Chamars, the leather workers, are not only the country’s single largest Untouchable caste with different names in different parts, but also the most ferocious people. (G.W. Briggs. The Chamars, 1920, pp.270, photocopy available with DV).
Babasaheb’s frequent visits to UP helped ignite the Chamar power through Budhism. That is how the Chamars of UP stood behind Kanshi Ram and Mayawati. This is where “caste identity” helped galvanise the community and prop up BSP.
We too were very close to Kanshi Ram who wanted us to head the media center in Delhi. However, we did not like to join party politics and that is how we kept out of BSP – though we continued to be great supporters of Kanshi Ram and BSP.
As for the “master key business”, it has come as a boon to the crooked upper caste leadership of all political parties to make monkeys out of our people. A number of our associates left us in search of the master key and they are still wandering. SC/ST/BC and even Muslim youth have been nicely fooled.
Let us have a debate on this elusive master-key – EDITOR.
