The Bahujan Samaj Party is a political party in India that was formed to represent Bahujans, referring to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes (OBC), along with religious minorities. According to Kanshi Ram, when he founded the party in 1984, the Bahujans comprised 85 percent of India's population, but were divided into 6,000 different castes. The party claims to be inspired by the philosophy of B. R. Ambedkar, Jyotiba Phule, Narayana Guru, Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj, and Gautama Buddha.
Kumari Mayawati is an Indian politician who served as the 18th Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh from 1995 to 1995, 1997 to 1997, 2002 to 2003 and from 2007 to 2012. She is the national president of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), which focuses on a platform of social change for Bahujans, more commonly known as Other Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes as well as religious minorities since 2003. She had also served as a Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha from 2012 to 2017 from Uttar Pradesh. Mayawati's rise from humble beginnings has been called a "miracle of democracy" by P. V. Narasimha Rao, former prime minister of India. In 1993, Kanshi Ram formed a coalition with the Samajwadi Party and Mayawati became the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh in 1995. She was the first female Scheduled Caste chief minister in India. In 1997 and in 2002 she was chief minister with outside support from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the second time only for a year up to 26 August 2003 due to BJP withdrawing support.
The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen is an Indian political party based primarily in the old city of Hyderabad, It is also a significant political party in the Indian States of Telangana, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Bihar.
Kanshi Ram, also known as Bahujan Nayak or Manyavar, Sahab Kanshiram was an Indian politician and social reformer who worked for the upliftment and political mobilisation of the Bahujans, the backward or lower caste people including untouchable groups at the bottom of the caste system in India. Towards this end, Kanshi Ram founded Dalit Shoshit Samaj Sangharsh Samiti (DS-4), the All India Backwards (SC/ST/OBC) and Minorities Communities Employees' Federation (BAMCEF) in 1971 and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in 1984. He ceded leadership of the BSP to his protégé Mayawati who has served four terms as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh.
The Republican Party of India was a political party in India. It had its roots in the Scheduled Castes Federation led by B. R. Ambedkar. The 'Training School for Entrance to Politics' was established by Ambedkar in 1956 which was to serve as an entry point to the Republican Party of India (RPI). The first batch of the school consisted of 15 students. Its first batch turned out to be last batch as the school was closed after Ambedkar's death in 1956.
Madiga is a Telugu caste from southern India. They mainly live in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka, with a small minority in Tamil Nadu. Madigas are historically associated with the work of tannery, leatherwork and small handicrafts. Today, most are agricultural labourers. They are categorized as a Scheduled Caste by the Government of India. Within the Madiga community, there are various sub-castes include Bindla they work mostly known to make shoes, Chindu They are nomadic performing caste, Chindus constantly travel to different villages and live with Madigas they can be identified as worshippers of Yellamma diety, Dakkali, Dakkala or Dakkali is the name of a class of mendicants who beg from Mādigas only, Mashti, a nomadic tribe with martial art skills has by and large gone unnoticed in this part of East Godavari. They are unknown to many beyond the district and deprived of any support from the authorities. They are known as ‘Mala Mashtis’, Sangaris they are known for making handicrafts and wood carving. The priestly class is known as Madiga Dasu they are associated with temple worships and have had a long history of being agricultural land owners they are also worshippers of Venkateswara or Narasimha dieties.
Ravish Kumar is an Indian journalist, author, media personality and YouTuber. He was the Senior Executive Editor of NDTV India. He hosted a number of programmes including the channel's flagship weekday show Prime Time, Hum Log, Ravish Ki Report, and Des Ki Baat.
The Loktantrik Janata Dal (LJD) was an unrecognised registered political party in India. It was nationally launched by Sharad Yadav and Ali Anwar in May 2018. The party was formed after Yadav parted ways from Janata Dal (United), due to its alliance with Bharatiya Janata Party in Bihar. Sharad Yadav merged with Rashtriya Janata Dal but not the Lokatantrik Janata Dal party
The Dalit Shoshit Samaj Sangharsh Samiti, abbreviated as DS4 or DSSSS was founded in 1981 by Kanshi Ram to organise Dalits and other marginalised groups of India.
A Legislative Assembly election was held in the Indian state of Punjab on 4 February 2017 to elect the 117 members of the Fifteenth Punjab Legislative Assembly. The counting of votes was done on 11 March 2017. The ruling pre-election coalition was the alliance comprising the political parties Shiromani Akali Dal and Bharatiya Janata Party and led by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal. The voter turnout for the Punjab Assembly election was 77.2% The Indian National Congress led by former Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh defeated the ruling alliance and the newcomer Aam Aadmi Party.
Satyendra Murli is a researcher, media pedagogue and a journalist. He has been associated with Doordarshan, as an Indian television journalist; and other several media organizations. He teaches at Delhi University as a professor of media studies. His research areas are journalism & mass communication, media studies, media pedagogy, ethics, Buddhism; and open and distance learning.
The Death of Merit is a four-part documentary series. The first three parts were created by the Insight Foundation, a Dalit-Adivasi student group. The fourth was posted by Round Table India. The whole series has been edited by Gurinder Azad and team. The documentary series focuses on caste-based discrimination in the Indian higher education system and the suicides of Dalit students in Indian campuses. The Wire, states that the "Death of Merit, remains one of the most crucial documentations of forms of discrimination faced by Bahujan students in university spaces."
The Bhim Army, alternatively Bheem Army or the Bheem Army Bharat Ekta Mission is an Ambedkarite and Dalit rights organisation in India. It was founded by Satish Kumar, Vinay Ratan Singh and Chandra Shekhar Aazad in 2015. The organisation runs more than 350 free schools for Dalits and Muslims in Uttar Pradesh. The organisation is named after B. R. Ambedkar.
Dalit Camera is a news website and YouTube channel set up in 2011 by Raees Mohammed to document life in India from the perspective of Dalit, Adivasi and Bahujan people and other minorities living in India. It has been described as the first use of videos uploaded on social media to highlight the difficulties faced by Dalit students.
Chandrashekhar Azad, also known as Chandra Shekhar Ravan, an Indian social activist, Ambedkarite activist, politician and lawyer. He is serving as a Member of Parliament of the 18th Lok Sabha from Nagina since June 2024. He is the chief and co-founder of the Bhim Army, and the national president of the Azad Samaj Party. In February 2021, Time magazine featured him in its annual list of 100 Emerging Leaders who are Shaping the Future.
Sanghapali Aruna, also known as Sanghapali Aruna Lohitakshi, is a human rights activist from India, best known for her work on Dalit women's rights. She is the Executive Director of Project Mukti.
The Bahujan Mukti Party (BMP) is a political party in India launched on 6 December 2012. Pravendra Pratap Singh is National President Bahujan Mukti Party.
Meena Kotwal is an Indian journalist, and the founder of The Mooknayak, an online news channel and website focused on social justice for the Dalit, minority and marginalised people.
The Mooknayak is an online news website founded in 2021 that focuses on social justice for Dalits and marginalized communities. Its name, which means 'the leader of the voiceless' honors the Mooknayak newspaper founded by Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar in 1920 and reflects the work of its founder, Dalit journalist Meena Kotwal.
