Summarized by – Ravikant

CONTEXTUALIZING MANYAVAR KANSHI RAM:

The journey of Manyavar Kanshi Ram must be seen in two contexts—

1. As part of a continuum from the distant past, 
2. As a product of the material needs of the instant past

In the context of Distant Past—

He comes from a long non-Vedic tradition of philosophy that comes from Buddha all the way down to Phule. In that sense, he is part of that continuum, another version in a long line of philosophers. In ‘Age of Chamchas’, Kanshi Ram counts 1848, as the beginning. That is the date when Phule got radical

But in more immediate context— Kanshi Ram can be seen in connection to Babasaheb. So, mapping in this manner, the thread begins when Dr. Ambedkar comes to public life in 1918 when he first put the memorandum. Dr. Ambedkar’s own journey has to be seen in 6 epochs:

1. Social reform
2. Social politics
3. Constitutional
4. Educational
5. Constitution of India
6. Religious

In this beginning, in 1918, Dr. Ambedkar says there are 5 reasons why Dalits should get self-representation:

1. To contribute to society
2. To establish democracy because it won’t be “by the people” otherwise
3. Effective distribution of justice requires representation (“India may be ruled by British but is governed by Brahmans”)
4. The moral reason for representation—discriminated against for thousands of years
5. Dalit society has its own unique issues which require community voice

EARLY POLITICAL ANALYSIS AND IDEAS OF KANSHI RAM:

Kanshi Ram steps in to sort of evolving upon these basic ideas of Dr. Ambedkar. He gives it sharpness, speaks about the science of political engagement. He gives 5 ideas on political engagement:

1. To win the election, first, you need to understand society
2. People deserve the leaders they choose. Don’t complain about leaders, they are a reflection of people who are voting
3. Without deep social roots, power cannot be won
4. Power will be the product of struggles. Without struggles, there will not be power.
5. Those who oppose successfully will be asked to propose when they succeed. So, there should be a vision and an alternative to status-quo in place.

Beyond these ideas, Manyavar Kanshi Ram’s journey must also be looked at as a historical evolution. When he starts looking at politics at the 1970s, he comes to certain conclusions which serve as the basis for his action:

1. Caste has completely divided society, people only identify as caste first. All identities are secondary*
2. Disillusionment with Ambedkarite politics, despair even. In Maharashtra people say, “Ambedkarite vichardhara changli aahe par safal hou shakt nahi” (Ambedkarite ideology is nice but cannot be successful)
3. Bahujan and Dalit have a lot of power, but the leaders have been appropriated as ‘chamchas’ (followers/ lickspittles) by powerful parties, namely Congress

Now, Dalit bureaucrats who came up due to reservations—are basically chamchas of chamchas, since they are dependent on political masters, and political leaders of Bahujan were already appropriated.

By this time, RPI was completely appropriated. Manyawar Kanshi Ram understood this and decided an entirely new strategy was needed. The following timeline unfolded:

• 14 Oct 1971— Kanshi Ram and his people got together, said they will study the social realities 
• 6 Dec 1973— Decision that an organization is needed, but its exact nature and functions would be based on research over the coming 5 years.
• 1981— Kanshi Ram, dictated “An Introduction to BAMCEF”—which becomes this ‘organization’

About BAMCEF: 

BAMCEF stands for All India ‘Backward And Minority Communities Employees Federation’

Quoting directly from the original print book, “An Introduction to BAMCEF”– 

“BAMCEF is a product of evolved concepts, conducted experiments and deep desires of the community”—an organization which will strengthen the roots of the society

Kanshi Ram had an inclination toward incorporating ‘scientific approach’ into political imagination, in that sense, he developed some political formula for BAMCEF. Some of these ‘formula’ are:

i.

N x D x S = C 

Need x Desire x Strength = Change

That is, political need and desire to be part of it, has to be met with the strength to implement it. Only then can “change” happen. 

ii.

M x M x M = O

Man x Mind x Money = Organisation

That is, Manpower must be combined with Mindpower (intellectual planning) and Money (material resources) for a successful organization. 

iii. 

