It led the way and brought Malaysians to the streets. It contributed to wiping out BN's two-thirds majority.
Declared illegal, hounded and disempowered, its leader P Waytharmoorty (right) is in his second week of a 'hunger viratham'.Although there are other groups of Malaysians in the same boat or in a worse state, the Indian poor has become a potent symbol of all that is wrong with Malaysia.
The bitter fruits of the corruption and systemic failure of the government's implementation of the NEP and the NDP is partially acknowledged by the Najib administration and addressed by generous handouts labeled as BR1M.
Struggling to make ends meet
After more than fifty years in power and especially decades of rapid economic growth, giving out BR1M because Malaysians are struggling to make ends meet is a terrible indictment for a country that is oil-rich, the 13th largest trading economy in the world, and one that is headed for developed status in seven years.
If inflation, as the mainstream press has reported, is at 1.2 percent and the economy is performing so well, income disparity remains a major problem.
Which brings us back to Hindraf and the problems the movement is highlighting about the Indian poor in Malaysia.
There is no disputing that there are other groups of Malaysians who are equally poor or even worse off.
The
main argument put forward by Hindraf is that the situation for the
Indian poor is more acute because it is a direct result of
institutionalised racism and the failure of the government (whether BN
or Pakatan) to address the issue.The issue of poverty is intractable enough, its proponents claim, without being made worse by ethnicity-based policies, racism and religious discrimination.
In short, it is bad enough being discriminated against because of the colour of your skin but much worse to be stereotyped and despised because of your way of life, religion and culture.
It is more than a movement to highlight the discrimination by the government, it is a national struggle for dignity and respect from the wider Malaysian society.
Fasting in protest
One of Hindraf's leaders and some of its followers, including non-Indians, are now fasting to protest their situation.
They want the Hindraf Blueprint to be fully incorporated into the manifestos of the political coalitions contesting the 13th general elections.
It is, they argue, the only way to break the glass-walls of Malaysia's race-based policies, which is so pervasive that both coalitions are committed to upholding it.
There is also an additional class element that Hindraf is highlighting, the propertied and moneyed class that make up Malaysia's elite, who by and large want business as usual.
In going beyond ethnic politics, some in Pakatan have argued that one has to move away from policies that address one ethnic group alone.
Whilst Hindraf itself acknowledges that Pakatan has accepted some of their blueprint recommendations, the sticking point is Pakatan's refusal to promise enacting policies that are tailored to the Indian poor specifically.
This, Pakatan said, will be going back to square one.
Many overtures
The BN, through the initiatives of Premier Najib Razak, have made many overtures to Hindu Malaysians.
Brickfields in KL, for example, is now brightly lighted and has been spruced up and promoted as a national tourist destination.It is "Little India" that, if the BN wins convincingly with Indian support, can be expanded throughout the country.
Tamil schools have been provided with bigger budgets although the carry-through has not met the mark.
The MIC, embattled since the 2008 GE, has been given the opportunity to deal directly with Indian Malaysians through BR1M and other 1Malaysia programmes.
All this, Hindraf and detractors of the BN claim, is mere window-dressing.
Can we expect the BN to re-structure and address the problems associated with Indian Malaysians more comprehensively? If it continues to outsource Indian issues to the MIC, can the problems ever be solved?
The problem with appealing with both coalitions is that one is at the tender mercies of politicians.
As individuals they may be decent and committed but once in a group, they have to make expedient decisions.
Hindraf will not get its desired objectives without support from all Malaysians.
Herein lies the rub, for is Malaysia really facing a crisis of conscience when they can see their fellow Indian Malaysians taking to the streets, filling up prison cells, dying in police custody, forcibly removed from plantations, drifting into the cities with no social security and being forced to accept BR1M and other handouts?
When the Sabah was "intruded" upon by foreign elements, Malaysians went ballistic with patriotism.
Some even suggested going into Mindanao to take out the Sulu sultanate.
But when the disenfranchisement of their fellow Malaysians happen gradually before their eyes, we see, hear and say "no evil".
Comprehensive solution
The solutions that Hindraf seeks will not be found on the political platform.
Yet, they are right to insist on a blueprint that will force the public eye on the problems faced by the Indian poor.
Malaysians have to do a lot of soul-searching to find innovative ways to come out with a comprehensive solution.
If we regard this as an "ethnic" issue, we might as well vote for the coalition that has the longest experience managing them.
Hindraf like other movements dedicated to the cause of a minority group has to be radical and aggressive.
So long as they keep within the law and do not resort to extra-constitutional means to achieve their goals, they have the right to fight their cause.
The government recognised that right recently when it declared that the movement was no longer illegal.Whilst there is no denying that Hindraf is a ethno-religious movement focusing on the Hindu poor, solutions that they seek need not be based upon more "ethnic-based" policies.
I do not believe that more of the same will help the Indian poor.
It will take all the talents in Malaysia to figure out how to alleviate poverty, narrow the income gap and create a more equitable society.
Hindraf forced us to stare at inequality in Malaysia squarely in the eye but in finding solutions to the problems it highlights, we may yet find the solutions to intractable larger issue of Malaysia's unequal society.
Ultimately, it is about dignity and respect.
Handouts, festivals, free food and patronage do not solve problems. They are in fact part of the problem.
To level the playing field, to provide a human being a proper head start, we need to restore to them a healthy sense of self-respect.
India has given the world some of its oldest religions. It is the land of the Buddha and of Gandhi.
If we have enough respect for each other, half the battle is already won. Unfortunately, we are not even near crisis point on this important issue.
Our conscience seems to have been seared.
It contains no impressions!
NEIL KHOR completed his PhD at Cambridge University and now writes occasionally on matters that he thinks require better historical treatment. He is quietly optimistic about Malaysia's future.
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