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Mayawati (Template:Lang-hi) (born 15 January 1956) is an Indian politician. She is the current Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state. After three short tenures between 1995 and 2003, it is her fourth term in this office. Her supporters refer to her as Behen Ji, which means sister. At age 39, she became the youngest politician to be elected chief minister in Uttar Pradesh and the first Dalit-woman chief minister of any Indian state. She is regarded as a symbol of dignity and political inspiration for millions of India's Dalits who were oppressed by the Hindu upper castes for centuries. She is also a leading symbol of wealth accumulated by corruption. There are allegations that she has used her status to amass a large amount of personal wealth.

Personal life

Mayawati was born in New Delhi at Shrimati Sucheta Kriplani Hospital, to Ram Rati and Prabhu Das. Her family belonged to the scheduled caste Hindu Jatav subcaste of the Chamar community. Prabhu Das, her father, retired as section head from Postal department, Government of India. Badalpur, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Uttar Pradesh is her ancestral village.

Mayawati graduated in arts from Kalindi College of the University of Delhi. She holds bachelor's degrees in Law (from Delhi University) and Education (from VMLG College, Ghaziabad, Meerut University). She worked as a teacher in Delhi (Inderpuri JJ Colony). In 1977, Dalit politician Kanshi Ram became very influential in her life resulting in her joining his core team when he founded the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in 1984. Shortly after, she changed her career path and entered politics full time.

At Kanshi Ram's funeral ceremonies in 2006, Mayawati said they had both been following Buddhist traditions and customs Her act of performing the last rites (Hindi: दाह-संस्कार) of Kanshi Ram has set an example of her and Kanshi Ram's views against gender discrimination. She said that she will convert to Buddhism after getting an absolute majority at the Centre.

Political career

In 1984 Kanshi Ram founded the BSP as a party to represent the Dalits and Buddhists. Mayawati was a key member of this organization. BSP fielded Mayawati for its first election campaign from the Kairana Lok Sabha (Lower House) seat in the Muzaffarnagar district in 1984, and then again for the Lok Sabha seats of Bijnor in 1985 and Haridwar in 1987. In 1989 she was elected for Loksabha seat of Bijnor with a total of 183,189 votes.

Although BSP did not win, the electoral experience led to considerable activity for Mayawati over the next five years, as she worked with Mahsood Ahmed and other organizers. In the 1989 election, the party won 9% of the popular vote and 13 seats. It won 11 seats in the 1991 election. Because the Dalits are widely spread over the state, Kanshi Ram and Mayawati then adopted a policy of attracting other groups, which continues today.

Mayawati won for the first time in the Lok Sabha elections of 1989 from Bijnor. In 1995, while a member of the Rajya Sabha (Upper House), she became a Chief Minister in a short-lived coalition government, and validated her position by winning from two constituencies in 1996. She was again Chief Minister for a short period in 1997, and then for a somewhat longer term in coalition with the Bharatiya Janata Party from 2002 to 2003. Before that in 2001 her mentor, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) president Kanshi Ram named her as his successor.

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Mayawati has said in an interview that she has no time for family life or romantic relationships because she wants to focus on her political career and this is why she remains unmarried. A description that was prepared by a U.S. diplomat and subsequently leaked described Mayawati as "obsessed with becoming Prime Minister" and stated she ran all governmental decisions through her small group of advisors to maintain a "vice-like grip on all levels of power."

2009 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections

Contrary to some poll predictions, BSP won a majority in the 2007 elections, the first such majority since 1991. Mayawati managed to attract support from Brahmins, Thakurs, Muslims and members of other backward classes. These people voted for a Dalit party for the first time, partly because BSP had offered seats to people from these communities. The campaign was accompanied by a colorful slogan: Haathi nahin, Ganesh hain, Brahma, Vishnu Mahesh Hain: "The elephant (BSP Logo) is really the Lord Ganesha, the trinity of gods rolled into one". Her new slogan invited everyone, including the higher castes, to "come ride the elephant", her party's election symbol.

Chief Minister, 2005

Mayawati was sworn in as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh for the fourth time on 13 May 2007. She announced an agenda that focused on providing social justice to the weaker sections of society and providing employment instead of distributing money to the unemployed. Her slogan is to make "Uttar Pradesh" ("Northern Province") into "Uttam Pradesh" ("Excellent Province").

In 2007 Mayawati's government began a major crackdown on irregularities in the recruitment process of police officers recruited during the previous Mulayam Singh government. So far 17,868 policemen have lost their jobs for irregularities in the recruitment process and 25 IPS officers were suspended for their involvement in corruption while recruiting the police constables. Mayawati is instituting reforms to introduce transparency into the recruiting process, including posting results of selection exams online.

