Bhim Army

The Bhim Army, alternatively Bheem Army[1] (lit."Ambedkar Army") or the Bheem Army Bharat Ekta Mission[2] (translation: "Ambedkar Army Indian Unity Mission") is an Ambedkarite and dalit rights organisation in India. It was founded by Satish Kumar, Vijay Ratan Singh and Chandrashekhar Azad in 2015.[3][4] The organisation runs more than 350 free schools for Dalits and Bahujans in the districts of Saharanpur, Meerut, Shamli and Muzaffarnagar in western Uttar Pradesh.[5][2] The organisation is named after Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar.

Not to be confused with Bhim Sena.
Bhim Army
Formation2015
FounderChandrashekhar Azad
Vijay Ratan Singh
Satish Kumar
Founded atUttar Pradesh
National President
Vinay Ratan Singh
Websitebhimarmyofficial.com

Mission

Bhim Army's stated mission is "direct action based on confrontation to preserve or restore the dignity of Dalit" and it has an estimated 20,000 followers in the Saharanpur region, which has a 20% Dalit population.[6] The Bhim Army is aimed at supporting the marginalized sections of society such as Dalits and farmers,[7] and more broadly what the founder of the organisation Chandrashekar Azad describes as "the Bahujan community which includes SCs, STs, OBCs and minorities who had been away from the mainstream for long."[8] He has said that "We may even gherao the Vidhan Sabha in support of our demands."[7] He has sought to build a coalition between Dalit and Muslims against the BJP,[8] and has described himself as a supporter of the Indian Constitution and an opponent of theocracy[8] and manuvāda ideology.[9]

History

Chandrashekhar Azad founded the Bhim Army as a tool to fight caste oppression.[10] It emerged in 2015 as a reaction to the discrimination and caste-based violence faced by Dalit students at AHP Inter-college in Uttar Pradesh.[11] There, students belonging to the Rajput caste would force Dalit students to clean classrooms.[10] Dalit students were not allowed to drink water before the Rajput students had drunk.[11] The Rajput students, even, broke the hand of a Dalit student who dared to drink water before them.[10] The Bhim Army provided muscle to the bullied Dalit students which stopped the violence against Dalit students.[10]

In the months that followed, the Bhim army was called on several times whenever Dalits faced violence at the hands of upper castes. For example, one day, a Dalit person erected a sign board on their private property which read "The Great Chamar."[10] The upper-caste Thakurs were upset with this Dalit celebration of identity and objected to the erection of the board.[12] But, the Bhim Army intervened and ensure that the Thakurs did not unleash any violence.[12] In another incident, the Thakurs prevented a Dalit groom from riding a horse to his wedding.[12] Yet again, the Bhim Army intervened and escorted the groom.[12]

The Bhim Army attained national prominence after clashes in Uttar Pradesh.[13] In June 2017, the group's leader Chandrashekhar, a lawyer,[2][6] was arrested by the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force.[14] Chandrashekhar Azad was granted bail by the Allahabad High Court in November 2017, but the Uttar Pradesh government led by Yogi Adityanath continued to detain him under the National Security Act until it dropped the NSA order in September 2018 and acquitted Chandrashekhar Azad from jail.[15] Chandrashekhar describes himself as a representative of Bahujan identity and a follower of Kanshi Ram.[8]

The group protests against discrimination and caste violence against Dalit by members of the upper Thakurs caste in violent clashes in 2017 in Saharanpur.[4] A Bhim Army rally in Jantar Mantar, New Delhi in 2017 was attended by a large crowd,[16] estimated to be 10,000 by Delhi Police.[2]

In August 2019, the Bhim Army took part in nationwide Dalit protests against the demolition of Shri Guru Ravidas Gurughar, a temple dedicated to Sant Ravidas in Tughlaqabad, Delhi, on the orders of the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), following lengthy litigation between the DDA and Guru Ravidas Jainti Samaroh Samiti.[17] Dozens of people, including Chandrashekhar Azad and Vinay Ratan, were arrested by police, prompting the Bhim Army to demand their release.[18]

