Kanshi Ram – founder of Bahujan Samaj Party
Kanshi Ram was born to Bishan Kaur and Hari Singh at Khawapur village in Ropar district of Punjab. After completing his Bachelor’s degree in Science (B.Sc) from the Government College at Ropar affiliated to The Punjab University he joined the offices of Defense Research & Development Organisation (DRDO), in Kirkee, through a reserved quota for Scheduled Caste. Kanshi Ram was born in cobbler caste, which is included in the GOI SC list.
During his tenure in the Defense Research & Development Organization (DRDO) in 1965 he joined the agitation started by Scheduled Caste Employees of Government of India to prevent the abolition of a holiday commemorating Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s birthday.
In 1978 he formed the, BAMCEF- Backward (SC/ST & OBC) and Minority Community Employees Federation. The BAMCEF was purely non-political, Non Religious & Non Agitation organization. Later on he formed another Social organization known as DS4.He started his attempt of unifying the Dalit vote bank in 1981 and by 1984 he founded the Bahujan Samaj Party.
He represented the 11th Lok Sabha from Hoshiarpur Constituency and in 2001 he publicly announced Kumari Mayawati as his successor.
In about 2004, Kanshi Ram began attempting recovery from health problems and did not appear publicly after that. He convalesced at the home of Mayawati, and members of his family claimed that she was essentially holding him captive in order to control the BSP. On April 8, 2005, the Supreme Court of India ordered a team of doctors to examine his physical and mental condition.
On October 9, 2006, he died of a severe heart attack in New Delhi. Ram, who suffered from multiple ailments such as stroke, diabetes and hypertension, was virtually bed-ridden for more than two years.
As an author Kanshiram wrote two books: “Introduction To of BAMCEF”, “An Era of the Stooges” (Chamcha Age), “New Hope”
