Seth Kishan Dass was a leather trader, propagator of the Ad-Dharm movement, and a

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

Biography

Being an

Ambedkarite Ambedkarism is called as the teaching, ideology or philosophy of B.R. Ambedkar, an Indian economist, barrister, social reformer, and the first of Minister of Law and Justice in the first cabinet of Jawaharlal Nehru. Ambedkarism includes specia ...

, he was instrumental in bringing

Babasaheb Ambedkar Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (Bhīmrāo Rāmjī Āmbēḍkar; 14 April 1891 – 6 December 1956) was an Indian jurist, economist, social reformer and political leader who chaired the committee that drafted the Constitution of India based on t ...

Bootan Mandi Bootan Mandi is in Jalandhar City of Punjab (India), Punjab state India. The ward number for Bootan Mandi is 54. Demographics Bootan Mandi is located in Jalandhar City. Its neighbouring areas are Abadi Jallowal, New Abadi Jallowal, New Model To ...

in Jalandhar for the campaign in the 1951 Punjab elections. He was elected in the first

Punjab Legislative Assembly The Punjab Legislative Assembly or the Punjab Vidhan Sabha is the unicameral legislature of the state of Punjab (India), Punjab in India. The Sixteenth Punjab Legislative Assembly was constituted in March 2022. At present, it consists of 117 M ...

elections in 1937 and won from Jullundur Assembly Constituency (now Adampur) by beating

Master Gurbanta Singh Master Gurbanta Singh (4 August 1904 – 5 February 1980) was an Indian politician, educationist and social reformer from Punjab, India. He was a former member of the Unionist Party and then Indian National Congress. Master Gurbanta Singh w ...

, another Ad-Dharm member. But he lost in 1946 Punjab Provincial Assembly elections. He was a member of the All India Scheduled Castes Federation and President of the Punjab unit of SCF. His sons were Seth Prem Raj and Seth Mool Raj who became the Director of Punjab Mega Leather Cluster. Ltd and Avinash Tanneries at

Jalandhar Jalandhar () is a city in the state of Punjab, India, Punjab in India. With a considerable population, it ranks as the List of cities in Punjab and Chandigarh by population, third most-populous city in the state and is the largest city in the ...

. His grandsons, Steven Kaler and Avinash Chander, are, respectively, an MLA from Phillaur and chief parliamentary secretary for Higher Education & Languages Dept. Seth Kishan Das provided financial support to construct the 'Ad Dharam' building, which later became Guru Ravidass High School.{{cite web , last1=Ram , first1=Ronki , title=Ad-Dharm Movement and Dalit Consciousness in Punjab , url=https://www.ambedkartimes.com/page6.html , website=Ambedkar Times , access-date=18 January 2024

References

Dalit politicians Indian businesspeople 1896 births 1989 deaths 20th-century Indian politicians