In December 2019, Chandrashekhar announced that the Bhim Army would formally enter electoral politics. The group previously operated as a quasi-political force.[7] Chandrashekhar stated that "We tried to join hands and work unitedly with the Bahujan Samaj Party but its leader was unwilling to do so."[7] Chandrashekhar said the new political party would set up an office in Lucknow and work to counter the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).[7] Chandrashekhar has described the BJP as his chief political adversary, but has also competed with Mayawati, the leader of the Bahujan Samaj Party.[8]

The Bhim Army opposes the BJP's Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA) legislation[7] In January and February 2020, the Bhim Army engaged in the protests against the CAA and sought its repeal.[19][20] In February 2020, street clashes took place between pro-CAA BJP supporters and Bhim Army supporters in connection with the North East Delhi riots; both sides engaged in stone-pelting.[21]

On 15th March 2020, Chandrashekhar officially announced his new political party named Azad Samaj Party. As many as 98 former leaders of the Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, Congress and Rashtriya Lok Dal joined the newly launched party.[22]

References
  1. S Raju, Army seeks security for chief Chandrashekhar Azad, Hindustan Times (September 23, 2018).
  2. "What is the Bhim Army?". The Indian Express. 10 May 2018. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
  3. Trivedi, Divya (2 February 2018). "Fighting spirit". Frontline. The Hindu Group. Archived from the original on 16 January 2019. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
  4. Amit Ahuja, Mobilizing the Marginalized: Ethnic Parties without Ethnic Movements (Oxford University Press, 2019), p. 206.
  5. Ali, Mohammad (28 June 2017). "Bhim Army, soldiers on a literacy mission". The Hindu.
  6. Mujibur Rehman, "Introduction" in Rise of Saffron Power: Reflections on Indian Politics (ed. Mujibur Rehman), p. 33, note 33.
  7. Bhim Army to formally join politics, Indo-Asian News Service (December 12, 2019).
  8. Pratul Sharma, Chandrashekhar Azad is building a dalit-Muslim coalition to take on BJP, The Week (February 22, 2020).
  9. Chandrashekhar Azad dares RSS chief to contest elections, Press Trust of India, February 23, 2020.
  10. Daniyal, Shoaib. "Ambedkarite 2.0: Saharanpur's Bhim Army signals the rise of a new, aggressive Dalit politics". Scroll.in. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  11. Quint, The. "Ambedkar's Army". TheQuint. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  12. Daniyal, Shoaib. "Ambedkarite 2.0: Saharanpur's Bhim Army signals the rise of a new, aggressive Dalit politics". Scroll.in. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  13. "After UP, Bhim Army set to rock Maharashtra". DNA India. 29 June 2017.
  14. "Bhim army chief arrested: Family threatens govt, Congress calls him 'victim'". Indian Express. 9 June 2017.
  15. Omar Rashid, Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad released from jail, says he will ensure BJP's rout in 2019, The Hindu (September 14, 2018).
  16. "The Curse of Caste?". We the People. NDTV. 28 May 2017.
  17. Mukesh Rawat, Explained: Why are Dalits agitated over demolition of Ravidas temple in Delhi, (August 22, 2019).
  18. Bhim Army warns of movement if its top leaders are not freed, Indo-Asian News Service (August 25, 2019).
  19. Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad vows to fight until CAA is repealed, Deccan Herald (February 2, 2020).
  20. Anti-CAA protests: Court asks police to verify if Bhim Army Chief has an office in Delhi, Press Trust of India (January 18, 2020).
  21. Neeraj Chauhan, Delhi riots: Face-off between Bhim Army, CAA backers a trigger, Hindustan Times (February 28, 2020).
  22. Bhim Army President announces new political party 'Azad Samaj Party', Zee News (March 15, 2020).
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