Caste in Stone

In the first week of September, the latest cache of diplomatic cables hemmorhaged by Wikileaksincluded a sidebar that would have been amusing, had it not been framed against the endemic poverty of Uttar Pradesh. Per the story, Bahujan Samajwadi Party boss and Uttar Pradesh Chief MinisterMayawati once sent her personal jet to Mumbai, to fetch a favorite pair of sandals. The cable, dated October 23, 2008, while speaking of her many "eccentricities, whims and insecurities", spoke too of the private road she had constructed from her residence to her office -- a road only she uses, and which is cleared as soon as she has reached her destination.

In an amusing sequel Mayawati, apparently unaware that Wikileaks head Julian Assange was not the author of the cables but merely the conduit for their outing, termed him "insane" and suggested that he could be a tool of her political enemies (see story).

None of this raised eyebrows. Mayawati, now in her fourth tenure as CM, earlier this year made headlines as India's richest chief minister, with declared personal assets of Rs 86 crore. Immovable property valued at over Rs 75 crore include a Rs 16 crore commercial complex in Okhla, and land valued at over Rs 54 crore; her personal jewelry has been valued at over Rs 90 lakh.

But even by her own standards, eyebrows went through the roof when she recently inaugurated the Bhim Rao Ambedkar Park in Noida, at an estimated cost of Rs 685 crore. Watch the inauguration:

The park polarized public opinion, with her supporters pointing to it as a symbol of Dalit empowerment while opponents criticized the mammoth expenditure, questioning how statues of the CM and even of her parents, erected with public funds, could possibly "empower" a people reeling under the lash of poverty. Mayawati herself, aware of the building storm, tackled the criticism head on in her speech at the inauguration: The park, and the statues and monuments erected across UP, she said, cost merely one percent of the state's budget. Watch her inaugural address:

Fighting talk, this -- and in keeping with the perception that the choice of location, a few kilometers from Delhi, was intended as a signal of her national ambitions. The timing, however, could not have been more unfortunate -- the inauguration ceremony occurred on the same day that the National Human Rights Commission sent a notice to the UP government, asking what it was doing to combat the growing incidence of encephalitis that had, till that point, already claimed the lives of over 400 children. Watch:

Inevitably, TV channels took up the issue, through a stream of news-related videos and through extended chat shows, such as this hour-long program hosted by NDTV anchor Bharka Dutt and featuring luminaries from across the political and social space. Termed 'Caste in Stone', the debate circled through the inevitable questions: Was the construction of such extravagant memorials to her ego the best way to "empower" the community she ostensibly represents? Could such sums have been more productively spent combating health issues, and building hospitals, schools and colleges for a community badly in need of such facilities? Here, in full, is the 'We The People' show, hosted by Bharka Dutt, on the subject:

Weigh in with your thoughts: Is the Bhim Rao Ambedkar Park a symbol of Dalit empowerment? Or is it one folly too many perpetrated by a politician who pushes even excess to excess?