emerged in the state (Hindustan Times, November 26, 1996; Pioneer, December 23, 1996). The tact that the BJP-BSP coalition almost broke down in September 1997 proves the point further. The status quo ante continues in UP because the largely imperceptible historical undercurrents are more resilient than floating contemporary events upon which, like a crowd lining the banks of a river in spate, the publicity hungry media loves to focus attention. In the event the coalition would have failed not because UP was more or less badly governed during the previous six months but because during these months neither Hindutva nor the BSP could develop a 'historic bloc' capable of steering the state out of its present sociopolitical confusion. Neither the 'savarnas' nor dalits were willing to sacrifice some of their caste preferences either in the long- term interest of the state or in the quest to evolve electoral or political stability. This only proves the critics of Hindu society right and its apologists wrong because the forces of hindutva due to their chauvinist nature arc incapable of forming such a 'bloc' in the long run.
