original inhabitants of this land. DNA testing has supposedly confirmed that Brahmins are outsiders and have descended from Russia and other European nations. They have come here from Russia and are dividing and making us fight amongst ourselves. In this way, Brahmins are ruling over us. We should chase them away.”

The programme in which Yaduvansh Yadav was speaking had been organised by RJD in Nirmali Nagar panchayat, Supaul district. The video has now spread on social media.

Senior party leader Shivanand Tiwary appeared embarrassed by the statement and told CNN-News18 that he would not comment on it. “Although I watched the speech of the leader on social media, it would not be suitable for me to say anything about it,” he maintained.

War of words

However, RJD’s Shakti Yadav defended Yaduvansh Yadav’s statement and said, “Brahmins haven’t originated on earth. They have descended from the mouth of Lord Brahma, so it would be unfair to say they originated from any part of the earth. The leader did not give any controversial statements. He rightly said that the Brahmins are not from here.”

Janata Dal (United) spokesperson Abhishek Jha, however, slammed the leader’s remarks and asked ally RJD to take action. He said, “Those who make such statements are not aware that in the Dwapar era, the Shiromani of Yaduvansh was our adorable Lord Shri Krishna’s guru Sandipani Muni and Maharishi Parshuram. Where did both the teachers come from? From Russia or any other country? Was there any era in which there were no Brahmins, be it Treta, Dwapar, or Satyug? Such cheap statements are made only to remain in the headlines of the media. The party should take immediate action against such people. These people try to tarnish the image of the alliance.”

BJP MLA and former minister Neeraj Singh Bablu termed it appeasement politics. He told CNN-News18, “Their mental condition is not stable. They are undergoing an identity crisis. Just to let people know about their existence, such rubbish statements are given. Secondly, the mandate of the people is shifting, so just to pollute the politics such remarks are made. In fact, these people are working on the principles of Laluji, who in the 1990s campaigned ‘BhuRa BaL (an acronym for Bhumihar-Rajput-Brahmin-Lala) saaf karo’. This is being done to appease people of the Yadav community but people are not fools.”

Another former minister and BJP MLA Jibesh Mishra echoed these sentiments. “This is the behaviour of mentally disturbed people. The country and society belong to all. In a democracy, each and every person has his importance, no matter which caste or sect they belong to. Such statements are unacceptable and we condemn it,” he said.

Past insult

In August last year, RJD chairperson Tejashwi Yadav apparently mocked the Brahmin community during a spat with BJP leader Giriraj Singh. “Keeping a lambi choti (a tuft of hair left on top or on the back of the shaven head of many male Brahmins) does not make you knowledgeable,” he said.

History

The decade of the 1990s was the period of the emergence of the backward castes in Indian politics, particularly in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Around that time, Lalu Prasad Yadav had purportedly coined the slogan “BhuRa BaL saaf karo” against the so-called forward castes. This magnified the caste lines in Bihar and had a deep impact on its society.

In later years, Lalu tried to change his anti-upper caste image. In his autobiography, ‘Gopalganj se Raisina’, he clarified that he was not against Brahmins, nor did he give the slogan “Bhura BaL saaf karo”.

Lalu Prasad wrote in the book that he was only against Brahmanism and Manuism. He mentioned that he won the election of Patna University because of an officer like Nagendra Tiwari; otherwise, goons had thrown the ballot boxes in drains and dustbins. He also wrote that he feels bad after seeing a poor Brahmin begging.

However, when the central government amended the Constitution to provide economic reservation to the upper castes, the RJD was the only party in Bihar to oppose it. Senior leaders like Raghuvansh Prasad Singh resisted this decision of the party and advised it to embrace a new era of politics. It is believed that such a stand of the RJD was one of the reasons why it could not win a single seat in the following Lok Sabha elections. After this perhaps the RJD started trying to change its image. This is believed to be the reason why it made Jagdanand Singh the president of the state unit and began attempting to establish itself as a party of sarvasamaj (all sections).

In the parliamentary elections of 2019, Tejashwi Yadav attempted to rally the ‘M-Y’ (Muslim-Yadav) base while trying to cast the RJD net wider, projecting it as the ‘A to Z’ party.

Allies RJD (Jagdanand Singh), Congress (Akhilesh Singh), and JD(U) (Rajiv Ranjan alias Lalan Singh) have upper-caste people as their state presidents. It may appear out of place in a ‘Mandal citadel’ like Bihar, but those in the thick of things believe this is a strategy adopted by these parties to punch above their weight. On the other hand, the BJP is the only party that does not have an upper caste leader as state president (Samrat Choudhary), perhaps because it already has those votes in the bag.

With Nitish Kumar forming the Mahagathbandhan 2.0 government after dumping the BJP in Bihar in August last year, political analysts say ‘Mandal versus Kamandal’ politics is likely to play out in a big way in the key state ahead of the 2024 general elections.

‘Mandal’ is a term often used for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and Scheduled Castes. It has its origins in the Mandal Commission, which was established in 1979 by the Janata Party government to “identify the socially or educationally backward classes” of India. ‘Kamandal’, a water pot often used by spiritual leaders, has over the years become a metaphor for Hindutva politics.

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