Dr. Udit Raj (Ex-IRS)
is a Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha) from North-West Delhi. He is also
the National Chairman of the All India Confederation of SC/ST
Organizations which encompasses large number of SC/ST government
employees across the country .
EARLY LIFE & EDUCATION
Dr.
Udit Raj was born in Ram Nagar village of Allahabad district, Uttar
Pradesh to Shri Kallan Singh and Smt. Sukh Dei. Mother was uneducated
and father was ex army man and left job quite early . It was a small
land holding and was not sufficient for family subsistence. He had elder
brother who lives at native place and younger brother Kalicharan- ex
MLA settled in Lucknow . Has two younger sisters . The village in which
he was born was not connected with roads and electricity and in way it
was still a sort of primitive village . Druditraj earlier named Ram
Raj, had very scant opportunities and youth will be astounded to know
that he could watch film when pursuing his 10 +2 .
He
was average in academics but was known for his honesty and inquisitive
mind. Called ferocious and no-nonsense person by his contemporaries from
village, they say that no one could dare to confront him as he always
stood for the truth. His parents were pained at times when Dr Udit Raj
used to intervene in others disputes and mostly used to stand with those
students who were weak and subject to bully and discrimination. Parents
used to comment about him that he loves to invite quarrels and ruckus.
On being asked DrUditraj used to have no answer why he used to invite
problems for himself and family. Now he explains it that it was sense of
justice in mind without conceptual clarity. He used to fight with his
father whenever he tried to dominate his mother. On being asked for what
would he risk his life? he recollects the past and says that it used to
be a very spontaneous reaction whenever he witnessed injustice
happening.
After
completing his intermediate studies at his native place- LalaRal Lal
Agarwal College Sirasa , Allahabad he took admission at Allahabad
University and could not continue as he got involved in labourers and
cultivator cause . These social activities did not allow him to attend
the university and then he was advised to go to Jawahar Lal Nehru
University, New Delhi in 1980. He got enrolled in German language
studies in five years integrated course and here also he couldn’t
abstain from getting involved in full time politics becoming part of
Student Federation of India which then ruled the roost on campus . Right
from his college days, he has been actively involved in many
socio-political activities, which affected his studies. Due to financial
constraints, he was forced to divert his attention from social
activities. There used to be a time when proper meal was not available
and use to go hungry. Winter clothes were second hand and inadequate. As
there was no place to live, day used to be spent in JNU library and
late at night seeking shelter to sleep at a friend’s place only to again
to get up early and rush to library. Such were the compulsions to
prepare for civil services. He used to provide tuition for livelihood.
He cleared Civil Services examination of 1988 batch and was selected for
coveted Indian Revenue Services (IRS). His first posting was at
Ghaziabad as Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax in the year 1990. He
was transferred to Delhi in 1995 where he served at the reputed posts of
Deputy Commissioner, Joint Commissioner and Additional Commissioner of
Income Tax. He resigned from the service in the year 2003.
Besides
the M.A and L.L.B degrees, he has been awarded a Doctorate Degree for
his contribution in reforming the society and fight against caste
prejudices. His intellectual acumen is recognized not only in India but
at the global level. He has been participating and holding dialogues at
Human Rights Council, the body of UN and other fora and other
philanthropist and business organizations. He is a facilitator of
Commerce and Trade between India and many other countries.
He is also a prolific writer and till now, hundreds of articles have
been published in various newspapers and magazines. There was no
organization for the alumni of the Jawahar Lal Nehru University, he was
one of the founder members of the organization.
PERSONAL LIFE
During
his training at the National Academy of Direct Taxes, he happened to
meet Ms Seema Bahl. Apart from being batch mates, they shared similar
ideology and perspective towards life. Whenever he is asked what made
him fall in love with his wife, he simply replies that her simplicity
was the most attractive quality. She is the most gorgeous person and her
heart is even better, he says.
During the infatuation and emotional days he used to talk to her a lot
and a repeated question was about the caste system and she would plead
ignorance about it. Such a pure mind and thoughts were rare, says Dr
Udit Raj. They married in 1990. Mrs. Seema Raj is presently serving as
the Commissioner of Income Tax. They have a son, Abhiraj and a daughter
Saveri.
IMPORTANT ACHIEVEMENTS
In the year 1997, five anti-reservation orders were issued by the
government leading to a tumultuous situation in the country. From all
over the country various government departments, Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST) organizations including social activists and
Ambedkarites joined hands together to float All India Confederation of
SC/ST organization. He was unanimously selected as its National
Chairman. Under his leadership, various campaigns were initiated and
demonstrations were held all over the country against anti-reservation
orders. Various national level rallies were organized in Delhi during
1997, 1998, 1999 and 2000. 11th December 2000 was a turning point of the
struggle due to presence of hundreds of thousands of supporters and
activists in Ram Lila Maidan New Delhi and important National Leaders
like Ex. PM V P Singh, Harkishan Singh Surjit, Chandrajit Yadav, Buta
Singh participated and seeing the size of rally they predicted to Dr.
