Kanshi Ram returns

Standing extracurricular Gate No. 2 of the Indira Gandhi Pratishthan, a sprawling normal centre successful Lucknow, 66-year-old Vinay Gautam connected March 13 urged a tiny radical of young men to measurement wrong and perceive to the speakers astatine a governmental gathering.

“How galore times volition you get the accidental to perceive astir the large Kanshi Ram? These radical are not lone observing his commencement anniversary, but besides discussing his docket and governmental ideas,” helium told the men.

“You are present lone due to the fact that of him [Kanshi Ram] and [B.R.] Ambedkar,” Gautam added, chiding them for what helium described arsenic a deficiency of awareness. “These days, you radical neglect to recognize these important things,” helium said.

A Dalit activistic who worked with Kanshi Ram successful the 1990s, Gautam was among thousands of radical attending the Samvidhan Sammelan (Constitutional conference) organised by the Congress enactment astatine Lucknow’s Indira Gandhi Pratishthan, a venue that holds events specified arsenic governmental gatherings, creation exhibitions, and weddings.

Kanshi Ram, the laminitis of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), would person turned 92 years aged this twelvemonth connected March 15. Not a landmark birthday, but his bequest has dominated governmental sermon successful Uttar Pradesh implicit the past 2 weeks. Leaders crossed the governmental spectrum invoked his name, describing him arsenic an “icon of downtrodden societal and caste groups”.

Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition successful the Lok Sabha, wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging that Kanshi Ram beryllium conferred the Bharat Ratna posthumously.

The Samajwadi Party (SP), erstwhile the bête noire of the BSP successful U.P., besides marked Kanshi Ram’s commencement day crossed territory offices and astatine the headquarters.

“Kanshi Ram is simply a existent icon of marginalised societal groups. We volition transportation guardant the ngo initiated by him,” SP main Akhilesh Yadav said connected March 4, adding the connection of observing March 15 arsenic PDA Diwas, which is dedicated to the origin of the broader unity of the Pichhda (backward), Dalit, and Alpsankhyak (minorities) people.

Gautam, however, is delighted, irrespective of governmental parties’ agendas. “It shows the interaction of the idiosyncratic and his relevance. That adjacent 20 years aft his death, implicit 4,000 radical person travel to perceive his words,” helium said.

At the Samvidhan Sammelan, Gandhi described the precocious person arsenic a combatant who had struggled each his beingness for societal justice. Had India’s archetypal Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru been live during the clip of Kanshi Ram, the Congress would person made him the Chief Minister, Gandhi said.

“He [Rahul Gandhi] is utilizing Kanshi Ram’s sanction to scope retired to Dalits,” said Gautam. “But astatine slightest Rahul Gandhi is trying to physique a span with the assemblage by acknowledging the shortcomings of his party,” helium added successful the aforesaid breath.

The Congress, erstwhile Nehru served arsenic the Prime Minister, saw 4 CMs of U.P., each from precocious castes.

By the clip of his decease successful 2006, Kanshi Ram’s sanction had travel to beryllium associated with mobilising the Bahujan (marginalised majority), including Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Castes (OBCs), and minorities.

In Uttar Pradesh, SCs marque up astir 21% of the population, minorities astir 20% and OBCs are estimated by governmental parties to represent up to 40%. “Kanshi Ramji’s thought was to alteration the Bahujan Samaj from a vote-giver to a powerfulness getter,” said Gautam.

Mobilisation connected identity

Born into a Ramdasia Sikh household successful Rupnagar territory of Punjab, Kanshi Ram joined a authorities occupation successful Pune successful the precocious 1950s, wherever helium aboriginal claimed that helium witnessed favoritism against Dalit employees. During this time, helium began to work lawyer-cum-activist-cum-social reformer B.R. Ambedkar, with his book, Annihilation of Caste, making a peculiar impression. Influenced profoundly by Ambedkar’s writing, helium adopted the telephone to “educate, agitate, and organise”.

Around the mid-1960s, helium experienced a consciousness of disenchantment with the enactment of the Republican Party of India, which represented marginalised castes and went connected to found the All India Backward and Minorities Communities’ Employees Federation (BAMCEF) successful 1978. It is an organisation representing authorities employees from marginalised castes, aimed astatine creating a solidarity web among hundreds of oppressed castes, spanning religions.

In 1981, helium formed different societal organisation known arsenic the Dalit Shoshit Samaj Sangharsh Samiti oregon DS4, aiming to consolidate the Dalit vote. When helium founded the BSP, helium said that if 50% of Bahujans could unite and signifier an alliance, establishing a authorities would beryllium feasible.

MP and laminitis of the societal radical Bhim Army, Chandra Shekhar Azad, whose governmental enactment is called Aazad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram), reiterates Kanshi Ram’s slogan: “Jiski jitni sankhya bhari, uski utni bhagidari”, a connection successful favour of proportional representation, which is possibly the astir fashionable slogan utilized by governmental leaders from each parties adjacent today.

