Republican Party of India

Republican Party of India
Founder B. R. Ambedkar
Founded 3 October 1957
Preceded by Scheduled Castes Federation
Ideology
International affiliation None
Colours Blue

The Republican Party of India (RPI) is a political party in India.[1] It has 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).[2] 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.

Origins

Independent Labour Party

The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was a political organisation formed under the leadership of B. R. Ambedkar on 15 August 1936. It opposed the brahmanical and capitalist structures in India, supported the Indian working class and sought to dismantle the caste system.[3]

The formation of the ILP was not welcomed or supported by the communist leaders, who argued that it would lead to a split in the working-class votes. Ambedkar replied that communist leaders were working for the rights for the worker but not for the human rights of Dalit workers.[4] In his work Annihilation of Caste, Ambedkar put forth the idea that caste is not merely the 'division of labour' but 'division of labourers' based upon graded inequality.[5]

In the 1937 Provincial elections, the ILP secured 14 of the 17 seats in which they contested. This included 11 of the 13 contested seats that were reserved for traditionally oppressed communities.[5]

In 1938, the ILP, with the support of the Congress Socialist Party, organised a march of 20,000 tenants from the Konkan region to Bombay, marked the largest pre-independence peasant mobilisation in the region. In the same year, it also joined with Communists to organise Bombay textile labourers in opposition to a bill intended to control strike actions by the labourers. ILP opposed the bill in the Bombay Legislative Assembly.[4]

Scheduled Castes Federation

Scheduled Castes Federation (SCF) was an organisation in India founded by B. R. Ambedkar in 1942 to campaign for the rights of the Dalit community. An executive body of All India SCF was elected in the convention. N. Sivaraj from Madras State was elected as President and P. N. Rajbhoj from Bombay State was elected as general secretary.

Ambedkar had founded the Depressed Classes Federation (DCF) in 1930 and the Independent Labour Party (ILP) in 1935. Sources vary regarding which of these two bodies was succeeded by the SCF.[6] SCF later evolved into the Republican Party of India.

There was also a party called SCF in Pakistan after Partition. Ramnarayan Rawat stated that the SCF "created the space for an alternative to Congress-type 'nationalist' politics in post- 1947 Uttar Pradesh".[7]

Factionism

During the recent years RPI suffered severe internal strife.[8] Several distinct parties claim the name of RPI.[9] There are more than 50 factions of RPI. In 2009, all factions of RPI except Prakash Ambedkar's Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh reunited to form a united "Republican Party of India (United)". Later, Republican Party of India (Gavai) and Republican Party of India (A) led by Ramdas Athawale split again from the united party. Splinter groups of RPI include:

References

  1. ↑ "In Ambedkar's state, Dalit parties stare at oblivion". dna. 1 October 2014. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  2. ↑ "JNU scholars will revive Dr. Ambedkar's Political School". The Hindu. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
  3. ↑ Mendelsohn, Olive; Vicziany, Marik (1998). The Untouchables: Subordination, Poverty and the State in Modern India. Contemporary South Asia. 4. Cambridge University Press. p. 115. ISBN 0521556716.
  4. 1 2 Singh, Mahendra Prasad, ed. (2011). Indian Political Thought: Themes and Thinkers. Pearson Education India. p. 228. ISBN 8131758516.
  5. 1 2 Jaffrelot, Christophe (2003). India's Silent Revolution: The Rise of the Lower Castes in North India. C. Hurst & Co. Publishers. pp. 103–104. ISBN 1850653984.
  6. ↑ Keane, David (2007). "Why the Hindu Caste System Presents a New Challenge for Human Rights". In Rehman, Javaid; Breau, Susan. Religion, Human Rights and International Law: A Critical Examination of Islamic State Practices. BRILL. p. 283. ISBN 978-9-04742-087-3.
  7. ↑ Rajan, Nalini (1974). Practising journalism: values, constraints, implications.
  8. ↑ "Poke Me: Has Indian politics failed BR Ambedkar?". timesofindia-economictimes. 16 April 2015. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  9. ↑ TNN (7 December 2014). "RPI factions clash on Ambedkar death anniversary". The Times of India. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  10. ↑ "Veteran Republican Party of India leader R. S. Gavai no more". mid-day. 30 October 1929. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  11. ↑ "The two Ambedkarite parties, the Republican Party of India led by Ramdas Athawale and the Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh led by Prakash Ambedkar".
  12. ↑ "NRP". www.nrporg.in. Retrieved 2017-02-25.
  13. ↑ "Kanshi Ram: The Bahujan Nayak of India's Dalit Movement". The Quint. Retrieved 2018-05-20.
  14. ↑ "Kanshi Ram: Leader of the Masses". www.milligazette.com. Retrieved 2018-05-20.
  15. ↑ "Kanshi Ram: Leader of the masses". Forward Press. 2015-11-01. Retrieved 2018-05-20.
  16. ↑ Waghmore, Suryakant. "Never mind doomsayers, Mayawati and her party will stay relevant regardless of its performance in UP". Scroll.in. Retrieved 2018-05-20.
  17. ↑ "The Dalit Chanakya". outlookindia.com. Retrieved 2018-05-20.
  18. ↑ SONPIMPLE, RAHUL (27 April 2018). "The 'Bahujan unity' model is the only way to counter the BJP-RSS at national level". theprint.in. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  19. ↑ "Mayawati's mentor Kanshi Ram was the messiah of the downtrodden". India Today. Retrieved 2018-05-20.
  20. ↑ Makkar, Sahil (2014-05-17). "BSP gets third-largest vote share, but no seat". Business Standard India. Retrieved 2018-05-20.
  21. ↑ "BSP gets third highest vote share, but no seats". The Indian Express. 2014-05-17. Retrieved 2018-05-20.
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