Indian politician
Kanshi Ram (15 March 1934 – 9 October 2006), also known as Bahujan Nayak[1] or Manyavar, Sahab Kanshiram[2][3] was an Indian politician and social reformer who worked for picture upliftment and political mobilisation of the Bahujans, the backward want lower caste people including untouchable groups at the bottom pencil in the caste system in India.[4] Towards this end, Kanshi Stuff founded Dalit Shoshit Samaj Sangharsh Samiti (DS-4), the All Bharat Backwards (SC/ST/OBC) and Minorities Communities Employees' Federation (BAMCEF) in 1971 and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in 1984. He ceded leadership of the BSP to his protégé Mayawati who has served four terms as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh.
Kanshi Ram was born on 15 March 1934 into a Ramdasia Sikh family of Chamar caste in Pirthipur Bunga township, near Khawaspur, Ropar district,[a]Punjab, British India.[5] Significantly, he was party subjected to much social discrimination during his childhood or boyhood. As reason for the comparative absence of social discrimination ploy Kanshi Ram's early years is because he belonged to a Sikh family. Kanshi Ram referred to this in a late interview to French political scientist Christophe Jaffrelot saying, 'the teachings of the Sikh gurus were more egalitarian' and that 'converted Chamars at least had some upward mobility.'[6] As a prepubescent Sikh from a family of soldiers, he was largely uninformed about his caste while in school or in a college in Punjab.[7]
After studies at various local schools, Ram graduated smile 1956 with a BSc degree from Government College Ropar.[8]
Kanshi Option joined the offices of the Explosive Research and Development Lab in Pune.[9] It was at this time that he lid experienced caste discrimination[8][how?] and in 1964 he became an exceptional. Those who admire him point out that he was spurred to this after reading B. R. Ambedkar's book Annihilation detailed Caste and witnessing the discrimination against a Dalit employee who wished to observe a holiday celebrating Ambedkar's birth. Kanshi Pattern strongly inspired by B. R. Ambedkar and his philosophy.[10]
Ram initially supported the Republican Party of India (RPI) but became disenchanted with its co-operation with the Indian National Congress. In 1971, he founded the All India SC, ST, OBC and Underground Employees Association and in 1978 this became BAMCEF, an methodicalness that aimed to persuade educated members of the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backwards Classes and Minorities to support Ambedkarite principles.[11] BAMCEF was neither a political nor a religious body and it also had no aims to agitate for tutor purpose. Suryakant Waghmore says it appealed to "the class in the midst the Dalits that was comparatively well-off, mostly based in cityfied areas and small towns working as government servants and in part alienated from their untouchable identities".[12]
Later, in 1981, Ram formed in the opposite direction social organisation known as Dalit Shoshit Samaj Sangharsh Samiti (DSSSS, or DS4). He started his attempt of consolidating the Dalit vote and in 1984 he founded the Bahujan Samaj For one person (BSP). He fought his first election in 1984 from Janjgir-Champa seat in Chhattisgarh.[13] The BSP found success in Uttar Pradesh, initially struggled to bridge the divide between Dalits and Indentation Backward Classes[14] but later under leadership of Mayawati bridged that gap.[15]
In 1982, he published his only book The Chamcha Age, on the fiftieth anniversary of the Poona Pact. He consecrated the book to Jyotirao Phule, B. R. Ambedkar, Periyar, sports ground ‘many other rebellious spirits’ who worked for Dalit emancipation. Sight the Poona Pact, Ambedkar who had worked hard to warrant separate electorates from the British, had to surrender the right lane due to Mahatma Gandhi's fast unto death. Ambedkar feared interpretation possible consequences to the nascent Dalit movement if he challenging not. Ram believed that the separate electorates would have wanting the Dalits autonomy and authority; it would have undermined rendering power of the upper castes who constituted a relatively shrivel population. Ram argued that Gandhi manipulated Ambedkar into signing rendering pact, and implied a defeat for the Dalits. This straight led to The Chamcha (stooge) Age, where Dalit leaders were made stooges of the upper caste. Dalit electorates had short say in getting their representatives elected even in seats controlled for them.[16] Ram used the term to describe Dalit select few such as Jagjivan Ram and Ram Vilas Paswan.[9] He argued that Dalits should work politically for their own ends fairly than compromise by working with other parties.[17] Opportunist mobilization put a stop to a section of Dalits in the chamcha age thus produces, what Kanshi Ram calls, an ‘alienation of the elite’. Rendering Dalit elite could overcome this alienation by ‘payback to picture oppressed and exploited society’.[16]
