Formation of Assertive Identities: New entanglements of Politics and Religion (studies occasioned by the Bahujan culture)

Bhup Singh Gaur, Associate Professor, Sociology, DGC Gurugram, Haryana

Manmeet kaur ,Asstt Prof ,Economics ,Punjabi university Patiala, Punjab

Bhim jagran is often organised on the special events of life of Lord Buddha, Saint Kabir, Guru Ravidas, Jyotiba Phule, Savitri Bai Phule, Dr. BR Ambedkar and Manaywar Kanshiram . In last decade, there has been a drastic transition among scheduled castes about their world view from submissive, subjugated and deprived identity to aggressive, aware and assertive identity . Bhim Jagrans have emerged as a new cultural phenomenon in the recent decade in the urban as well as the rural areas. . Bhim Jagran provide a platform for their cultural expression , activities, dancing Singing and speeches. They invoke the socio-cultural memory of those people who are their real Gods and goddesses They are the agents of historical continuity of ideology of lord Buddha ,Kabir, Ravidas, Phule, Ambedkar etc.. to reconstruct a Bahujan identity which can be its own saviour and leader in future.. They represent a perfect blend of life, literature and politics setting the ideological tone for political empowerment and coming up of the blue revolution. These Jagrans have united all the Bahujan castes. They not only narrate the oppression and exploitation of masses but also develop confidence among them to deconstruct the traditional way of life.

KEYWORDS: Assertion, Identity, Ambedkarism, Bahujan Culture