Udit Raj as future Prime Minister. At that time Dr Udit Raj was known as
Ram Raj. On November 4, 2001 he became Buddhist with hundreds of
thousands and changed the name to Udit Raj. Udit means “Rise”, Raj was
already suffixed and it was not only his own decision but support of
millions. It was due to his efforts that the Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Government passed the 81st, 82nd and 85th Constitutional amendments,
which in turn led to the retrieval of reservation benefits. Following in
the footsteps of Dr. 
Ambedkar,
Dr. Udit Raj has been assiduously working for a casteless society, free
from all discrimination and divisive system of the Hindu caste
hierarchy. In the year 2003, he resigned from the post of Additional
Commissioner of Income Tax to devote himself completely for
socio-political causes. After achieving cancellation of anti-reservation
orders and Buddhist Deeksha , he began fighting for reservation in
private sector and due his struggle , which waged a nation wide struggle
later. In 2003, he floated political party – Indian justice party
oblivious and innocent about the role of money in politics. He was
straight forward to give call to annihilate caste and achieve an
egalitarian society and formed this as the ideology on which the party
had to contest. This was due to his naïve understanding of the complex
political setup and deep rooted caste system. The biggest demerit of his
directness is that he speaks his mind wvwn when it is politically
unwise. In 2007 he fielded more than 100 candidates for UP assembly
elections and BSP supremoMayawati felt threatened and would criticise
him. He has been rated one of three top dalit leaders in the country
after Mayawati and Ram Vilas Paswan.
Dr.
Udit Raj joined the Bhartiya Janta Party after he was convinced of its
sincere interest in the inclusive growth of all sections of the society
including the welfare of the SC/ST and backward sections, besides
upholding the integrity and unity of the nation. He became Member of
Parliament from North West Parliamentary Constituency New Delhi in 2014.
As member of parliament he openly contests that he is accessible to all
and there isn’t a single person who couldn’t meet him if made efforts
for it. He holds janatadarbar from Monday to Friday between 10 AM to 2
PM and stretches it till the time there is a single person left with a
grievance. He does this at the cost of missing his lunch and personal
health. He urges people to repeatedly approach him in case the work is
not concluded. He has raised the maximum questions in parliament. Many
private members bills are introduced in the parliament and amongst them
is the one about reservation in private sector.
CRUSADER FOR JUSTICE
Dr. Udit Raj has been raising issues of the downtrodden and deprived
people at United Nations Organization, Geneva. He also acts as the
Chairman of the Buddha Education Foundation and Dalit International
Foundation. He is also an editor of a bi-lingual fortnightly magazine
captioned ‘Voice of Buddha’. In 1997, he raised the issues faced by
lakhs of underprivileged people and resolved many of them. He launched a
campaign in 2006 for seeking reservation for backward sections in the
institutions of higher education. Again in 2006, when Samajwadi Party
acquired land from the farmers and allotted it to Reliance Company, a
campaign was started under the leadership of former Prime Minister Shree
V.P. Singh for the return of this land. Dr. Udit Raj played a stellar
role in this movement, courting arrest against its implementation.
He also launched a struggle against the criticized four-year degree
course (FYUP) syllabus which was later scrapped as it would have been
detrimental to the cause of education. Dr. Udit Raj has held prestigious
positions in some important committees of the Government of India
1. He was member of National Integration Council, Government of India.
2. He was member of National Monitoring committee for education of SC/ST and PWD, HRD Ministry, Government of India.
3. He is the Chairman of Buddha Education Foundation and Dalit International Foundation.
4. He is the Chairman of All India Confederation of SC and ST.
5. He is a member of Standing Committee for Social Justice, Government of India.
6. He is a member of Advisory Committee of Finance and Corporate Affairs.
7. He is a member of Land Acquisition Committee.
CRUSADER AGAINST GENDER SEPARATION
To make the country great and a global power two major issues of Gender
Separation and Caste Discrimination are to be addressed first and that
will pave way for a great nation. The Indian Constitution should
regulate life and not discriminatory and dogmatic customs and usages. If
chastity is important for women then why don’t the same yardsticks
apply to men. No country can become great without ensuring the
participation of women in all walks of life. Alienating substantial
population of SC/ST and backwards from important pursuits of life, be it
economy, education, industries, market, art and culture, politics, it
is not possible to develop the nation and create harmony and happiness.
Without opportunity, one cannot prove one’s ability. No one is born fool
or genius and it’s a matter of opportunity which determines the ability
and merit.
