Chandrashekhar Aazad’s convoy fired at: Who is the Dalit leader, how he rose to popularity

Aazad told ANI, “I don’t remember well but my people identified them. Their car went towards Saharanpur. We took a U-Turn. Five of us, including my younger brother, were in the car when the incident occurred.”

Apart from heading the Bhim Army, Aazad is also the chief of Aazad Samaj Party (Kanshiram), a political party he founded in 2020. Since 2017, when he first rose to prominence, Aazad has been vocally raising Dalits’ issues along with speaking out for secularism, democracy and social justice.

#WATCH | “I don’t remember well but my people identified them. Their car went towards Saharanpur. We took a U-Turn. Five of us, including my younger brother, were in the car when the incident occurred..,” says Bhim Army leader and Aazad Samaj Party – Kanshi Ram chief, Chandra… pic.twitter.com/MLeVR8poaN

— ANI (@ANI) June 28, 2023

While his party has not done well politically, Aazad has gained immense popularity quickly, mainly because of his personal appeal and because of the Bhim Army’s loud and visible raising of Dalit issues in UP and adjoining states.

‘Da Great Chamar’

Chandrashekhar Aazad was born in a village in Saharanpur district, Uttar Pradesh. He is a law graduate. While he earlier styled himself as Chandrashekhar Azad ‘Ravan’, he dropped the last part of his name ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, saying he did not want the Opposition to ask voters to “choose between Ram and Ravan”.

The Bhim Army was founded in 2014, by Aazad and Vinay Ratan Singh, to fight for the development of Dalits and other marginalised sections. Aazad’s organisation runs a number of schools for marginalised children in western Uttar Pradesh.

The board at entrance to Ghadkhauli village saying ‘Da Great Chamar’, which triggered violence in March 2016 and brought in Bhim Army. (Express)

In March 2016, some Dalit villagers put up a board at the entrance of Ghadkauli village that said ‘Da Great Chamar, Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar Village, Ghadkauli, Welcomes You’. Thakurs objected to the words ‘Da Great’ before Chamar and the board was blackened. The Bhim Army was called and, after days of agitations, stone-pelting on police and lathicharge on Dalits, the board was erected again. This was when the Bhim Army and Aazad first attracted widespread attention.

The May 2017 rally

In May 2017, Shabbirpur village in Saharanpur saw Dalit-Rajput clashes, with a Rajput man killed and 25 Dalit homes torched, over a procession in memory of Rajput ruler Maharana Pratap. Aazad was named as an accused in as many as 24 FIRs by the police for his alleged role in fanning the violent protests by members of the Dalit community.

The same month, the Bhim Army took out a massive protest rally through Delhi, its supporters waving placards with BR Ambedkar’s photograph as well as blue flags, chanting slogans of Jai Bhim and wearing masks of Aazad’s face. Aazad himself, who the UP police was on the look-out for, appeared on the rally’s stage, saying he would surrender. Such a massive gathering of Dalit activists in Delhi cemented Aazad’s popularity.

“This fellow has some substance. He is physically strong and speaks well. Have you seen his moustache and the way he keeps twirling it… More importantly, he is not afraid of anyone. Did you see how, despite being denied permission, he organised such a big rally in Delhi? This is the kind of leader we need,” two youths from a village in Saharanpur had told The Indian Express in 2018.

Aazad was later arrested from Himachal Pradesh. After the Allahabad High Court granted him bail, the Uttar Pradesh government slapped the National Security Act (NSA) on him, and he stayed in jail for 15 months.

Jama Masjid speech in 2019

Aazad was arrested again in 2019, this time over the anti-CAA protests, after a highly dramatic episode.

Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Aazad reads the Preamble to the Constitution at Jama Masjid in December 2019. (Express photo/Praveen Khanna)

Around 2.30 am on December 21, Aazad appeared at New Delhi’s Jama Masjid, surrounded by hundreds of protesters, and addressed the gathering on a microphone. Policemen soon detained him, but amid resistance from the crowd, he managed to give them the slip. In a dramatic chase, he ran from house to house and jumped across rooftops with police on his heels before disappearing from sight. However, he later surrendered.

In politics

While Aazad gained popularity for his proud assertion of Dalit identity and amid Mayawati’s BSP losing momentum, it has not so far translated to political gains.

Ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Aazad had earlier said he would contest against Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Varanasi, but eventually gave support to the SP-BSP alliance. In 2020, he founded his own party.

Ahead of the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, he was in talks with the Samajwadi Party for an alliance, but eventually pulled out, saying the SP had disrespected Dalits. He fought against Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath from Gorakhpur, but finished fourth, winning less than 4,000 votes and losing his security deposit.

Mayawati, the tallest Dalit leader in UP, has always kept Aazad at an arm’s length.