Chandrashekhar Azad (politician)

Indian politician and social activist(born 1986)

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 38)
Chhutmalpur, Uttar Pradesh, India
Nationality|  Indian
Political party| Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram)
Spouse|

Vandna Azad

(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| Politician, lawyer, social activist

Chandrashekhar Azad (born 3 December 1986; Hindi pronunciation: [t͡ʃən̪d̪ɾəʃeːkʰəɾ aːzaːd̪]), also known as Chandrashekhar and Chandrashekhar Azad 'Ravan', is an Indian politician, social activist, Ambedkarite and lawyer. He is serving as a Member of Parliament of the 18th Lok Sabha from Nagina since June 2024.[1] He is the chief and co-founder of the Bhim Army,[2] 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.[3]

## Early life

[edit]

Chandrashekhar Azad was born on 3 December 1986, village Chhutmalpur in Saharanpur, Western Uttar Pradesh.[4] Growing up in a Dalit family, Azad experienced caste-based discrimination, which influenced his early interest in social justice and advocacy.[5][6][7] His father, Govardhan Das, retired as a principal of a government school. Azad came to prominence as a Bahujan leader after he installed a hoarding titled The Great Chamars of Ghadkhauli Welcome You 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.[8][9][10]

## Activism and politics

[edit]

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

Azad, Satish Kumar, and Vinay Ratan Singh founded Bhim Army in 2014, an organisation that works for the emancipation of Dalits through education in India.[11] It runs free schools for Dalits in western Uttar Pradesh.[12][13]

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.[14][15][16]

### Posts held

[edit]

# | From | To | Position | Party

|
|
|
|

01 | 4 June 2024 | Incumbent | Member of Parliament, 18th Lok Sabha | ASP
02 | 14 August 2024 | Incumbent | Member of the committee on the Welfare of Scheduled Castes and scheduled Tribes | ASP
03 | 26 September 2024 | Incumbent | Member of the Standing Committee on Home Affairs | ASP

## Imprisonment

[edit]

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

* He was arrested in relation to the Saharanpur violence incident.[17] 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.[18]

* 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.[19]

## See also

[edit]

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

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Dalits | Voices from the margins". India Today. 13 July 2024. Archived from the original on 22 March 2025. Retrieved 22 March 2025.
2. ^ "My Son a Dalit Revolutionary, Say Bhim Army Chief's Mother". News18. 19 June 2017. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
3. ^ "Bhim Army Chief Chandrashekhar Azad in Time magazine's list of 100 emerging leaders". The Indian Express. 18 February 2021. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
4. ^ "Chandrashekhar Azad Ravan: Latest News, Videos and Photos of Chandrashekhar Azad Ravan | Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
5. ^ Shahi, Sunita (17 September 2018). "Chandrashekhar Azad Ravan: "I am a misfit in politics"". National Herald. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
6. ^ "The Rise Of Chandrashekhar Azad 'Ravan'". Outlook India. 21 June 2024. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
7. ^ "Chandrashekhar Azad: The Indian Dalit leader challenging Modi". 20 March 2019. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
8. ^ Trivedi, Divya (2 February 2018). "Fighting spirit". Frontline. The Hindu Group. Archived from the original on 16 January 2019. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
9. ^ 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.
10. ^ 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.
11. ^ "What is the Bhim Army?". The Indian Express. 18 May 2018. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
12. ^ Ali, Mohammad (17 June 2017). "Mohammad Ali on the Bhim Army's grassroot education project for Dalits in Saharanpur". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
13. ^ Kumar, Sunaina (22 May 2018). "Class act: the great Dalit fightback that started in the schoolroom". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
14. ^ "Nagina Election Result: चंद्रशेखर आजाद 1 लाख 51,000 वोट से जीते, BJP के ओम कुमार को हराया". 4 June 2024.
15. ^ "Nagina Loksabha Results: भीम आर्मी के चंद्रशेखर, नगीना से BJP प्रत्याशी को भारी अंतर से हराया". 4 June 2024.
16. ^ "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.
17. ^ "14 दिन की हिरासत में रावण, गिरफ्तारी के पीछे गर्लफ्रेंड का हाथ". navodayatimes.in (in Hindi). 9 June 2017. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
18. ^ "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.
19. ^ "Bhim Army's Chandrashekhar Azad Arrested Day After Protest In Old Delhi". ndtv.com.

* v
* t
* e

Members of the 18th Lok Sabha from Uttar Pradesh

GE 2024|

1. Imran Masood
2. Iqra Choudhary
3. Harendra Singh Malik
4. Chandan Chauhan
5. Chandrashekhar Azad
6. Ruchi Veera
7. Mohibbullah Nadvi
8. Zia ur Rahman Barq
9. Kanwar Singh Tanwar
10. Arun Govil
11. Rajkumar Sangwan
12. Atul Garg
13. Mahesh Sharma
14. Bhola Singh
15. Satish Kumar Gautam
16. Anoop Pradhan
17. Hema Malini
18. S. P. Singh Baghel
19. Rajkumar Chahar
20. Akshay Yadav
21. Dimple Yadav
22. Devesh Shakya
23. Aditya Yadav
24. Neeraj Kushwaha Maurya
25. Chhatrapal Singh Gangwar
26. Jitin Prasada
27. Arun Kumar Sagar
28. Utkarsh Verma
29. Anand Bhadauriya
30. Rakesh Rathore
31. Jai Prakash
32. Ashok Kumar Rawat
33. Sakshi Maharaj
34. R. K. Chaudhary
35. Rajnath Singh
36. Rahul Gandhi
37. Kishori Lal Sharma
38. Rambhual Nishad
39. S. P. Singh Patel
40. Mukesh Rajput
41. Jitendra Kumar Dohare
42. Akhilesh Yadav
43. Ramesh Awasthi
44. Devendra Singh
45. Narayan Das Ahirwar
46. Anurag Sharma
47. Ajendra Singh Lodhi
48. Krishna Devi Shivshanker Patel
49. Naresh Uttam Patel
50. Pushpendra Saroj
51. Praveen Patel
52. Ujjwal Raman Singh
53. Tanuj Punia
54. Awadhesh Prasad
55. Lalji Verma
56. Anand Kumar Gond
57. Karan Bhushan Singh
58. Ram Shiromani Verma
59. Kirti Vardhan Singh
60. Jagdambika Pal
61. Ram Prasad Chaudhary
62. Laxmikant
63. Pankaj Chaudhary
64. Ravi Kishan
65. Vijay Kumar Dubey
66. Shashank Mani
67. Kamlesh Paswan
68. Daroga Saroj
69. Dharmendra Yadav
70. Rajiv Rai
71. Ramashankar Rajbhar
72. Sanatan Pandey
73. Babu Singh Kushwaha
74. Priya Saroj
75. Afzal Ansari
76. Bijendra Singh
77. Narendra Modi
78. Vinod Kumar Bind
79. Anupriya Patel
80. Chhotelal Kharwar

17th LS members

19th LS members

Members of the 18th Lok Sabha from

States

Union territories

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