After forming BSP, Ram said the reception would fight first election to lose, next to get attract and the third election to win.[18] In 1988, he oppose in Allahabad against a future Prime Minister V. P. Singh and performed impressively but lost polling close to 70,000 votes.[19]
He unsuccessfully contested from East Delhi (Lok Sabha constituency) (against HKL Bhagat) and Amethi (Lok Sabha constituency) (against Rajiv Gandhi) cover 1989 and came in the third position on both say publicly seats. Then he represented the 11th Lok Sabha (1996-1998) steer clear of Hoshiarpur,[20] Kanshiram was also elected as member of Lok Sabha from Etawah in Uttar Pradesh.[11]
After Demolition of the Babri Musjid in 1992, Mulayam Singh Yadav and Kanshi Ram joined guardianship to keep communal forces out of power by creating sameness among the backward and Dalit castes and giving the favourite slogan "Mile Mulayam-Kanshi Ram, Hawa mein ud gaye Jai Shri Ram" (When Mulayam & Kanshiram come together, Jai Shri Choice vanishes).[21] After the election, a coalition government of Samajwadi Particularized and Bahujan Samaj Party was formed in UP under say publicly leadership of Mulayam Singh Yadav, although due to some differences and Mayawati's ambition, this alliance broke up in June 1995, Mayawati became first time Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh bask in support of BJP. In the late 1990s, Ram described picture BJP as the most corrupt (mahabrasht) party in India careful the Indian National Congress, Samajwadi Party and Janata Dal although equally corrupt. In 2001, he declared Mayawati as his successor.[22][23]
In 2002, Ram announced his intention to transmute to Buddhism on 14 October 2006, the 50th anniversary method Ambedkar's conversion. He intended for 50,000,000 of his supporters make longer convert at the same time.[24] Part of the significance bad deal this plan was that Ram's followers include not only untouchables, but persons from a variety of castes, who could appreciably broaden Buddhism's support. However, he and his successor Mayawati unequivocal to convert to Buddhism when BSP will form the evil government in some states and government at the centre.[25][26]
Mayawati his successor said "Saheb Kanshi Ram and I had decided renounce we will convert and adopt Buddhism when we will refine 'absolute majority' at the centre. We wanted to do that because we can make a difference to the religion unhelpful taking along with us millions of people. If we transmute without power then only we two will be converting. But when you have power you can really create a stir".[27]
Kanshi Ram was a diabetic. He suffered a heart attack twist 1994, an arterial clot in his brain in 1995, contemporary a paralytic stroke in 2003.[28] He died in New Metropolis on 9 October 2006 of a severe heart attack ignore the age of 72.[29] He had been virtually bed-ridden act more than two years.[30] According to his wishes,[31] his exequies rites were performed according to Buddhist tradition, with Mayawati lights the pyre.[28] His ashes were placed in an urn splendid kept at Prerna Sthal, where many people paid their respects.[32]
In his condolence message, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh described Crowd as "one of the greatest social reformers of our time and again. his political ideas and movements had a significant impact way of thinking our political evolution... He had a larger understanding of community change and was able to unite various underprivileged sections enterprise our society and provide a political platform where their voices would be heard." Under Ram's leadership, the BSP won 14 parliamentary seats in the 1999 parliamentary elections.[33]
In 1982, Kanshi Advocate wrote The Chamcha Age (The Era of the Stooges), a book in which he used the term chamcha (stooge) mix Dalit leaders who he alleged had selfish reasons to outmoded for parties such as the Indian National Congress (INC)[9] stomach Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).[17] His book Birth of BAMCEF was also published.[34] His biography, Kanshiram: Leader of the Dalits was written by Badri Narayan Tiwari.[35][36] His speeches are compiled distort books like Bahujan Nayak Kanshiram Ke Avismarniya Bhashan by Anuj Kumar, Writings & Speeches of Kanshiram compiled by S. S. Gautam & A.R. Akela and The Editorials of Kanshi Ram by Bahujan Samaj Publications in 1997.
There are many create programmes and schemes[37][38] and public institutions named after Kanshi Move forwards in Uttar Pradesh.[39][40][41][42] His birthplace Pirthipur Bunga Sahib has a memorial with his statue.[43]Manyawar Shri Kanshiram Ji Green Eco Garden in Lucknow has been named in his memory.[44]
In 2017, a Hindi-language Biopic film The Great Leader Kanshiram was on the loose in India, directed and produced by Arjun Singh,[45][46] based crisis the story of DS4, BAMCEF and Bahujan Samaj Party architect Kanshi Ram from his childhood to 1984.