Bhim Army: India’s Revolutionary Force for Dalit Empowerment

by Kumar Guarav

An Army Named After a Visionary

The Bhim Army takes its name from Baba Saheb Bhim Rao Ambedkar—the architect of India’s Constitution and one of the fiercest critics of caste oppression. For its members, the name is not just symbolic. It’s a reminder that dignity and justice are rights, not favors, and that they must be defended. What began as a response to everyday discrimination in western Uttar Pradesh has grown into a movement that blends grassroots activism with political vision.

Leadership

That Inspires Action At the center stands Chandrashekhar Azad ‘Ravan’. He grew up witnessing the daily humiliations Dalits endure, from schoolrooms to village squares, and turned that anger into collective action. Under his leadership, the Bhim Army has evolved from a local defense network into a nationwide presence, giving marginalized communities a platform to demand rights rather than plead for them.

Education as Resistance

One of the Bhim Army’s most radical strategies is deceptively simple: running schools. More than 350 of them operate in villages across western Uttar Pradesh. These aren’t just spaces to teach children to read and write—they are places where young Dalits learn history that includes them, develop self-respect, and understand the power of collective struggle. Each classroom becomes a seedbed of awareness, where education itself becomes an act of defiance.

Radical Activism on the Ground

The Bhim Army is equally visible on the streets. When caste violence erupts or Dalits are denied basic rights, its members mobilize—marching, protesting, demanding accountability. Legal support is organized, officials are pressured, and silence is broken. Ravan himself has been jailed more than once, yet every attempt to suppress the movement has only drawn more attention to its cause.

From Streets to Politics

In 2020, Ravan launched the Aazad Samaj Party as a political extension of the movement. For him, elections are not just about winning seats—they’re about creating space in India’s political imagination for communities that have long been kept out. By combining agitation with electoral participation, the Bhim Army blurs the line between social movement and political force.

Why the World is Watching

Globally, marginalized groups face versions of the same struggle: inequality reinforced by tradition, custom, or law. The Bhim Army’s model—linking education, activism, and politics—offers a roadmap for how oppressed communities can organize themselves without waiting for deliverance from above. A Revolution in Progress The Bhim Army is not a finished story. It is a work in progress, carried forward by young people who refuse to accept caste as fate. Whether in a village school or a crowded protest march, it insists that dignity cannot be postponed. In its persistence lies its power: a reminder that equality is never gifted, only won.