Leader of India's lower castes hosts rally displaying her party's strength

By ASSOCIATED PRESS

LUCKNOW, India: Hundreds of thousands of supporters are cheering the powerful and flamboyant leader of India's lowest castes at a massive celebration in northern India to mark the 25th anniversary of her political party.

Mayawati Kumari, 54, is a former school teacher and the leader of the Bahujan Samaj Party. She has risen to the upper rungs of India's political landscape by attracting the votes of the Dalits, who are at the bottom of the Hindu caste hierarchy.

Monday's celebration marked Mayawati's own rise to high political stature as much as it did the birth of her party.

The Bahujan Samaj Party was formed in 1984 by Mayawati's political mentor Kanshi Ram.

The party now governs India's largest state, Uttar Pradesh, home to 180 million people.

Post your comment

required

required (email will never be displayed)

Please enter the following characters in the box provided (case sensitive). This helps us prevent automated programs from creating accounts and sending spam.

All comments are subject to approval

Terms and conditions

Latest comments

Iran attack: History does not repeat itself too often

Arab countries should stop leaning on the shuolders of the west as they are dividing and ruling

Abbas at Feb 9, 2012 03:57

23 comments

New company to streamline manpower sector

Lol@KRUS Comment... Nice n timely example... <br/>So the egg is hatching after all the fuss abo

Salman at Feb 9, 2012 03:56

2 comments

Double veto pushes Syrian parties to the edge

Humanity is the forte of islam and muslims but shamefully for muslims, christians and others h

abdul hafiz at Feb 9, 2012 03:55

6 comments

US threats to cut aid won’t work: Egypt’s PM

No aid is something that the US and Egypt can agree on. <br/> <br/>Opinion polls show that the

Gert at Feb 9, 2012 03:55

1 comments

Attacks in Syria’s Homs resume after Russian peace foray

Watching the news tonight a man on the street in War torn Syria screams Wheres the U.N. ? Where

Joe at Feb 9, 2012 03:53

1 comments

Haia recruits to be trained

These recruits should also be taught to clean their offices. The hai'a office a stone's throw f

Dario Cansino at Feb 9, 2012 03:53

10 comments