As part of her social reform plans she advocates reservation for the poor among upper castes in addition to reservation for weaker sections of society. Reservation in India is a system whereby a percentage of government positions and seats in all universities are reserved for persons in backward classes and scheduled castes and tribes.

2009 parliamentary elections

Mayawati's BSP did not meet expectations in the 2009 general elections. The BSP, which was expected to win more than 35 seats in Lok Sabha from the state of Uttar Pradesh, succeeded in winning only 20 seats. The BSP obtained the highest percentage (27. 42%) of votes in Uttar Pradesh for any one political party. It was in third position in terms of national polling percentage (6.17%).

Political and legal issues

Taj corridor case

In 2003, the CBI raided Mayawati's residence in relation to the Taj corridor case, two days after it had filed an First Information Report against her. This led to discovery of assets disproportionate to her known income.

Birthdays

Mayawati's past birthdays have been major media events, where she appeared laden with diamonds. Her supporters have declared her birthday as Jan Kalyankari Diwas (People's Welfare Day). In 2009, the day was marked by the announcement of welfare schemes targeted towards poor and downtrodden people of the state. Her 2010 birthday was marked by the launch of programmes with a value of over Rs 7,312 crores.

Disproportionate assets case

Mayawati's assets run into millions of dollars with several properties to her name. In 2007-08 assessment year, Mayawati paid an income tax of Rupees 26 crores, ranking among the top 20 taxpayers in the country. Earlier the CBI had filed a case against her for owning assets disproportionate to her known sources of income. Mayawati described the CBI investigation against her as illegal. Her party asserts that her income comes from gifts and small contributions made by party workers and supporters.

Statues

In her tenures as a Chief Minister, Mayawati erected number of statues of Buddhist and Dalit icons like Bhimrao Ambedkar, Shahuji Maharaj, Gautam Buddha, BSP founder Kanshi Ram, and of herself. The statues and the memorial parks in which they are erected are said to have cost the state Rs. 2000 crore. The Supreme Court of India admitted a Public Interest Litigation questioning this expenditure. She maintains that the statues are symbols of Dalit assertion and the expenditure was required because the past governments did not show respect towards Dalit icons, in whose memory nothing was ever built. In February 2010, Mayawati's government approved a plan for a special police force to protect the statues. She feared that her political opponents might demolish the statues. There are incidents of vandalism of statues of Dalit icon Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar in India.

World Bank criticism

The World Bank loaned India funds for development, and Mayawati was to manage projects with this money in UP. The projects were preplanned and on schedule, but the Mayawati government made changes which put the project behind schedule. The World Bank sent a 1 August 2002 letter of complaint to India's central government stating, "We have now learnt that project managers have been replaced within three weeks of assuming office. The project coordinator of the Diversified Agriculture Support Project has been changed twice in quick succession and at the moment there is no project coordinator. In the forestry project, numerous changes have been made over the past six months... Such developments do not augur well for these time-bound projects that require consistently good leadership."

Other

Kanshi Ram, head of the Bahujan Samaj Party, praised Mayawati at her 47th birthday celebrations for her fundraising activities on behalf of the party. He stated that the party's eventual goal is to gain power in Delhi, and that Mayawati's efforts help in that quest.

Mayawati's public meetings are attended by large audiences, using slogans such as "Kanshi Ram ka mission Adhoora; karegi Behen Mayawati poora" (Kanshi Ram's unfulfilled mission will be completed by Mayawati), "Behenji tum sangharsh karo; hum tumhare saath hain" (Sister, go ahead with your struggle; we are with you).

Allegations made via Wikileaks

In confidential US diplomatic cables dated 23 October 2008 and leaked by the Wikileaks website, it was alleged that Mayawati sent an empty private jet to Mumbai to retrieve some sandals. The cables also alleged that she was paranoid about her security, fearing assassination and employing food tasters to guard against poisoning. One of the releases also described her as being "obsessed with becoming Prime Minister" .

In response Mayawati denied all the Wikileaks allegations and claimed that "the owner of Wikileaks has gone mad or he has joined hands with our opposition parties to malign my government". "I request the government of his country to send him to a mental asylum and in case they are all full, I will make space for him in the mental asylum in Agra".

In response to Mayawati's comments, Julian Assange (creator of WikiLeaks) said "Mayawati has betrayed rational thought. The question is, has she also betrayed the Dalit? There is no question that the documents are official papers from the US embassy. These papers have been proven the world over, including by the aggressive persecution of our people by Washington. The allegations within them are made by US diplomats in their private communications back to Hillary Clinton. If chief minister Mayawati has a problem with the contents of these communications she need to take it up with Hillary. I ask that Mayawatti to admit her error and apologise." Further Assange added "Should she fail to do so, she is welcome to send her private jet to England to collect me, where I have been detained against my will, under house arrest, for the last 272 days. I would be happy to accept asylum, political asylum, in India--a nation I love. In return, I will bring Mayawati a range of the finest British footwear."

