The Republican Party of India (RPI, often called the Republican Party or simply Republican) was a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

in India. It had its roots in the All-India Scheduled Castes Federation led by N. Sivaraj and B. R. Ambedkar. The Party was established by Dr. Br. Ambedkar in 1956 which was to serve as an entry point to the Republican Party of India (RPI).

Origins

Scheduled Castes Federation

The All-India Scheduled Castes Federation (AISCF) was an organisation in India founded in 1942 by N. Sivaraj and B. R. Ambedkar to advocate for the rights of the Dalit community. During its founding convention, an executive body was elected, with N. Sivaraj from

Madras State Madras State was a state in the Indian Republic, which was in existence during the mid-20th century as a successor to the Madras Presidency of British India. The state came into existence on 26 January 1950 when the Constitution of India was ad ...

serving as President and P. N. Rajbhoj from

Bombay State Bombay State was a large Indian state created in 1950 from the erstwhile Bombay Province, with other regions being added to it in the succeeding years. Bombay Province (in British India roughly equating to the present-day Indian state of Mah ...

as General Secretary. Among the founding members was P. T. Madhale, along with others. The origins of the AISCF can be traced to the Madras Depressed Classes Federation, established by Rettamalai Srinivasan and N. Sivaraj. This organisation was later renamed the Madras Scheduled Castes Party in 1936 and subsequently became the Madras Scheduled Castes Federation (SCF) in 1938. Meanwhile, in 1936, Ambedkar had founded the Independent Labour Party (ILP), which was primarily active in the former Bombay and Central Provinces. In 1942, the Madras SCF and the ILP were reorganised and merged to form the AISCF. Following the

Partition of India The partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Dominion of India, Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Paki ...

in 1947, a political organisation named the Scheduled Castes Federation was also established in Pakistan. Historian

Ramnarayan Rawat Ramnarayan Rawat (also spelled Ram Narayan Rawat and Ram Rawat) is an Associate Professor of History at the University of Delaware and a historian of the Indian subcontinent and has also had appointments at the University of Pennsylvania (as a pos ...

has noted that the SCF "created the space for an alternative to Congress-type 'nationalist' politics in post-1947 Uttar Pradesh".

Republican Party of India

On 30 September 1956, B. R. Ambedkar had announced the establishment of the "Republican Party of India" by dismissing the "Scheduled Castes Federation", but before the formation of the party, he died on 6 December 1956. After that, his followers and activists planned to form this party. A meeting of the Presidency was held at

Nagpur Nagpur (; ISO 15919, ISO: ''Nāgapura'') is the second capital and third-largest city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is called the heart of India because of its central geographical location. It is the largest and most populated city i ...

on 1 October 1957 to establish the party. At this meeting, N. Sivaraj,

Yashwant Ambedkar Yashwant Bhimrao Ambedkar (12 December 1912 — 17 September 1977), also known as Bhaiyasaheb Ambedkar, was an Indian socio-religious activist, newspaper editor, politician, and activist of Dalit Buddhist movement, Ambedkarite Buddhist movement. ...

, P. T. Borale, A. G. Pawar, Datta Katti, Dadasaheb Rupwate, Abba P. T. Madhale were present. The ''Republican Party of India'' was formed on 3 October 1957. N. Sivaraj was elected as the President of the party. In 1957, six members of the party were elected to the second Lok Sabha. This is the biggest achievement of Ambedkar's party so far.

Factionalism

After Ambedkar's death, RPI suffered severe internal strife. Several distinct parties claim the name of RPI. There are more than 50 factions of RPI. In 2009, all factions of RPI except Prakash Ambedkar's Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh reunited to form a united " Republican Party of India (United)". One of the main people responsible for this was Rabbi Madan. Later,

Republican Party of India (Gavai) The Republican Party of India (Gavai) is a political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about ...

and Republican Party of India (A) led by Ramdas Athawale split again from the united party. Successors of the RPI are: *

Republican Party of India (Athawale) The Republican Party of India (Athawale) is a political party in India. The party is a splinter group of the Republican Party of India and has its roots in the Scheduled Castes Federation led by B. R. Ambedkar. The president of the party is Ram ...

Peoples Republican Party The Peoples Republican Party, also known as Republican Party of India (Kawade), is a political party in India. PRP is a splinter group of the old B. R. Ambedkar's Republican Party of India. The leader of the party is Jogendra Kawade. Its pr ...

* Republican Party of India (United) *

* Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh *Rashtriya Republican Party *Republican Party of India (S) *

Bahujan Samaj Party The Bahujan Samaj Party ( BSP) is a political party in India that was formed to represent Bahujans (literally means "community in majority"), referring to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes (OBC), along with Religious ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Republican Party of India Political parties established in 1957 1957 establishments in Bihar Ambedkarite political parties Progressive parties Secularist organizations B. R. Ambedkar