For An Informed Ambedkar Age
Laura Smith-Gary (First published Equal Writes website in September 2009) Earlier this summer, in Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state and the home of over 190 million individuals, fury and small-scale violence erupted when a Brahmin (upper-caste) political opponent of the state’s Chief Minister appeared to suggest the Chief Minister, a Dalit woman …
“I will never get married, I will never acquire any property, I will never visit my home, I will devote and dedicate the rest of my life to achieve the goals of Phule -Ambedkar movement” These pledges remind the work of Manyawar Kanshi Ram Sahib who is remembered in the history of India as a …
Kanshi Ram was born in 1934 as a Raedasi Sikh, a community of Punjabi Chamars converted to Sikhism. The family had 4 or 5 acres of land, some of it inherited and the rest acquired through government allocation after Independence), a small landed background is characteristic of many Scheduled Caste legislators but remains a comparative …
Kanshi Ram will be remembered as someone who almost completely changed the rules of Indian politics over the last two decades. Few political analysts would disagree that his unique brand of social engineering and organisational skills succeeded in uniting India’s low caste Dalit community into a formidable political force in several states.
The unveiling of Thiruvalluvar Statue in Bangalore Karnataka and the Sarvajna Statue in Chennai Tamil Nadu in the month of August 2009 has created considerable interest among the people about these poets who propagated the best human values of their times. Thirukkural, a moral book of values was written in Tamil by Thiruvalluvar. Saravjna padagalu, …
In the middle of 19th century one of the most respected personality, father of the Indian Social Revolution Jyoti Rao Phoolay and his life Partner Krantijot Savitri Bai Phoolay revolted against Brahminical system and hegemony of the Brahmins in all spheres of life. An incident in 1848 made young Phule aware of the inequities of …
Oliver Mendelsohn Could Kanshi Ram in ’84 have imagined the BSP of ’09? Formative years: A young Mayawati at the mike; Kanshi Ram is second from left In 1984, Kanshi Ram founded the Bahujan Samaj Party, just in time for his young colleague Mayawati to stand for a parliamentary seat in a byelection the …
(This interview with Manyawar Kanshi Ram Saheb was first published in The Illustrated Weekly Of India on March 8, 1987) Question: Why are you so hostile to all the national parties, especially the communists? Kanshi Ram: To my mind, all parties represent the forces of status quo. For us, politics is the politics of …
Kanshi Ram – founder of Bahujan Samaj Party Kanshi Ram was born to Bishan Kaur and Hari Singh at Khawapur village in Ropar district of Punjab. After completing his Bachelor’s degree in Science (B.Sc) from the Government College at Ropar affiliated to The Punjab University he joined the offices of Defense Research & Development Organisation …