Self-respect movement will be run by self-help

That is, the movement must be run without being dependent on external funding agencies or stakeholders. Self-help, autonomy and independence, must be at the root of it

iv.

Moral pressure on community which benefitted to “give back”

That is, all the members of Dalit society who have benefitted from reservations and other interventions—have the moral obligation to ‘give back’. They cannot just rest on their achievement, and enjoy a good personal life. There needs to be pressure, not physical but moral, on them to contribute to the movement. 

v.

Action will lead to Reaction which will need a Counter-action.

That is, you should not do any action unless you have considered the backlash and already have a strategy to counter the backlash. Otherwise, you will do an action and then be caught off-guard by the backlash. So that has to be accounted for

vi.

If you want to shorten a line—don’t rub it out, draw a bigger line

That is, invest in positive action. For instance, if you want to set an agenda, set a positive agenda because only criticizing existing structures won’t help. 

vii.

Setting up the pantheon of Bahujan leaders—establishing your own history

That is, the movement needs to develop a sense of Bahujan history and mythology. All past leaders need to be woven into a narrative which can be put forward in simplest form

viii.

DA + DT = Action

Dil mei Aag + Dimaag mei Thandak = Action

That is, the heart should be full of fire and passion, but the mind should be calm, collected and poised. That is the ideal philosophical state for undertaking action

ix.

BAMCEF is a non-political, non-education, non-religious social movement

BAMCEF to DS4 to BSP

After running BAMCEF for 3 years, Kanshi Ram proposes political power can only come via struggle. So, a separate organization needed for political action since BAMCEF is meant as non-political

Dalit Shoshit Samaj Sangharsh Samiti or DS4 is formed for political action

• The first step is to create a “constituency” — the identification of oppressed. 

DS4, excludes the Savarnas and tries to create a community with everyone else. The slogan is–“Thakur, Brahman, Bania chorr. Baaki sab DS4” (leave aside Thakur, Brahman and Bania—everyone else is DS4)

• Pen as a metaphor— Kanshi Ram says that the manuvaadi savarnas are like the cap of a pen (15% at the top). Unless you take it off, you can’t write with the pen, implying Bahujan cannot express their manifest destiny unless you remove the top

Thus, Kanshi Ram creates the “other”— this is a historical moment in Indian social order, a daring new political imagination. 

Some actions and slogans of DS4—

• 3000 km cycle-yatra: do paer aur do pahiyo ka kamaal (the miracle of two feet and two wheels)—an assertion that political mobilization can happen without a fleet of cars and huge resources 
• Anti-alcohol movement in Bareilly—case-study of spatial politics
  • “Dalit ki basti mei sharaab khana, Muslim ki basti mein thana aur Savarna mohalle mei paathshala” (Alcohol stores are built in Dalit areas, Police Station is built in Muslim areas and Schools are built in Savarna areas)—so anti-alcohol is a rejection of this spatial segregation
• People’s parliament—he would do this in Boat club from where you could point to Parliament and say “you can look but can’t go there”. Then he would show what the inner layout was. 

Kanshi Ram said about the political participation, DS4 election ticket is like a platform ticket. You can just go see how platform (political process) is, but you cannot board the train (parliament) with this ticket.

In a way, DS4 was an ‘orientation’ into mass politics for the community. He took the help of BAMCEF for these campaigns.

On, Poona-Pact Bahishkar Day—He rejects Poona pact and releases “Age of Chamchas” on this day. He introduces himself as an “organizer”. And foretells about up 4 organisations that he has/will set up. These are:

1. BAMCEF
2. BRC- Buddhist Research Centre (for religious activity and not mix it with politics)
3. DS4 (for political orientation)
4. [Unnamed Yet to be created]—National political party for the oppressed

This (4) later became the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)

14 April 1984—BSP formed. Manyavar Kanshi Ram, didn’t do this in isolation or casually. He goes back to the writings of Babasaheb, and uses his writings for legitimacy claim of BSP— Kanshi Ram uses Babasaheb’s quote (1948 proclamation)

“Political power is the key to all-round social development, Scheduled Castes can open a path to development by capturing political power”

This they eventually did in UP. So BSP’s electoral success in UP must be seen as validation of this strategy. 

