User:Rajanbaidwan/sandbox

Teluram Baidwan (1914-1990) was born on 14th January 1914, in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh. He belonged to Balmiki community. His parents were Shri Punnu Ram and Smt. Pyaridevi.

Teluram was not so well educated but could read and write English apart from Hindi. He began his social work at a very young age, from 1930 onwards. He was General Secretary of the Balmiki Nawjawan Achhut Sabha Shimla which engaged in awakening the Balmikis and other SCheduled Castes communities. He was elected General Secretary of the Balmikis Depressed Classes League. He took part in the sweepers strike at Ludhiana in 1939.

Teluram Baidwan had joined the Scheduled Castes Federation in 1942 itself and became the President of District branch at Shimla. When Lord Wavell convened the conference of all the political parties at Shimla in the last week of June 1945, Teluram Baidwan and his co-workers managed to organize a mammoth gathering of the Scheduled castes at Shimla which was addressed by R.B.N. Shivaraj and Shri P.N. Rajbhoj, the President and Secretary respectively of the SCF. In the year 1948 he led a very successful and effective strike of the sweepers in Shimla. He found in Chanan Ram Kalyanpuri a selfless and active companion. On 14th April 1961 he announced the conversion of Scheduled Castes Federation into Republican Party of India, (RPI) Shimla unit. He served as General Secretary of the Himachal Pradesh unit of the RPI. He took upon himself to spread the philosophy of Babasaheb Ambedkar in Himachal Pradesh.

In 1953, he became a member of Shimla Municipality. He contested election on RPI ticket from Ambala Lok Sabha (R) constituency in 1957 and 1962, but was not elected. He was elected as General Secretary of RPI Himachal Pradesh in 1970 and became its President in 1977. He remained in that position till he died. He was selfless and dedicated social worker of the Scheduled Castes in Himachal Pradesh. He had a high regard for spread the socio-political and religious philosophy of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar and worked to spread it. He married Krishna Devi and had to sons and two daughters. He breathed his last on 11the December 1990 at the age of 76. The Government of Himachal Pradesh honoured him Posthumously on 14th April 1991 for his contribution towards the uplift of the Scheduled Castes.