Saheb Kanshi Ram was one of the greatest leader India ever had. What made him so great? What made him so sought after leader? He was maybe most feared leader that he used to keep everyone in mystery and not open his card until the end. Read below a list of few things which made him great!

• It was Saheb Kanshi Ram who turned UP to Bahujan Pradesh from Brahmin Pradesh. He broke the Brahminical hegemony that had ruled in Uttar Pradesh. Who had imagined that within a decade or so work of Saheb Kanshi Ram would turn the tide around? Who had thought that he would make Bahujans decision maker in one of the biggest states of India? No one. Brahmin media had dismissed him without even considering. With Kanshi Ram’s farsightedness dragon entered lions’ den and will continue to rule till Bahujans don’t lose the track shown by Bahujan heroes.
• Kanshi Ram was not as educated as Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar but he was a practical person. He advised to leave behind laziness and start working for the community, he even advised being ready for the bullet, surprised? He knew the practical aspect of the caste system and how to use it in the same way as Brahmins have been using it. He said, till there is caste I’ll use it for the benefit of my community. If you have a problem, end caste system. Dr Ambedkar collected books, Kanshi Ram collected people! He knew how to organize and build a movement. A movement that made Bahujans not only the kingmaker but king also.
• Manyavar Kanshi Ram didn’t care about how does he look like or how does he dress up. He was one of the simplest people ever lived which makes him the great personality. His clothes were torn sometimes but for him, Bahujan movement was more important than clothes. He ate sitting outside roadside dhabas, not like Brahmin leaders who dine at 5-star hotels.

• Kanshi Ram’s ability to work with different political parties for the benefit of Dalit-Bahujan community sets him apart from any other political leaders. He had a unique way of forming alliances and making those alliances work for the upliftment of downtrodden communities. His vision that I wouldn’t let the country run without Bahujans’ role in it and then making that vision reality can’t be ignored by anyone. He said, for long we have been knocking at the doors of the system, asking for justice and getting nothing, it’s time to break down those doors. In one of the interviews in 1986, Kanshi Ram said, we will win the UP within 10 years. He turned that into reality by forming the government in UP with next 10 years!

The first time we fight to lose, 2nd time to make others lose and the third time we win! – Saheb Kanshi Ram

• “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.” How many of political leaders have ever vowed in such fashion and remained loyal to that? You will not find any in India.
• Kanshi Ram is the only leader in India who travelled 1000s of the kilometre on the bicycle. When others were travelling in cars and other modes of transportation, he had the only bicycle but that didn’t matter to him. He had a mission on his mind and strong will to fulfil that mission of making Bahujans the ruler of his country. He said we will not stop until we unite the victims of the system and overthrow the spirit of inequality in our country.

• Without any political background, without any support from media, businesses and moreover coming from the community that had few resources and then making inroads in politics can never be easy. He worked may 100 times harder than other political parties and leaders to make his dream of Bahujan rule reality. Kanshi Ram was not because of media, he established himself and BSP despite Brahminical media‘s attacks.

A rare photo of Saheb Kanshi Ram Ji at Bhima Koregaon!

• Kanshi Ram was a visionary, he knew the importance of media and Dalit-Bahujans’ history. He established various magazines such as Oppressed India and visited Dalit historical places such as Bhima Koregaon. He was well aware of the Ad-Dharm movement in Punjab and Ambedkarite movement in Maharashtra. He learnt and picked good aspects of different Dalit-Bahujan movements across India and shaped the new political movement. He understood well that Congress is as much responsible for Dalits’ situation as other Brahminical parties. He placed Gandhi in the category of Shankaracharya and Manu (of Manu Smriti) that he cleverly managed to keep 52% OBCs at the edge.

“Oppressed Indian” Magazine started by Saheb Kanshi Ram

• To succeed in politics one needs to know enemies. Kanshi Ram knew not only enemies but also how to use them for own party’s benefit. The master strategist himself Kanshi Ram was the most sought politician in India even when he accused the two mainstream political parties, the Congress and BJP as Sapnath and Nagnath.

• Kanshi Ram proved that determination and dedication can change the course of history. He formed various organisations from DS4 to BAMCEF to BSP and devised various slogans which resonated well with time situation and energized Dalit-Bahujans to dream and work for the goals.
• Saheb Kanshi Ram was a great political, social mobilizer. He understood values of self-respect and collective wisdom of Dalit communities to gain political power and to use it to their advantage. During record-breaking Bahujan rally in Brigade ground Kolkata, the Bahujan participants were beaten mercilessly by the West Bengal Police under the command of Mr Jyoti Basu then Chief Minister. Saheb instructed on the telephone at 2 am in the morning to his workers of the different state to stop all trains marching towards Kolkata. Soon trains were reported stopped at different stations in different states by Bahujan volunteers, many trains reached Kolkata late by hours. Mr Jyoti Basu telephoned Sahib in the evening at Delhi, where Sahib had returned after the rally, begged pardon for the brutal incident, in which several Karyakartas (Party volunteers) were injured, some seriously. Thereafter, Mr Jyoti Basu arranged special trains for the Bahujan Rally participants for their return journey.

[irp]