BSP: ITS IDEA AND ACTIONS:

BSP is about trying to use political power for social transformation. BSP Slogans are very relevant to study in this context, as they reveal the philosophy: 

• Vote humara, Raj tumhara, nahi chalega (Our vote, Your Rule, Not Anymore)
• Vote se lenge PM/CM, Aarakshan se lenge DM 

(Via votes we will become PM/CM [Political power], Via Reservations we will take District Magistrate [Bureaucracy])

• Jiskii jitni sankhya bhaari, uski utni bhaagedhaari

(Depending on population proportion, you will get political participation)

BSP also outlined 12000 villages selected as Ambedkar villages, each of which got:

• Linked road 

(the main road connects directly to Dalit area, and access is not via Upper-caste locality)

• Electric pole- bringing electricity to the village
• School
  (spatially important since school is also a traditional voting booth venue. Earlier schools were usually located in Upper Caste locality— so many Dalits wouldn’t go to vote out of fear. Hence, move to now build a school in Dalit locality)
• Ambedkar Bhawan (community centre) to be built in each village

In urban areas, Kanshi Ram directs the Shehri Awaas Yojna

• Dalits were given houses
• 2 Lac acres of land redistributed
• 1.45 goondas (mostly Upper-caste bullies) were put behind bars

Karamveer-Brij Lal Formula used by Police against communal violence—

• No police person will be posted 200km within his home. To avoid the bias of local relatives. 
• Similarly, goons will be sent to jail 200km away from home
• ‘10 No. Register’, which has dealt with hardened criminals was to be presented to Police HQ directly (to avoid tampering locally)

Kanshi Ram also led BSP-Govt to open centres of learning– 

• Universities named after Dr. Ambedkar, Sahu Maharaj, Mahatma Phule
• Also, set Urdu University and Shakuntala Special-Needs University

Gautam Buddha Nagar is made—inside Gautam Buddha University got set up. It has 4 colleges at the periphery which would feed the university

• Panchsheel College
• Savitri Phule Women’s College
• Babasaheb Ambedkar University
• Jyotiba Phule University

Building the Prerna Sthal by Mayawati and BSP— is taking forward from Kanshi Ram’s vision of reclaiming Bahujan iconography. It was important that Dalits cannot be closeted only in their neighbourhood. 

Taken together, BAMCEF, DS4, BRC and BSP—have justified the vision and execution of Kanshi Ram. But a lot of work done by these organisations has been “forgotten”— Savarna academia and media has invisiblized all this radical, structural work. 

There is a need to revisit and reclaim these legacies and take again to the Bahujan masses.

SUMMARY OF ‘AGE OF CHAMCHAS’

In his book, ‘Age of Chamchas’, Kanshi Ram explains that 4 types of chamchas— 

• SC. – Appropriated chamchas
• ST. – Initiated chamchas
• OBC- Aspiring chamchas
• Minorities- Helpless chamchas

This is the analysis of the political situation by Kanshi Ram, and he advises his followers to not engage with chamchas. He always said you need to attack the hand behind the chamchas, and they will automatically fall. 

He also mentions that there 2 types of leaders existing in society

• Bandar (monkey) Neta—leaders who hop from one branch to another, who have no ideology and cannot be relied upon
• Kekdra (crab) Neta—’Crab mentality’ because when crabs are kept in an open box, they tend to pull each other down. This is also reflected in the mentality of some leaders

He urges his followers to avoid going with either of these leaders. 

Some Key points from Q/A:

• Dalit and Bahujan are some of the harshest critiques of their own movement. This is very disheartening. This tendency needs to be checked. As Kanshi Ram said, if you have an issue with a line—you don’t erase it, you make a bigger line next to it. 
• Dalit and Bahujan scholars need to add to their area of knowledge. Everyone doesn’t need to “Dalit Studies”—if you are Political Science person, analyze that from Ambedkarite lens, if you are MBA- look at that from Ambedkarite lens…. Need to revisit Babasaheb’s writing as scientific and as a paradigm
• Dalit and Bahujan scholars also need to support and cite each other. There are too much plagiarism and lack of respect for senior scholars.