“It has go the sine qua non of representational politics, mirroring modern demands for a caste census and proportional practice successful elections,” said Ajit Kumar Jha, an Oxford University researcher, who followed Kanshi Ram’s authorities intimately successful the 1990s.

However, the BSP failed to summation traction successful different States. In 1989, the enactment won 13 retired of 425 seats successful the U.P. Assembly and 4 retired of 543 seats successful the Lok Sabha canvass (three successful U.P. and 1 successful Punjab) that year. In the 1992 Punjab Assembly poll, the enactment won 9 retired of 117 seats, polling implicit 16% of the votes, but could triumph lone 1 spot successful the adjacent election. The BSP’s entreaty was to the Dalits successful U.P.

“The existent bequest of Kanshi Ramji is successful gathering a caller India connected the ideology of the Constitution and societal justice. He lived by the ideas of Buddha, Kabir, Ravidas, Phule, and Ambedkar,” said Laxman Yadav, an activist.

It is this bequest that different parties are present trying to claim. “Our party’s PDA is the aforesaid arsenic the Bahujan Samaj that Kanshi Ram referred to. We talk for the oppressed and the marginalised,” said Umesh Choudhary, an SP idiosyncratic based successful Lucknow.

Another SP leader, Ameeque Jamei, said, “At a clip erstwhile atrocities connected Dalits, OBCs, and minorities are astatine their highest nether the BJP rule, the ideas and conflict of Kanshi Ram go much relevant.”

The BSP and SP recovered a acceptable successful the post-Babri Masjid U.P., with an confederation successful the 1993 Assembly elections. “Mile Mulayam-Kanshi Ram, hawa mein ud gaye Jai Shree Ram,” signified the coming unneurotic of the Bahujan.

Under the guidance of Kanshi Ram, the BSP formed governments with the enactment of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) thrice successful U.P. with Mayawati arsenic Chief Minister. Only successful 2007 was the BSP capable to signifier the authorities without the BJP’s support, aft which it saw a accelerated decline. In the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, the BSP polled 27.42% votes, winning 20 seats, portion successful 2024 its ballot stock dipped to 9.39%.

The symbolism and pushback

In symbolic moves, the BSP authorities constructed parks, memorials, and universities dedicated to icons similar Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and Kanshi Ram. “These statues resulted successful a feeling that radical from our societal radical contributed arsenic successful the making of the Indian republic,” says 62-year-old Mohan Ram, a BSP voter, who attended astir of Kanshi Ram’s rallies successful Lucknow.

Over the past fewer years, galore of these statues person been vandalised, with activists saying that breaking the statues symbolises the discomfort and fearfulness of feudal forces. The BJP has been successful powerfulness since 2017.

“Baba Saheb and Kanshi Ramji are not conscionable humanities personalities. They are symbols of equality, justice, and self-respect. These incidents cannot beryllium dismissed arsenic specified acts of anti-social elements, but indispensable beryllium seen arsenic societal justness taking a hit,” says Laxman.

“The situation for immoderate enactment is whether it tin grow its societal base. The BSP failed successful this. I travelled with Kanshi Ram successful Madhya Pradesh during the 1993 Assembly election. He would devour astatine enactment workers’ houses similar a household member,” says Manindra Nath Thakur, a governmental idiosyncratic astatine Jawaharlal Nehru University.

He adds that successful the second portion of his life, Kanshi Ram moved “from the identity-based authorities of the 1990s” to “culture-centric authorities successful the aboriginal 2000s”.

On October 9, 2025, the Congress began a 45-day Dalit Gaurav Samvad (Dalit pridefulness conversation), connected the decease day of Kanshi Ram, holding meetings and conferences successful localities with a precocious SC population. Over 500 specified meetings took spot crossed U.P.

On March 15, the Congress besides organised State-wide events to observe the commencement day of the Dalit icon. “From the beginning, our enactment has been precise wide that we privation an egalitarian, antiauthoritarian society. To execute this, Kanshi Ram’s ideas fit, hence we observe and travel him,” says Anil Yadav, a Congress leader.

Asad Rizvi, a Lucknow-based journalist, says that each these moves are to bring the Dalits nether the Congress umbrella.

On November 4, 2025, astatine a nationalist rally, Gandhi spoke astir however “10%” of the colonisation controls large institutions, and that tribals, SCs, OBCs, and minorities person small practice successful backstage firms, the judiciary, the bureaucracy, and the equipped forces. “This was what Kanshi Ram said each his life, aiming to unite the marginalised,” says Rizvi.

Meanwhile, Mayawati said connected X that she is the “sole successor” and that the SP and Congress are anti-Dalit.

Under the INDIA confederation successful the 2024 Parliamentary polls, a conception of Bahujan voters supported the conjugation to triumph 43 retired of 80 seats.

mayank.kumar@thehindu.co.in