The building of the railways in India by the British played an important role in loosening the shackles of caste, but even in the British era, the administration of the railways was dominated by the upper castes. After Independence, the railways did recruit Dalits and OBCs but the “lucrative positions” (which offer ample opportunity of accumulating wealth) continued to be the monopoly of the dwijs. The domination of the dwijs has only increased since the NDA took over the reins of the central government in 2014. What was done clandestinely earlier is being done openly now. The officers who paid regular obeisance at the durbar of the Sangh (RSS) were appointed to lucrative positions. But even here, the Dalitbahujan officers associated with the RSS, the Bajrang Dal and the BJP were discriminated against. Officers from these communities are unable to gather the courage to protest against this discrimination. Even the parties claiming to be the champions of social justice are not paying any attention to their plight. The dwij officers are taking full advantage of this situation. In the last five years, the railways have become a sanctuary of corrupt dwij officers associated with the Sangh.
An example of this is the Allahabad Division of the North Central Railways. All the top officers in this division are dwijs and among them, Brahmins outnumber others. This situation exists right from the top to the bottom.
Brahmins abound at the top
Amitabh Kumar is the divisional railways manager (DRM) of the Allahabad Division. According to credible sources, he is a savarna. The second in command, the chief commercial manager (CCM), is M.N. Ojha, a Brahmin. Senior divisional commercial managers (DCM) I and II are Naveen Dixit and Sanchit Tyaji, respectively, who are both Brahmins. Assistant commercial managers (ACM) I and II are Anup Kumar (Kayastha) and Pankaj Tripathi (Brahmin), respectively.
Caste domination in Kanpur
Kanpur is an important junction of the North Central Railways. Once, it used to be a thriving industrial city and the railways had made special arrangements for movement of goods from this station. Even now, some industrial units are operational in the town. The junction is in the jurisdiction of the Divisional office in Allahabad. Jitendra Tiwari is the deputy chief traffic manager in Kanpur and he is in charge of four sections – reservations, bookings, parcel and goods. He decides who will manage these sections. No wonder the chief freight superintendent, Sushil Kumar Awasthi, is a Brahmin. Similarly, B.K. Singh, the chief parcel supervisor, is a Thakur.
Savarna (mostly Brahmin) officers are posted in the stations around Kanpur, which are controlled by Jitendra Tiwari. For instance, the chief reservation supervisor at Govindpuri station is Kiran Shukla while the chief booking supervisor is Santosh Sharma. Both are Brahmins. Similarly, Rakesh Banerji, a Brahmin, has been given the charge of bookings at Panki railway station.
How Brahmins dominate North Central Railways
Post | Name | Caste |
---|---|---|
Divisional Railways Manager, Allahabad | Amitabh Kumar | Savarna |
Chief Commercial Manager | M.N. Ojha | Brahmin |
Senior Divisional Commercial Manager-I | Naveen Dixit | Brahmin |
Senior Divisional Commercial Manager-II | Sanchit Tyagi | Brahmin |
Assistant Commercial Manager-I | Anoop Kumar | Kayastha |
Assistant Commercial Manager-II | Pankaj Tripathi | Brahmin |
Deputy Chief Traffic Manager | Jitendra Tiwari | Brahmin |
Chief Freight Superintendent, Kanpur | Sushil Awasthi | Brahmin |
Chief Parcel Supervisor, Kanpur | B.K. Singh | Thakur (Rajput) |
Chief Reservation Supervisor, Govindpuri | Kiran Shukla | Brahmin |
Chief Booking Supervisor, Govindpuri | Santosh Sharma | Brahmin |
Chief Booking Supervisor, Panki | Rakesh Banerji | Brahmin |
Naveen Dixit: Brahmins at the top a mere coincidence
When asked why all the top positions in the Allahabad Division of North Central Railways are occupied by savarnas (mostly Brahmins), Senior Divisional Commercial Manager Naveen Dixit told FORWARD Press over phone that it was just a coincidence and that it was not the case in Jhansi and Agra divisions. When prodded further, he just said that every person belongs to one or the other caste and there is nothing wrong in people of a particular caste or certain castes occupying top positions in the Allahabad Division.
Reservation in promotions
Since the BJP came to power in Delhi, the savarna domination of the North Central Railways has increased and the employees and officers of Dalit, Adivasi and OBC communities are working under a shadow of fear. This amply shows why reservation in promotions is needed and why the savarnas oppose it.
Translation: Amrish Herdenia; copy-editing: Anil
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