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Ramswaroop Verma’s contribution to the Bahujan renaissance

The annihilation of the Brahmanism and establishment of an egalitarian society were the basic ideals of the ‘Arjak’ movement, led by Ramswaroop Verma. He criticized the brahmanical hegemony over Indian politics, including in the communist parties, but fell short of Ambedkar’s comprehensive vision for equality in Indian society, writes Kanwal Bharti

Born on 22 August 1923 in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, Ramswaroop Verma was drawn to socialist principles from his student days. So, when active politics beckoned, he joined the Socialist Party and became an MLA. He went on to become finance minister in Chaudhary Charan Singh’s Uttar Pradesh government in 1967. He established the Arjak Sangh in 1968 and launched the Bahujan magazine Arjak on 1 June the same year.

It was not the first magazine with the Bahujan theme. Several attempts were made earlier, including Chandrika Prasad Jigyasu’s  Kalwar Sandesh. But those attempts were limited and were mostly monthly magazines. Arjak was a weekly.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE: Ramswaroop Verma’s contribution to Bahujan renaissance

 

About The Author

Kanwal bharti

Kanwal Bharti (born February 1953) is a progressive Ambedkarite thinker and one of the most talked-about and active contemporary writers. Dalit Sahitya Kee Avdharna and Swami Achootanand Harihar Sanchayita are his key books. He was conferred with Dr Ambedkar Rashtriya Award in 1996 and Bhimratna Puraskar in 2001

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