In the early years of Independence, Dalit students at a primary school in Paraunkh village of Uttar Pradesh were not free to drink water as they pleased. They had to inform their teacher, who would then ask another student to give them water. This protocol was not required for students from savarna families.
Key Statements
He recalls that former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, at the 2001 Dalit Sangam rally at the Red Fort , declared that his government would function on the basis of “Bhim Smriti” rather than “Manusmriti”.
Political Context
It offers a glance into his interaction with Opposition leaders through his political career – as a BJP worker, as an MP, as governor, as President, as well as head of the high-level committee to take a call on simultaneous elections. Kovind also leaves insights into his life after demitting office in July 2022 and offers personal accounts of his interactions with and experiences of Modi, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and LK Advani .
On July 25, 2017, one of those students, Ram Nath Kovind , took charge as India’s second Dalit president, tracing a stunning arc – “of a village lad from the rural hinterlands of Uttar Pradesh to the Central Hall of Parliament to be sworn in as the First Citizen of India”. At the launch event, at Vigyan Bhagwan, Modi said Kovind’s life was a case study in how a person should treat society as “an equal partner in his success” rather than blame it for difficulties. The former president details this broad journey in his memoir, Triumph of the Indian Republic: My Life, My Struggles, released on Wednesday by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi.
Responses
The BJP and a clutch of regional parties – including the BJD , Shiv Sena , JD(U) , SAD and AIADMK – supported the proposal, while the Congress opposed it. Of 62 political parties approached, 47 responded: 32 supported ONOE while 15 opposed it.
