India, July 11 -- BJP Brought Blessings to Cadres, Exasperation to Others The other day, Amit Shah proudly claimed that India has steadily moved from despair to optimism during the last eleven years. While this is perfectly true of BJP supporters and Hindutva activists who win contracts in BJP-led states and turn multi-millionaires overnight, the lower classes have fallen lower, and their expectations have turned to exasperation. Their existence itself is in peril.

We are referring to that category of people who are greatly needed in society but are excluded from interaction by the elite. Two Dalits in Ganjam District (Odisha), for example, were tortured by cow vigilantes. It happens every day, the locals said.

'Imposition' of Hindi Awa...