Kanshi Ram passed away early monday morning. After suffering a paralytic stroke two years ago, he had been bedridden and continued to face multiple health problems.
Kanshi Ram’s was perhaps the most powerful independent Dalit political voice in independent India. Unlike other Dalit polticians who owed their power to their association with political parties, Kanshi Ram relied on his superb organizational skills and capacity to articulate a common platform for the minorities and the backward classes. True, from Lohia to V P Singh and Mulayam/Laloo, there is a long list of leaders who tried to organized the oppressed but the uniqueness of Kanshi Ram’s effort was that it was a Dalit led movement.
Kanshi Ram began his career in the late 1970s by organizing Dalit government and public sector workers. In 1981, he established Dalit Shoshit Sangharsh Samiti (DS4) and in 1984, he founded Bahujan Samaj Party, which emerged as an infleuntial political force within ten years. It was no mean achievement to make an untouchable woman the chief minister of India’s largest state, Uttar Pradesh.
Critics will point out his contribution to the increasing castiesm in Indian politics and to his unprincipled alliances with Bharatiya Janata Party. What’s undeniable is his impact on Indian politics in the last three decades, especially in making Dalits an influential voice in national politics. He shall be remembered for that.
3 Comments
Kanshi Ram will be rememebred for his caste politics and not for the “achievement” of making an “untouchable” woman the CM of the largest state in India.
Let me not talk about Kanshi Ram, now that he is dead. But, BSP as a party stooped to such a low level that it made mockery out of the gutter in Indian politics.
Like the British, like the Romans and like the Anglo-Normans, BSP thrives on “Divide and Rule”. I have no respect or parise for such a party.
Great piece, thanks!
I think that you have hit it on the head by suggesting that a suffering class (or sub-class) are best led by one of their own people. Perhaps a parallel can drawn to Gandhi’s telling Charlie Andrews that India’s freedom must be fought by Indians.
As an Indian, I have always been struck by the various classes we divide ourselves into, the north and south, caste, sub-caste, skin colour, whatever. It is not that other countries do not have similar divides, but with Indians it seems to be so entrenched. I have been asked my caste by fellow Indians frequently - many times outside India! With this reality - and the terrible oppression of the Dalits because they were born, and had no control over to whom - Kanshi Ram united his people and gave them a stronger voice.
Kanshi Ram’s realpolitik brought a Dalit to the Chief Minister’s chair, something that the idealism of Lohia and even Gandhi could not achieve.
Well written Prithvi,
Kanshi Ram, Mayavati,Laloo,Mulayam,Ram Vilas Paswan, Nithish Kumar, Ajit Jogi are all leaders of their respective outfits who one time looked very promising .Finally down the lane flip flopped on real issues facing the Dalits and joined hands with bigger parties for personal gains . somewhere the purpose got diluted over the time.
So there never was a leader representing the backward classes.
Like the britishers split the Indians to rule our land .Likewise the bigger parties split these regional parties which were founded to represent the backward/farming community in the quest for power.
will there be some leader in the future?
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