A Bahujan support group, named, Revolutionary Memes for Bahujan Teens have yet again slammed actress Swara Bhaskar for hijacking their caste struggle in the aftermath of the Hathras case. While the group did not object to her participation, it expressed displeasure over the conduct of the actress in hogging the ‘limelight’ off the case and the movement. Days after calling her a ‘parasite’ for trying to hijack the movement demanding justice for Hathras victim.
https://twitter.com/RMBT_tweets/status/1313106170454904832?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw“We are not saying not to participate in the anti-caste struggle, Swara Bhaskar. Our objection was the way you did it,” it tweeted. The group added that they want the movement to be spearheaded by Dalits and not Savarna (upper-caste) individuals such as Swara Bhaskar. Revolutionary Memes for Bahujan Teens also asked her to instead lead a ‘reformation’ campaign within her own community.
It stated, “Let Dalit-Bahujan take the stage, as a Savarna be a humble servant of the movement, start a Reformation among your own people FIRST. How difficult is it to understand?” The response of the Bahujan group comes after Swara Bhaskar’s tweet wherein she expressed her ‘grief’ on being targetted for leading the movement. She wrote, “Dammned if you do (something), damned if you don’t.”
Netizens slam Swara Bhaskar for hijacking Dalit movement
Several Twitter users also suggested Swara Bhaskar to not disrupt the movement. A Twitter user, (@inquietraj) suggested her to learn to take constructive criticism and work on it. Rejecting her rant as ‘petulance’, he tweeted, “Ms. Bhasker I hope you’ve made an honest effort to understand and learn from the feedback you’ve received. This kind of petulance in the face of constructive criticism is not a good look. Please do better.”
https://twitter.com/inaquietraj/status/1313067043143462913?ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwAnother user (@meowist_life) accused her of generalising their campaign by ‘dismissing’ the caste angle. She stated, “The point is not about whether you do. And you definitely do, and you do good compared to your industry buddies. That’s not the point. When you say ‘our’ demands, you’re generalizing it by dismissing caste.” She further explained that a Dalit should be allowed to take on the podium instead of a Kanhaiya Kumar (who belongs to the upper-caste fold).
https://twitter.com/meowist_life/status/1313112514171826177?ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwAnother user named Walter White also told Swara Bhaskar to allow the centre-stage to a Dalit woman. The user told her that her contribution will be ‘helpful’ if she can teach the upper-caste individuals to refrain from casteist behaviour. “Please give the stage to the Bahujan Women next women (next time). It will be more helpful. And if you want to transform the society, then teaching of upper caste not to do casteism is more helpful,” the Twitter user wrote.
https://twitter.com/Heisenberg786/status/1313119990569000961?ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwBahujan support group calls Swara Bhasker ‘parasite’
Earlier, Revolutionary Memes for Bahujan Teens referred to Swara Bhaskar as a ‘parasite.’ The group said that even though she studied sociology at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) but did not seem to have read books and writings by Pierre Bourdieu, Antonio Gramsci, Jane Elliott, Peggy McIntosh, Malcolm X. It concluded that the lack of knowledge led her to jump at every opportunity to hog the limelight in the Dalit-Bahujan space.
Calling her half ‘Baman’ (Brahmin) and half Kayastha, the Bahujan support space suggested that she should start reformation movement from her own community and the states her parents come from, before hijacking Dalit-Bahujan space. The page further mentioned that her parents hail from Bihar and Andhra Pradesh, two of the states which top the list on honour killings.