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Republican Party of India

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(Redirected from Scheduled Castes Federation)
For other parties of this name, see Republican Party of India (disambiguation).

Republican Party of India
FounderDadasaheb Gaikwad,
N. Sivaraj,
Yashwant Ambedkar,
P. T. Borale,
A. G. Pawar,
Datta Katti,
Dadasaheb Rupwate, Abba P. T. Madhale
Founded3 October 1957
Preceded byScheduled Castes Federation
Succeeded by
IdeologyConstitutionalism
Republicanism
Ambedkarism
Progressivism
Secularism
Egalitarianism
ColoursBlue

The Republican Party of India (RPI, often called the Republican Party or simply Republican) was a political party in India.[6] It had its roots in the All-India Scheduled Castes Federation led by N. Sivaraj and B. R. Ambedkar. The Party was established by Dr. Br. Ambedkar in 1956 which was to serve as an entry point to the Republican Party of India (RPI).[7]


Origins

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Scheduled Castes Federation

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Annai Meenambal (L), B. R. Ambedkar (C) and N. Sivaraj (R) during "The All India SCF women's conference" held at Bombay, on May 6, 1945.

The All-India Scheduled Castes Federation (AISCF) was an organisation in India founded in 1942 by N. Sivaraj and B. R. Ambedkar to advocate for the rights of the Dalit community. During its founding convention, an executive body was elected, with N. Sivaraj from Madras State serving as President and P. N. Rajbhoj from Bombay State as General Secretary. Among the founding members was P. T. Madhale, along with others.[8] The origins of the AISCF can be traced to the Madras Depressed Classes Federation, established by Rettamalai Srinivasan and N. Sivaraj. This organisation was later renamed the Madras Scheduled Castes Party in 1936[9] and subsequently became the Madras Scheduled Castes Federation (SCF) in 1938. Meanwhile, in 1936, Ambedkar had founded the Independent Labour Party (ILP), which was primarily active in the former Bombay and Central Provinces. In 1942, the Madras SCF and the ILP were reorganised and merged to form the AISCF.

Following the Partition of India in 1947, a political organisation named the Scheduled Castes Federation was also established in Pakistan. Historian Ramnarayan Rawat has noted that the SCF "created the space for an alternative to Congress-type 'nationalist' politics in post-1947 Uttar Pradesh".[10]

Republican Party of India

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On 30 September 1956, B. R. Ambedkar had announced the establishment of the "Republican Party of India" by dismissing the "Scheduled Castes Federation", but before the formation of the party, he died on 6 December 1956. After that, his followers and activists planned to form this party. A meeting of the Presidency was held at Nagpur on 1 October 1957 to establish the party. At this meeting, N. Sivaraj, Yashwant Ambedkar, P. T. Borale, A. G. Pawar, Datta Katti, Dadasaheb Rupwate, Abba P. T. Madhale were present. The Republican Party of India was formed on 3 October 1957. N. Sivaraj was elected as the President of the party.[11]

In 1957, six members of the party were elected to the second Lok Sabha. This is the biggest achievement of Ambedkar's party so far.[12]

Factionalism

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After Ambedkar's death, RPI suffered severe internal strife.[13] Several distinct parties claim the name of RPI.[14] 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)". One of the main people responsible for this was Rabbi Madan. 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:

((Republican Party of India (RPI Kutadi Shiva raj of Telangana President.))

References

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  1. ^ a b "Veteran Republican Party of India leader R. S. Gavai no more". mid-day. 30 October 1929. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  2. ^ a b "The two Ambedkarite parties, the Republican Party of India led by Ramdas Athawale and the Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh led by Prakash Ambedkar".
  3. ^ a b "NRP". www.nrporg.in. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  4. ^ a b "Kanshi Ram: The Bahujan Nayak of India's Dalit Movement". The Quint. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  5. ^ a b "Kanshi Ram: Leader of the Masses". www.milligazette.com. 12 February 2015. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  6. ^ "In Ambedkar's state, Dalit parties stare at oblivion". dna. 1 October 2014. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  7. ^ Dahat, Pavan (2 July 2016). "JNU". The Hindu. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
  8. ^ "Dr. Ambedkar and All India Scheduled Castes Federation". Retrieved 15 November 2017.
  9. ^ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rettamalai_Srinivasan
  10. ^ Rajan, Nalini (1974). Practising journalism: values, constraints, implications.
  11. ^ Khobragade, Fulchand (2014). Suryaputra Yashwantrao Ambedkar (in Marathi). Nagpur: Sanket Prakashan. pp. 20, 21.
  12. ^ "विचारधारेपासून दुरावणारी आंबेडकरी चळवळ".
  13. ^ Luce, Edward (2007). In Spite of The Gods: The Rise of Modern India (1st Anchor Books ed.). New York: Anchor Books. p. 113. ISBN 978-1-4000-7977-3.
  14. ^ TNN (7 December 2014). "RPI factions clash on Ambedkar death anniversary". The Times of India. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
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