Books on Mayawati

Many studies have been done on Mayawati and many books have been published, including her autobiographies. One of the first works was journalist Mohammad Jamil Akhter's book, Iron Lady Kumari Mayawati. Her autobiographies are Mere Sangarshmai Jeevan Evam Bahujan Movement Ka Safarnama in three volumes in Hindi, and A Travelogue of My Struggle-ridden Life and of Bahujan Samaj, in English in two volumes. Behenji : A Political Biography Of Mayawati is a biography by veteran journalist Ajoy Bose.

WikiLeaks

U.S. diplomatic cable claimed she once sent an empty private jet to Mumbai to fetch her favorite brand of sandals.

The U.S. Embassy cable, titled “Mayawati: Portrait of a Lady”, which was dated Oct. 23, 2008, but was only made public Monday, described her as “corrupt” and a “virtual paranoid dictator.”

Tuesday, the fuming chief minister strongly condemned the cable and said that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange should be institutionalized.

“Mr. Assange should be sent to mental asylum by the country he belongs to and in case if there was no place for him, he should be sent to Uttar Pradesh. We will put him in the Agra mental asylum,” she said during a television press conference in the state capital Lucknow.

“The Wikileaks expose on me and my party is baseless,” Ms. Mayawati said. “This is a conspiracy of the opponents to tarnish the image of our party, just ahead of the elections next year.”

Ms. Mayawati focused her ire on the fact of the cables’ release rather than addressing the U.S. Embassy’s observations about her. WikiLeaks officials weren’t immediately available for comment.

Peter Vrooman, a spokesman from the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, declined to comment.

Satish Mishra, Ms. Mayawati’s key aide and general secretary of the Bahujan Samaj Party that she leads, added Tuesday that he believed the leak was a “political conspiracy to create an environment of distrust inside the party at a time when assembly elections are not too far.”

The information in the cable highlights the efforts of the U.S. to evaluate the political atmosphere in north India’s Uttar Pradesh and its broader influence.

“Mayawati is obsessed with becoming Prime Minister and the BSP will spend huge sums in next year’s national polls. With all signs pointing to another coalition government in Delhi, Mayawati could be a power-broker and perhaps even a king maker,” the cable said.

“Chief Minister Mayawati and her Bahujan Samaj Party have done little to promote development since her May 2007 election. According to several journalists, the law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh has improved only in that Mayawati has centralized corruption in her own hands,” the leaked cable said.

Describing Ms. Mayawati’s “eccentricities, whims and insecurities”, the cable added: “She employs nine cooks (two to cook, the others to watch over them) and two food tasters” to guard against poisoning.

“When she needed new sandals, her private jet flew empty to Mumbai to retrieve her preferred brand,” it said.

The cable also said the chief minister was paranoid about her security, “fears assassination” and had the highest level of safety cover from the federal government.

“In addition to this outsized security apparatus, she constructed a private road from her residence to her office, which is cleaned immediately after her multiple vehicle convoy reaches its destination,” the cable said.

