What does one make of Mayawati's ways?

Over the past week, much of the nation has been seized by the BSP's leader's currency garlands, and tried, with little success, to make sense of it. The first, which triggered a veritable outrage, may have been worth Rs. 50 million, and was hand-crafted by artists drawn from Karnataka in the deep south. The second was worth an estimated Rs. 1.8 million, according to Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party officials. Now, the value didn't matter at all. What did was the deliberate defiance of sensibilities in public life, and the defiance of rival politicians.

Many were repelled by such shameless displays. But displays of what? It might be worthwhile to ask outselves what is it that offended so many of us so much?

Was it the display of wealth? One politician accused her of having become “daulat ki beti,” (daughter of wealth), rather than the “Dalit ki beti” (daughter of Dalits). But then, we may have not seen Rs. 5 crore in a garland before, but we have seen far higher sums in other forms. After all, that is not a very large number in resurgent post-reform India, or on any scale of corruption.

Was it the idolatry? Hardly so. Many male politicians routinely prostrate themselves at the feet of Jayalalithaa in public.

Grandeur? Probably. But then, floral garlands of similar size, or maybe even bigger, have in the past been bestowed on countless other political leaders including Sonia Gandhi, Atal Behari Vajpayee and Lal Krishna Advani.

Many saw in the pomp and grandeur of BSP's 25th anniversary celebrations, and the currency garlands, an indifference to the plight of the poor. Also, the event came days after Mayawati showed little empathy with victims of a stampede at an ashram and it was left to the centre to first announce cash compensation to the kin of the 63 victims and the scores injured. This is somewhat ironic considering how she has been seen as a friend of the poor Dalits.

Over the two decades that the former school teacher has been in public life, scores of articles have been written on Mayawati. Even a biography (by Ajay Bose) has been published. Yet, we find ourselves unable to fully explain her behaviour. Long before the currency garlands, there was the issue of her statues cropping up all over the state. and her party's elephant symbols appearing all over Uttar Pradesh, her utter disregard for heritage in pursuing to commercialize the area around the Taj Mahal and much more. Corruption, of which there is plenty, is easy to explain but what is harder is her other actions. Why does she do these things? For publicity? To shock the upper castes and rival politicians? To win votes? Or to simply perpetuate her legacy?

Maybe we will find out in years to come.