The Outsider

While many people start political parties, not many can be credited withhaving built them almost single-handedly to the stature of a national party.Kanshi Ram, 74, was one such leader who did that with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)..His passing at 12.30 am at his official residence due to complications arisingout of multiple ailments marks an end of a truly remarkable political career.Virtually bedridden for nearly two years following multiple complications—paralyticstroke, diabetes and hypertension—Kanshi Ram had become an object of battlebetween his family and his protégé, the current BSP chief Mayawati, whom hehad appointed as his political heir.

Born on March 15, 1934 in a Scheduled Caste Sikh family of Khawaspur villagein Ropar district in Punjab, Kanshi Ram did his B.Sc and got a reserved seat inthe survey of India, and later joined the Defence Research & DevelopmentOrganisation (DRDO) in 1957 in Pune. In 1965, he got caught up in movementinitiated by other Scheduled Caste employees to prevent the abolition of aholiday commemorating Dr Ambedkar's birthday. That is when he quit his job totake up the cause of Dalits.

Dalit politics would never be the same in the country. Kanshi Ram realisedearly that even if a large chunk of 85% of depressed classes in India were to beunited as one massive vote-bank, it could easily trump any other politicalconfiguration. And thus came the concept of Bahujan Samaj (Majority Society).

In December, 1978 he formed the All India Backward (SC, ST and Other BackwardCastes) and Minority Employees Federation and then as a step towardsconsolidation of Dalits in 1981 came 'DS4' —the Dalit Shoshit Samaj SangharshSamiti, a precursor to the Bahujan Samaj Party which was founded on Ambedkar'sbirthday, April 14, 1984. He was the first to demand money from his voters,instead of bribing them with cash. One rupee, one vote is what he would ask. Andhe got it from a whole lot of them. 

The beginning of course was not smooth, as the Rajiv Gandhi wave swept topower in the 1984 elections after Mrs Gandhi's death, but his political journeyhad truly begun. As the Congress fortunes declined, he rose to prominence inUttar Pradesh. Or perhaps, more correctly, it was the other way around.  Hewas to fight  and come third in his first Lok Sabha contest that he foughtwhen VP Singh resigned from Congress and thus the bye-elections were held fromAllahabad — after VP Singh (Jan Morcha) and Sunil Shastri (Congress). 

The BSP made its formal entry into Uttar Pradesh's politics when Mayawaticontested a by-poll for the Bijnor Lok Sabha seat. Mayawati lost but by 1989,the BSP had consolidated its base in UP. Kanshi Ram finally  made his entryinto Lok Sabha in 1992 from Etawah (UP) and again in 1996 from Hoshiarpur(Punjab) but lost in 1998. He then entered the Rajya Sabha. 

His dream of 50 Lok Sabha seats may have remained unfulfilled till his death,but he did have the satisfaction of seeing Bahujan Samaj Party gain recognitionas a national party within merely a decade of being formed. By the late 80s andearly 90s, he had already come to be known as the messiah of the Dalits,particularly in north India, and had a profound influence on the community.Never had they had such a charismatic and prominent leader or enjoyed such astrong sense of identity since the passing of Babasaheb Ambedkar. Comparisonswith Ambedkar are of course futile, for the two men were like chalk and cheese,but if Ambedkar gave the Dalits legal rights, Kanshi Ram ensured that theyexperienced political power as well.

Kanshi Ram can justifiably be described as the one man in independent Indiawho was responsible for pitchforking Dalits to the centrestage of power politicsin Uttar Pradesh—and thus the entire country.  A master strategist knownfor his blunt speech, who made no secret of "using" other politicalparties, he was one of the first to usher in the concept of using strategicalliances effectively, ruthlessly dumping and switching partners in his pursuitof political power in his quest.

Questions of consistency or principles did not bother him as he wouldblatantly state that he was willing to use any crutch to get representation forthe depressed classes whose cause he claimed to champion, nor did he ever feignany ideological affinity with any of his alliance partners. He would openlydescribe the choice between Congress and the BJP as that between Naagnathand Saanpnaath (between the snake and the serpent) making it clear thathis purpose was purely one of expediency. Power to the Dalits, he wouldproudly declare, was his sole goal and for that he would not mind aligning withanyone including "Manu-wadi" forces, his label for the upper castes,provided it gave his Bahujan Samaj the opportunity to control the levers ofpower.

He was a true maverick in the crowded Indian political-scape and one whochanged the face of coalition politics in Uttar Pradesh, and thus the country,forever with his rise — and it is no surprise that he evoked extremereactions:  adoration from his followers and hatred from his detractors andpolitical opponents. An indication of his hold over his constituency can begauged by the fact that he could always be relied upon to transfer the votes ofhis constituency to those he allied with. Unlike others, he would openly saythat he preferred political instability in which he saw an opportunity for thegrowth of BSP.