See also

• Bahujan Samaj Party
• Ambedkar Samajik Parivarthan Sthal
• Taj corridor case

References

1. UP CMs & their terms. Retrieved on 30 March 2007.
2. ^ "Ms. MAYAWATI, Chief Minister, Uttar Pradesh, Life History: At A Glance (Official Profile of Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh)". upgov.nic.in. 16 July 2009. Retrieved June 10, 2010.
3. "Mayawati in Newsweek's top woman achievers' list".
4. "Mayawati is India's anti-Obama: Newsweek". The Times Of India. 21 April 2009.
5. ^ "Profile: Mayawati Kumari". news.bbc.co.uk. 16 July 2009. Retrieved May 2, 2010.
6. "WikiLeaks: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati sent jet to collect shoes'".
7. "Mayawati's assets rise from Rs 52 crore to Rs 87 crore in 3 yrs". Times of India. 27 May 2010.
8. Deepak Gidwani. "Mayawati has a treasure trove of gold, jewels, but no car". Daily News and Analysis.
9. ^ http://www.rediff.com/news/2006/oct/16look.htm Mayawati claims Kanshi Ram's Legacy
10. http://www.hindu.com/2006/10/17/stories/2006101705021200.htm Mayawati to embrace Buddhism
11. Srivastava, Sanjeev (9 October 2006). "Kanshi Ram: Champion of the poor". BBC News.
12. Subrahmaniam, Vidya (22 March 2010). "A quarter century of Kanshi Ram & Mayawati". The Hindu. Chennai, India.
13. "Profile of Mayawati, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh". Official UP Government Release.
14. Dawn.com Mayawati interview Quote: "still, she is clear about her determination to expand her party's national footprint. She said she was so focused on her political career that she has no time for romantic relationships, movies, even extended family. 'That's why I am unmarried,' she said. 'I don't even keep my parents here.'
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16. "Uttar Pradesh police recruitment scam". News Track India. 2007-10-01. Retrieved 2008-06-26.
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18. Kanchan Gupta (April 10, 2010). "To fight Maoists, reform the police". www.dailypioneer.com. Retrieved April 30, 2010.
19. "Mayawati promises justice for all". June 20, 2007. Retrieved February 15, 2011. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |source= ignored (help)
20. List of Winning Candidates
21. "Taj controversy: CBI raids Mayawati's residence". Redff.com. October 08, 2003. Retrieved Feb 2, 2011. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
22. "Evidence found against Maya: CBI". rediff.com. October 08, 2003. Retrieved Feb 2, 2011. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
23. Amrit Dhillon (October 31, 2004). "Friend of the poor has rupee fortune". London: Sunday Times website. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
24. "Mayawati to celebrate birthday as 'People's Welfare Day'". www.thaindian.com. December 29, 2009. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
25. PTI (2010-01-15). "The Hindu : States / Other States : Mayawati launches welfare schemes on birthday". Chennai, India: Beta.thehindu.com. Retrieved 2010-05-02.
26. CBI probe in DA case illegal: Mayawati
27. Pradeep Thakur, TNN, Aug 3, 2008, 12.22am IST (2008-08-03). "Mayawati, Shah Rukh among top taxpayers - India - The Times of India". Timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Retrieved 2010-05-02.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
28. PTI, Mar 17, 2010, 12.40pm IST (2010-03-17). "Defiant Mayawati felicitated with another cash garland - India - The Times of India". Timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Retrieved 2010-05-02.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
29. Rajiv Ranjan Jha (25 May 2005). /articleshow/1120843.cms "Mayawati adds another 100 feet to her stature". Times of India. Retrieved 2007-05-13. {{cite news}}: Check |url= value (help)
30. "Mayawati gets statue-tory warning from SC - Politics - ibnlive". Ibnlive.in.com. 2010-02-03. Retrieved 2010-05-02.
31. memorials-will-not-cost-any-more-money-says-mayawati www.thaindian.com
32. "India minister Mayawati police squad for statues". BBC News. 2010-02-05. Retrieved 2010-05-02.
33. Monica Chadha (5 December 2006). "Despair of the discriminated Dalits". bbc.co.uk.
34. "Desecration of Ambedkar statue triggers protests in Uttar Pradesh". Thaindian.com. 2009-02-13. Retrieved 2010-05-02.
35. "Protests in Ghaziabad over damage to Ambedkar statue". Thaindian.com. 2010-01-25. Retrieved 2010-05-02.
36. "Ambedkar statue desecrated, tension in Chhattisgarh village". Thaindian.com. Retrieved 2010-05-02.
37. Tripathi, Purima S. (14–27 September 2002), "Mayawati in double trouble", Frontline, 19 (19){{citation}}: CS1 maint: date format (link)
38. http://www.rediff.com/news/2003/jan/16up1.htm Fund collection: Kanshi Ram defends Mayawati
39. http://www.rediff.com/news/2006/oct/18maya.htm
40. "Wikileaks: India's Mayawati 'sent jet to collect shoes'".
41. "BBC: India's Mayawati says 'Wikileaks founder has gone mad'".
42. "TOI: Assange hits back at Mayawati: Send your private jet to collect me".
43. http://bspindia.org/kumari-mayawati.php
44. http://uplegassembly.nic.in/MAYAWATI%20BOI%20DATA.htm KUMARI MAYAWATI
45. http://www.penguinbooksindia.com/category/Autobiography_Biography_Memoir/Behenji_9780143066323.aspx Behenji: A Political Biography of Mayawati

External links

• Official biodata
• Bahujan Samaj Party
• "Untouchable" seeks power in Indian election

Timeline

Template:Dalit

Template:Persondata

• 14th Lok Sabha members
• 1956 births
• Chief Ministers of Uttar Pradesh
• Indian women in politics
• Living people
• People from Bijnor
• Bahujan Samaj Party politicians
• Leaders of political parties in India
• Chaudhary Charan Singh University alumni