India, March 16 -- The Kanshi Ram birth anniversary on Sunday saw all major political parties paying homage to the founder of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in Uttar Pradesh. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi went a step further to echo a long-standing demand of Mayawati, Kanshi Ram's close associate and multiple times UP chief minister, that her mentor be awarded the Bharat Ratna. On Monday, the Punjab legislative assembly unanimously passed a resolution demanding the same.

The political resurrection of Kanshi Ram, who died in 2006, and his eulogisation as a trans party icon have to do with the assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh (UP), due next year. His iconic status among Dalits, who constitute about 20% of the population in UP, makes it ne...