Sone Lal Patel (1950-2009) was an Indian leader active in state of Uttar Pradesh. He was the founder of the political party

Apna Dal Apna Dal (Kamerawadi) is an Indian political party active in the state of Uttar Pradesh. Founded by Dr. Sonelal Patel Founding Apna Dal was founded on 4 November 1995 by Sone Lal Patel. Sonelal Patel had been a close associate of dalit leader ...

and one of the founding members of Bahujan Samaj Party. He opposed casteism and social inequality.

Early life

He was born on 2 July 1950 in Bagulihai village of

Kannauj district Kannauj district is an administrative district of Uttar Pradesh state in northern India, along the river Ganges. The historic town of Kannauj, northwest of Kanpur, is the administrative center. The district was carved out of Farrukhabad distric ...

, to a

Kurmi Kurmi is traditionally a non-elite tiller caste in the lower Gangetic plain of India, especially southern regions of Awadh, eastern Uttar Pradesh and parts of Bihar. The Kurmis came to be known for their exceptional work ethic, superior til ...

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

family. He gained a MSc from Pandit Prithi Nath College, Kanpur. He also had a doctorate in Physics from the

Kanpur University Aerial view of Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj University Campus Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj University (CSJMU), formerly Kanpur University, is a public state university located in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India. It is administered under the state ...

. From his early days he was against casteism and social inequality prevailing in the society. He was an advocate of social justice and equality.

Political career

Early political career

He started his political fight by joining with

Chaudhary Charan Singh Chaudhary Charan Singh (23 December 1902 – 29 May 1987) served as the 5th Prime Minister of India between 28 July 1979 to 14 January 1980. Historians and people alike frequently refer to him as the 'champion of India's peasants.' Charan S ...

, stirring in his youth, against social inequality and caste exploitation prevailing in the society. He participated in many protests and rallies across the state and also in other parts of country. In one of such protest he was brutally beaten by police too.

Meeting Kanshiram and BSP

Meanwhile, Kanshi Ram, who was trying to create a social justice movement in

North India North India is a loosely defined region consisting of the northern part of India. The dominant geographical features of North India are the Indo-Gangetic Plain and the Himalayas, which demarcate the region from the Tibetan Plateau and Central ...

, met Patel. Their vision regarding the caste based discrimination and social injustice was very similar to a certain point. At the behest of Kanshi Ram, he made his most remarkable contribution in setting up Bahujan Samaj Party in the form of mission. He is credited as one of the founders of BSP.

Parting with BSP and founding Apna Dal

Since his resolutions and objectives were not met in BSP, he separated from Bahujan Samaj Party. One of the reasons for his dissatisfaction was Kanshi Ram's over enthusiasm towards

Mayawati Kumari Mayawati (born 15 January 1956) is an Indian politician. She has served four separate terms as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. She is the national president of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), which focuses on a platform of social cha ...

and his ignorance towards other leaders. After that, under social motivation, on 4 November 1995, he formed a political party,

. He contested Lok Sabha elections in 2009 from

Phulpur (Lok Sabha constituency) Phulpur Lok Sabha seat, also spelled 'Phoolpur', is one of the 80 Lok Sabha (parliamentary) constituencies in Uttar Pradesh state in northern India. It lies in Prayagraj district. Phulpur is a historic constituency and two Indian Prime Minist ...

Death and aftermath

Patel died in a road accident in Kanpur in 2009. A demand for CBI probe was made by his daughter

Anupriya Patel Anupriya Patel (born 28 April 1981) is an Indian politician from the state of Uttar Pradesh belonging to the Apna Dal (Sonelal) party currently serving as the Minister of State for Commerce and Industry of India since 7 July 2021. She represen ...

. After his death in 2009, his wife Krishna Patel became National President of Apna Dal. His daughter Anupriya Patel was elected to Lok Sabha in 2014 from Mirzapur (Lok Sabha constituency). Later the party split, Anupriya Patel named her party 'Apna Dal (Sonelal)', and won from Mirzapur again in 2019 in coalition with

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Mod ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Patel, Sone Lal 1950 births 2009 deaths Road incident deaths in India Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj University alumni Apna Dal politicians 21st-century Buddhists Indian Buddhists Converts to Buddhism from Hinduism Bahujan Samaj Party politicians from Uttar Pradesh Accidental deaths in India