BAMCEF
The All India Backward And Minority Communities Employees Federation | |
| Formation | 6 December 1978 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Kanshi Ram |
| Founded at | BAMCEF |
| Type | Social organization of educated employees[1] |
| Legal status | Active (05th April 2022 to till date) [2] |
President | Waman Meshram |
| Website | Bamceforg.in |
The All India Backward and Minority Communities Employees Federation, abbreviated as BAMCEF, is an organisation for employees of oppressed communities that was established in 1971 by Kanshi Ram, D. K. Khaparde, and Dinabhana. The term got its significance from the Constitution of India, which categories the oppressed and exploited communities into classes on the basis of their status: Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), Other Backward Class (OBC) and Minority Communities.
BAMCEF started at a convention held in Delhi in 1978, with an official launch on 6 December 1978, the death anniversary of B. R. Ambedkar.[3] The ideology of BAMCEF is to fight against the rooted system of inequality that divides the Indian citizens and to abolish the caste system.
Kanshiram developed BAMCEF based on Dr. Ambedkar's ideology and thoughts to organize the educated people from SC, ST, OBC and Minority communities. The main purpose behind this was to educate the society and make them powerful enough to capture the political power, which was the dream of Dr. Ambedkar in order to make India a developed country.
History
As an employee of the Defence Research and Development Laboratory in Pune, Kanshi Ram realized that the formation of a Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes bureaucracy was important to serve depressed class's interests. He set about forming a federation, through which he worked his way up the bureaucratic hierarchy. By identifying a few zealous officers, he was able to influence lower-ranked staff.[4]
The motto of this organisation is to 'Change the System', to inspire the SC/ST/OBC and Minority bureaucrats to do their bit for the Moolnivasi (SC/ST/OBC and Minority) masses. In this way, a continuous supply of intellectual property, economy and talent was ensured to facilitate the advancement of India into a developed nation. Ram did not want to make BAMCEF an employees' union. He wanted it to become an organisation of educated Bahujan employees: "the think tank, talent bank, and financial bank of the Bahujan Samaj."[5]
BAMCEF raised funds to promote their work executions and for trainings. Kanshi Ram appointed state-level conveners as well as Mandal conveners to act as links between state and district levels.[6] Suryakant Waghmore says it appealed to "the class among the indigenous Moolnivasi Bahujans that was comparatively well-off, mostly based in urban areas and small towns working as government servants and partially alienated from their untouchable identities".[7]
Others established the Dalit Shoshit Samaj Sangharsh Samiti (DS4) in 1981. This organization made an impact on people in North and South India. Later, this group was led by Ishaan Singh Tomar. Before the formation of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), DS4 entered local elections in Delhi and Haryana in the name of "Limited Political Action". Later on, Ram dissolved DS4 and formed BSP as a completely political wing.[8] This caused strain within BAMCEF ranks.[9]
In early 1986, BAMCEF split. Kanshi Ram announced that he was no longer willing to work for any organization other than BSP. One element of BAMCEF, which was associated with Kanshi Ram, became a shadow organization to help BSP in electoral mobilization. Those remaining in BAMCEF after Ram's departure registered BAMCEF as an independent non-political organization in 1987.[10]
As of 2001[update] the national president of BAMCEF is Waman Meshram.
References
- ^ Staff Reporter (7 December 2011). "Pay back to the society after self-introspection". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
- ^ IMC Marg opp Railway station Church Gate Mumbai
- ^ Jaffrelot 2010, p. 535.
- ^ "The Man Who Saw Tomorrow". The Indian Express. 24 May 2014. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
- ^ Jaffrelot 2003, p. 392.
- ^ Franco, Macwan & Ramanathan 2004, p. 52.
- ^ Waghmore 2013, p. 40.
- ^ "BSP finally arrives as Mayawati stuns political observers with her election performance". India Today. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
- ^ Teltumbde, Anand (19 August 2016). Dalits: Past, present and future. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-315-52644-7.
- ^ Waghmore 2013, p. 46.
Sources
- BAMCEF (2017), "BAMCEF at a GlanceE", BAMCEF, retrieved 20 December 2017
- Franco, F; Macwan, J; Ramanathan, S (2004), Journeys to Freedom: Dalit Narratives, ISBN 81-85604-65-7
- Jaffrelot, Christophe (2003), India's silent revolution: the rise of the low castes in North Indian politics, Permanent Black, ISBN 978-81-7824-080-0
- Jaffrelot, Christophe (2010), Religion, Caste, and Politics in India, Primus, ISBN 9789380607047
- Waghmore, Suryakant (2013), Civility against Caste: Dalit Politics and Citizenship in Western India, Sage, ISBN 978-81-321-1308-9