Chandrashekhar Azad (politician)

Chandrashekhar Azad (born 3 December 1986), also known as Chandra Shekhar Ravan, an Indian social activist, Ambedkarite activist, politician and lawyer. He is serving as a Member of Parliament of the 18th Lok Sabha from Nagina since June 2024. He is the chief and co-founder of the Bhim Army,^[1] and the National President of the Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram). In February 2021, Time magazine featured him in its annual list of 100 Emerging Leaders who are Shaping the Future.^[2]

Chandrashekhar Azad
Azad in 2021
National President of the Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram)
Incumbent
Assumed office 15 March 2020
Preceded by	Position Established
Leader of the Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) Lok Sabha
Incumbent
Assumed office 4 June 2024
Preceded by	Position Established
Chief of the Bhim Army
Incumbent
Assumed office 21 July 2015
Preceded by	Position Established
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
Incumbent
Assumed office 4 June 2024
Preceded by	Girish Chandra
Constituency	Nagina, Uttar Pradesh
Majority	1,51,473
Personal details
Born	(1986-12-03) 3 December 1986 (age 37) Chhutmalpur, Uttar Pradesh, India
Nationality	Indian
Political party	Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram)
Spouse	Vandna Kumari ​ (m. 2020)​
Children	1
Parent(s)	Govardhan Das (father) Kamlesh Devi (mother)
Residence	Chhutmalpur
Education	B.A. Hons. & L.L.B.
Alma mater	Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University
Occupation	MP & Politician
Profession	Politician, Advocacy & Social activist

Early life

Azad hails from the Chhutmalpur village of Saharanpur, Western Uttar Pradesh. His father Govardhan Das retired as a principal of a Government School. He came to prominence as a Bahujan leader after a hoarding titled The Great Chamars of Ghadkhauli Welcome You was installed by him on the outskirts of his village. Chandra Shekhar Azad started free coaching classes for all categories and distributed free books for poor students to study.^[3][4][5]

Activism and politics

Main articles: Bhim Army and Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram)

Azad, Satish Kumar, and Vinay Ratan Singh founded Bhim Army in 2014, an organization that works for the emancipation of Dalits through education in India. It runs free schools for Dalits in western Uttar Pradesh.

In 2020, he founded the Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram).

5656 UP legislative Assembly elections, he contested the Gorakhpur Urban Assembly constituency against Yogi Adityanath, with Azad getting 3.06% of the vote share and losing his deposit.

In the 2024 Indian general election in Uttar Pradesh, Azad Samaj Party (ASP) candidate Chandrashekhar Azad won the Nagina Lok Sabha constituency by 1,51,473 votes. He got 5,12,552 votes. BJP's Om Kumar came second, who got 3,61,079 votes.^[6][7][8]

Imprisonment

Chandrashekhar Azad at Jama Masjid, Delhi, during the anti CAA protests.

• He was arrested in relation to the Saharanpur violence incident.^[9] Azad was arrested under the National Security Act by the Uttar Pradesh Government. Afterwards he was granted bail by the Allahabad High Court after his lawyer argued that the arrests were politically motivated.^[10]

• Delhi Police had denied permission to Chandrashekhar Azad's protest march against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act from Delhi Jama Masjid to Jantar Mantar. He entered into protest at Jama Masjid and was arrested by Delhi police and detained for several days.^[11]

See also

• Jignesh Mevani
• Shri Guru Ravidas Gurughar, Tughlakaba
• Mayawati
• Kanshi Ram
• Bahujan Samaj Party
• Ravidassia

References

1. "My Son a Dalit Revolutionary, Say Bhim Army Chief's Mother". News18. 19 June 2017. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
2. "Bhim Army Chief Chandrashekhar Azad in Time magazine's list of 100 emerging leaders". The Indian Express. 18 February 2021. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
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. Doval, Nikita (9 June 2017). "Chandrashekhar Azad—The man in the blue scarf". Mint. Archived from the original on 16 January 2019. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
5. Tiwary, Deeptiman (26 June 2018). "Walking the faultlines: The Bhim Army has been slowly gaining ground among Dalits locally". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 20 June 2019. Retrieved 20 June 2019.
6. "Nagina Election Result: चंद्रशेखर आजाद 1 लाख 51,000 वोट से जीते, BJP के ओम कुमार को हराया". 4 June 2024.
7. "Nagina Loksabha Results: भीम आर्मी के चंद्रशेखर, नगीना से BJP प्रत्याशी को भारी अंतर से हराया". 4 June 2024.
8. "BJP और चंद्रशेखर आजाद रावण की 'करीबी' नगीना से दे रही है दिलचस्प संकेत". आज तक (in Hindi). 10 April 2024. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
9. "14 दिन की हिरासत में रावण, गिरफ्तारी के पीछे गर्लफ्रेंड का हाथ". navodayatimes.in (in Hindi). 9 June 2017. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
10. "HC says cases against Bhim Army chief 'politically motivated', grants him bail". The Times of India. 3 November 2017. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
11. "Bhim Army's Chandrashekhar Azad Arrested Day After Protest In Old Delhi". ndtv.com.