THE ASIAN INDEPENDENT UK-
-Ramesh Chander
Kanshi Ram (1934-2006), popularly called Babu ji or Manyawar out of reverence by his followers, was a leader of his own standing. He spear headed the Bahujan Samaj Movement from A1970s onwards and made the Movement a force to reckon with in the polity and society of India at large under the banner of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). He left the scene in his untimely death rather prematurely in 2006 due to a brain stroke he suffered a couple years prior his passing away. Kanshi Ram steered the ‘Caravan’ of Shahu ji Maharaj, Jyotirao Phule and Babasaheb Ambedkar with utmost dedication and devotion and also vision. Babasaheb Ambedkar set the agenda of the empowerment and dignity of the marginalized sections of the society with 
great struggle against all socio-political and religious-cultural odds through. It was Kanshi Ram who transformed and executed the agenda into reality on ground with his sheer stint of hard work and down to earth approach as a son of the soil. BSP became one of the largest and national recognized political outfits of India from 1980s to 2010. It formed governments for the record four times in UP, the biggest State of India and established its political presence in MP, Rajasthan, Bihar, Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, J&K, Himachal Pradesh and some States in the Southern and Western India. Kanshi Ram awakened the masses of the Bahujan Samaj, the socially and economically marginalized segments of the society and made them stand for their due political space in the power structures of the country. The political big-wigs of all political hues listened to him with care and respect in spite of the fact that he was said to be so blunt and strait in his political discourse with his famous line “either put up or shut up”. His political acumen and pragmatism may be assessed from his political and economic philosophy from his loud and clear thinking – Vote Hamara; Raj Tumhara; Nahin Chalega Nahin Chalega – Jis Ki Jitni Sankhya Bhari; Utni Uski Hissedari. Sensing the emerging political scenario, he said that he did not want ‘a Majbbot Sarkar but a Majboor Sarkar’ with reference to register and obtain political and socio-economic rights of the weaker sections of the society. He was a political strategist par excellence. I am reminded of his reply to a question of the media regarding BSP’s manifesto with regard to elections in Punjab – my manifesto is ‘Shri Guru Granth Sahib’. Kanshi Ram had a special knack to make unexpected but practical observations on the current affairs.
Alas, Kanshi Ram took leave of us, we people of the marginalized masses of India, while the ‘Caravan’ of Babasaheb which he steered ahead was yet to take the desired speed. The anointed Heirs of his big legacy led by Behn Mayawati and her coterie could not hold and stand their ground in the face of big challenges on the way due to one reason or the other. They failed Kanshi Ram and lost their way. I will not dwell on these details for the sake of brevity as all the details are available in the public domain.
I thought of writing this piece, in this background, as my humble tribute to Manyawar Kanshi Ram on his birth anniversary on March 15. The recent political developments with regard to the leadership issues of the BSP have set the ball in motion. My blog of March 5, 2025 “Turning Point in the Dalit Samaj Politics – with regard to these developments may be accessed at: https://diplomatictitbits.blogspot.com/2025/03/turning-point-in-dalit-samaj-politics.html
It seems that the situation has come full circle and it is time to resurrect Kanshi Ram and his legacy if we are interested in establishing an egalitarian and equitable political and socio-economic order in India transform our political democracy, as stipulated in the Constitution, into social and economic democracy as visualized by Babasaheb Ambedkar. I leave it here with the hope that political leadership and also the intelligentsia of the community would rise to the occasion and pick up the threads to realize the lofty vision of one of the astute and able leaders in the contemporary times, Babu Kanshi Ram –
Badi Mushkil Se Hota Hai; Chaman Mein Didwar Paida
