Seth Kishan Dass was a leather trader, propagator of the Ad-Dharm movement, and a politician.

Biography

Seth Kishan Dass was born into a

Chamar Chamar is a Dalit community classified as a Scheduled Caste under modern India's system of affirmative action. Historically subject to untouchability, they were traditionally outside the Hindu ritual ranking system of castes known as varna. ...

family of Punjab. He traveled to

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

and started working there in leather factories. After, some experience he invested in a leather tanning and trading business that flew away. With time Kishan Dass became one of the richest traders of the

Jullundhar Jalandhar is the third most-populous city in the Indian state of Punjab and the largest city in Doaba region. Jalandhar lies alongside the Grand Trunk Road and is a well-connected rail and road junction. Jalandhar is northwest of the state ...

region and paved the way for fellow Chamars to be in the leather trade. Seth became involved in the Ad-Dharm movement with Babu Mangu Ram Mugowalia and purchased land for Ad Dharm mandals. Today, the Ravi Das High School runs in the place of Mandal. Being an

Ambedkarite Ambedkarism is called as the teaching, ideology or philosophy of B.R. Ambedkar, an Indian econonist, polymath, barrister, social reformer, human-rights advocate, and the architect of Indian Constitution. Ambedkarism includes the principles of Nava ...

, he was instrumental in bringing

Babasaheb Ambedkar Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (14 April 1891 – 6 December 1956) was an Indian jurist, economist, social reformer and political leader who headed the committee drafting the Constitution of India from the Constituent Assembly debates, served a ...

Bootan Mandi Bootan Mandi is in Jalandhar City of Punjab state India. The ward number for Bootan Mandi is 54. Demographics Bootan Mandi is located in Jalandhar City. Its neighbouring areas are Abadi Jallowal, New Model Town, Model House, Basti Sheikh, Swam ...

in Jalandhar for the campaign in the 1951 Punjab elections. He was elected in the first

Punjab Legislative Assembly The Punjab Legislative Assembly or the Punjab Vidhan Sabha is the unicameral legislature of the state of Punjab in India. The Sixteenth Punjab Legislative Assembly was constituted in March 2022. At present, it consists of 117 members, directl ...

elections in 1937 and won from Jullundur Assembly Constituency (now Adampur) by beating

Master Gurbanta Singh Master Gurbanta Singh (4 August 1904 – 5 February 1980) was an Indian politician, educationist and social reformer from Punjab, India. He was a former member of the Unionist Party and then Indian National Congress. Master Gurbanta Singh w ...

, another Ad-Dharm member. But he lost in 1946 Punjab Privincial Assembly elections. He was a member of the All India Scheduled Castes Federation and President of the Punjab unit of SCF. His sons were Seth Prem Raj and Seth Mool Raj who became the Director of Punjab Mega Leather Cluster. Ltd and Avinash Tanneries at

Jalandhar Jalandhar is the third most-populous city in the Indian state of Punjab and the largest city in Doaba region. Jalandhar lies alongside the Grand Trunk Road and is a well-connected rail and road junction. Jalandhar is northwest of the state ...

. His grandsons, Steven Kaler and

Avinash Chander Avinash Chander is an Indian politician and belongs to the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal. He is a member of Punjab Legislative Assembly and represents Phillaur Phillaur is a city and a municipal council as well as a tehsil in Jalandhar distri ...

, are, respectively, an MLA from Phillaur and chief parliamentary secretary for Higher Education & Languages Dept.{{Cite web, title=It's Hell For Leather {{! Outlook India Magazine, url=https://www.outlookindia.com/magazine/story/its-hell-for-leather/297775, website=www.outlookindia.com/, access-date=2020-05-24

Dalit capitalism

He was one of the first people who pioneered Dalit capitalism in India. Today, Bootan Mandi in Jalandhar is a leather hub because of the capitalist mindset of Kishan Dass. Because of him Dalits, particularly the

s (

Ad-Dharmi The Ad-Dharmi is a Dalit religion in the state of Punjab in India Ad-Dharmis are 11.48% of the total of lower status communities in Punjab. Origin The Ad-Dharm movement was started in 1920s, for the purpose of getting a distinct religious identit ...

), became seths (merchant) in the Doaba region and many industrialists like Seth Sundar Das, Seth Satpall Mall, Seth Mool Raj, etc. all got to flourish in their businesses.

References

Dalit politicians Indian businesspeople 1896 births 1989 deaths Indian politicians