Chandrabhan Prasad

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article has been nominated to be checked for its neutrality. Discussion of this nomination can be found on the talk page.

Chandra Bhan Prasad has become famous as the first Dalit to have a regular column in an English Indian newspaper.Even though there are several dalit writers and columnists in print media in all the languages in India, he could be regarded as the first to have a column in an English newspaper.

Prasad started writing a weekly column titled Dalit Diary in 1999 for The Pioneer, an English newspaper which has a limited circulation and readership in Delhi and Lucknow , and continues to do so. Recently he published a compilation of all the articles in this column from 1999 - 2003 as a book of the same name.

Prasad was born in September 1958 in a village in Azamgarh district of Eastern Uttar Pradesh. Both his parents were illiterate, but the family had sufficient agricultural land. Prasad went to JNU, for his MA in International Politics, and enrolled for a Ph.D.which he did not complete. Chandra got involved in student politics during his BA studies, and joined the CPI[ML] party.

At JNU Prasad read Ambedkar,Marx and became heavily influenced, and threw himself into the activities of SC/ST student associations and radicals. In the May 1983 In JNU Prasad was arrested along with 600 other JNU students during an agitation. Prasad organised pro-Mandal agitations in JNU and Delhiin 1990.

In 1991 Prasad left JNU and launched Dalit Shiksha Andolan, which spread to in few districts of Uttar Pradesh. But he left the Andolan and shifted his base to New Delhi, reasons for which are not known.

But Prasad, who intitally aligned with pro-Dalit forces and espoused the cause of dalits, shifted his loyalty to the BJP and theRashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). His shift in ideology has been criticised by many people.Even though he is visible as a commentator on TV and media, his with shifted stance on issues related dalits, he is taken less seriously now and carries lesser credibility..

[edit] External links

• Quota benefits should go to new social proletariat By Chandra Bhan Prasad