The founder of Bheem Army, Chandrashekhar was just an ordinary man until 6 years ago, who had made plans of going to the US for further studies. 6 years ago, when Chandrashekhar was at a hospital with his dad, he heard about the incidents of Dalits being oppressed in society. On hearing about the same, he decided to stay back in India and work for his community. Four years later, he formed the ‘Bheem Army Bharat Ekta Mission’.
‘Bheem Army Bharat Ekta Mission’ claims to have 40,000 members in seven states and Chandrashekhar has become the face of Dalit protests in Saharanpur. Speaking to the Indian Express, Chandrashekhar said, “Political parties need the votes of all communities but no one really cares for our community. Our people are oppressed every day and they have no voice. They can’t go to police because they don’t listen to us. Take, for example, the incident in Una (the assault on Dalits by gaurakshaks in Gujarat last year) or (Hyderabad student) Rohith Vemula’s suicide. This has been going on for long. We are an apolitical organisation, which focuses only on the uplift of our people.”
“I believe that in today’s time, if we just help our community live with self-pride, the whole issue gets sorted. Whenever there are any incidents of violence or harassment against Dalits, we will stand up for it,” he said to the Indian Express.
On Wednesday fresh violence broke out in Saharanpur. Two persons have been arrested here for allegedly making provocative posts and spreading rumours on social media, police said today.
The accused, identified as Sachin Singh Ambedkar and Rahul Gautam, had made the controversial posts on May 5 in the wake of the clashes in Shabbirpur village, Senior Superintendent of Police Subhash Chand Dubey said. The posts were made to spread rumours and disrupt communal harmony, he said.
“The authorities had called me to pacify the protesters. We follow Ambedkar and we believe in the law of the land. But what will our people do when there is a difference in the treatment meted out to them?” he said to the Indian Express. However, he claimed that not all those who gathered for the protest on Tuesday were members of Bheem Army.
“I tell everyone that the most important thing these days is to get educated to fight oppression. After we get their (upper caste) jobs, only then will there be some equality. We have the same blood so why differentiate?” he said.
