Leader of the Opposition in the Parliament, Rahul Gandhi, has demanded that the Bharat Ratna award, i.e., the highest civilian award of the nation, should be conferred on the Dalit leader Kanshi Ram, who had played a key role in the politics of the country, mobilised marginalised voices, and was also the founder of the Bahujan Samaj Party. It was Kanshi Ram’s epoch that brought about a new discourse in the politics of the country and, particularly, in Uttar Pradesh, where the Dalit, Adivasi, and other marginalised voices of backward class communities came to the fore.
On the birth anniversary of Kanshi Ram on March 15, Rahul Gandhi wrote a letter to the prime minister requesting that the due award be conferred on the Dalit icon. Mr Gandhi wrote in the letter, “As we commemorate the birth anniversary of Kanshi Ram ji today and reflect on his legacy and contributions, I write with a request that he be awarded the Bharat Ratna posthumously.”
Building on this demand, Rahul Gandhi further deliberated upon how Kanshi Ram had transformed the nature of Indian politics. Gandhi wrote, “Through his movements, he raised political awareness among the Bahujan and the poor. He reminded them that their vote, voice, and representation are important and that this country belongs to everyone equally. Because of his efforts, many people who had never considered entering public life began to see politics as a means to achieve justice and equality.”
Assembly elections and the avenues Congress seeks to open
The demand to honour Kanshi Ram, thus, arrives at the junction of two important processes. One, that for years Dalit intellectuals, leaders, activists, and civil society organisations have been demanding the conferment of this honour on Kanshi Ram. And secondly, with the assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh due in 2027, such a move provides a glimpse of Rahul Gandhi and Congress’s upcoming political moves.
Interestingly, the party chief of BSP, Mayawati Ji, on Sunday, had allegedly countered the activities of other political parties, notably the Samajwadi Party, Congress and BJP, in appropriating the cause of the Dalits, backward classes and the minorities, claiming that it is only during the elections that the parties, in an effort to leverage their vote bank, have tended to remember their struggle. She claimed that throughout the history of Indian politics, parties have been using the names of Dalit and Bahujan icons to gain political mileage without any considerable effort to better the position of these people and provide welfare to the marginalised groups.
But from an objective standpoint, it is worth acknowledging that this demand, if materialised, would translate the long-overdue commemoration of the efforts of Kanshi Ram, who played a pivotal role in leading the struggles of Dalits, Adivasis, other backward classes, and minorities across the country.
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However, amidst these political developments, it is crucial for us to notice that, with elections in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab due in 2027, Congress is attempting to build its base amongst the Dalit and Bahujan communities by leading the campaign to honour their leader. Dalit voters in Uttar Pradesh account for 20% of the state's electorate. And with the BSP at the margins of UP politics, it is pertinent for Congress to build its support base among the community. This step by Rahul Gandhi also echoes the long-standing demand by the Congress and other opposition parties for a nationwide caste census. An idea which formed the very base of Kanshi Ram’s slogan of “Jiski Jitni Sankhya bhari, uski utni hissedari" (Share is to be determined by the population scale). Of the 28 states, only Bihar, Karnataka, and Telangana have conducted caste censuses, and the demand for a nationwide caste census has remained a major agenda item since then.
Therefore, alongside the celebration of the timeless icon, this effort by the Congress party also aligns with the overall political agenda of strengthening the voices of the marginalised across the country, mobilising and gathering their support, and actualising the party’s political victory in the upcoming polls.
