It does not mean that the social and economic empowerment of that community is happening at all by placing a person of a particular community in a high position. Based on the experience so far, it can be said without any hesitation.
The politics of symbol and representation in India started right after independence, but it became mainstream in the 1990s. As a result, the practice of looking at issues in the context of rich and poor became very weak. Then the demand for symbolic representation to Dalit-backward castes and minority communities also started rising loudly and gradually all the parties including the Left parties understood this grammar as real politics. Now it can be said that the Bharatiya Janata Party/RSS proved to be the most efficient in understanding and adapting this newly created or created situation. He called it social engineering. This phenomenon progressed in such a way that the RSS molded the wider Hindutva identity in such a way that all the castes and tribes that came within the Hindu community went on absorbing. It did not need to mold minority identities, because it was only by projecting those identities as ‘enemies’ that it promoted the rest of the broader Hindu identity.
So today BJP is in a position to claim that it has given maximum representation to Dalit-Adivasi-OBC. He has further substantiated his claim by making a tribal woman- Draupadi Murmu as the candidate for the post of President. Prior to this, she has already made the President in the country on the basis of Dalit identity. It is now criticized that these representations are merely symbolic. It does not mean that the social and economic empowerment of that community is happening at all by placing a person of a particular community in a high position. Based on the experience so far, it can be said without any hesitation. By the way, it can also be said that this is also the real purpose of the politics of symbol and ethnic/community representation. This politics marginalises the question of development and class equality. The same has happened in India as well. Considering the power-balance of the parties, Draupadi Murmu is almost certain to become the President. Obviously, this is good news for the supporters of symbolic representation.
