S. Ramadoss
 |
S Ramadoss | |
|---|---|
Founder of Pattali Makkal Katchi  | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 25 July 1939 Keezhsiviri, Villupuram, Madras Presidency, British India |
| Spouse | Saraswathi |
| Children | Anbumani Ramadoss |
| Residence(s) | Tindivanam, Tamil Nadu, India |
| Alma mater | Madras Medical College[1][2] |
| Occupation | politician |
S. Ramadoss (born 25 July 1939) is an Indian politician. He is the founder of the Pattali Makkal Katchi, an Indian political party.[3]
Vanniyar reservation protest
[edit]In 1987, the Vanniyar Sangham under Ramadoss organized the 1987 Vanniyar reservation agitation demanding MBC status for Vanniyars. At the peak of the protests, the state was paralysed for a week when lakhs of trees were felled, highways blocked and damaged and more than 1400 houses of the Dalit community burned down.[4] The police under the M G Ramchandran (MGR) led AIADMK government shot down 21 protestors.[5] Later in 1989, the DMK government under M. Karunanidhi granted them 20 percent reservation under the Most backward class.[6] The Pattali Makkal Katchi, founded by S. Ramadoss on 16 July 1989,[7] emerged from these protests.[8]
Controversy
[edit]Threatening journalists
[edit]S. Ramadoss is known for using foul language in press meets and public meetings. In June 2019 he stoked a controversy, saying that he would kill journalists who question him about hundreds of trees cut down by his party workers during his arrest by the J Jayalalithaa government. He said, "if we protest again we will not cut trees but hack down those who ask these questions, and throw their mangled bodies across the road."[9] He also called the journalists "dogs" and "Kammanati pasanga", a derogatory phrase used for 'son of widow'.[10][11]
Anti-Dalit campaign
[edit]Ramadoss is notorious for his anti-Dalit rhetoric and violence. In December 2012, Ramadoss initiated a controversial campaign to prevent Dalit men from marrying non-Dalit women, especially those women who belong to the Vanniyar community.[12] In Tamil Nadu, many political parties wanted legal action against him. In an event in 2010, he said, "Dalit men sporting jeans, t-shirts and fancy glasses lure our women into marriages that don't work." M. Karunanidhi asked the government of the state to "act against those stirring up a caste passion". The campaign provoked the 2012 Dharmapuri violence, where hundreds of Dalit houses were charred by arsonists.[13][14][15] Ramadoss strongly campaigned for raising women's legal age of marriage to 21 as he believes upper caste women in their late teenage are easy targets for Dalit men.[16] Ramadoss convened a meeting with leaders representing intermediate castes to crusade against SC/ST Act, a law that criminalizes caste discrimination, alleging that Dalits misuse the law and register false cases to settle personal scores.[17] In 2013, he was arrested for inciting caste riots. Jayalalitha blamed PMK and Vanniyar Sangam for the 2013 Marakkanam violence. Following his arrest, PMK organised a statewide violent protest that resulted in the injury of several people and losses to public property.[18][19] Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) accused PMK of murdering two Dalit youths in Arrakonam in April 2021.[20]
Notes
[edit]- ^ "Ramadoss, MMC '60 class recall medico days". Meera Vankipuram. The Times of India. 9 June 2016. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
- ^ "Quiet Ramadoss joining politics was big surprise: College alumni". Deccan Chronicle. 9 June 2016. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
- ^ "From a sectarian leader, Ramadoss has come a long way". Rediff.com. 30 August 1999. Retrieved 18 August 2009.
- ^ Collins, Michael A (1 January 2017). "Recalling Democracy: Electoral Politics, Minority Representation, and Dalit Assertion in Modern India". Dissertations Available from ProQuest: 137, 138.
- ^ "40-yr-old reservation demand conceded in TN: Is it working for PMK?". Hindustan Times. 5 April 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
- ^ Kolappan, B. (7 May 2012). "Vanniyar Sangam revives demand for exclusive quota". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
- ^ "Will PMK's investment in caste-politics yield results?". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
- ^ Manikandan, C.; Wyatt, Andrew (2 January 2019). "Political parties and federally structured incentives in Indian politics: the case of the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK)". Contemporary South Asia. 27 (1): 3. doi:10.1080/09584935.2019.1572070. ISSN 0958-4935. S2CID 151268924.
- ^ "'Will cut journalists who suggest I'm a tree-cutter': S Ramadoss". The Federal. 24 June 2019.
- ^ "Tamil Nadu: Viral video shows Ramadoss threatening to hack journalists". The Week. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
- ^ "Ramadoss threatens journalist who questioned him on tree felling". The Hindu. 23 June 2019. ISSN 0971-751X.
- ^ "On the heels of another murder, PMK rakes up 'fake love' again". thefederal.com. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
- ^ "PMK chief's anti-Dalit campaign sparks outrage". NDTV.com. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
- ^ Kolappan, B. (2 December 2012). "Ramadoss consolidates intermediate caste groups against Dalits". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
- ^ Ravishankar, Sandhya. "Who's who in Tamil Nadu elections: S Ramadoss". Scroll.in. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
- ^ "'Marriage age for women should be made 21'". The Times of India. 26 August 2016. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
- ^ Kolappan, B. (2 December 2012). "Ramadoss consolidates intermediate caste groups against Dalits". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
- ^ "PMK leader S Ramadoss comes out of jail on bail, slams J Jayalalithaa government for his arrest".
- ^ "CM holds PMK, Vanniyar Sangam responsible for Marakkanam riots". The Hindu. 29 April 2013.
- ^ "Two youngsters stabbed to death in clash at Arakkonam in TN, VCK blames PMK for murders - the New Indian Express".
References
[edit]- Bhūẏām̐, Dāśarathi (2007). Role of Regional Political Parties in India. Mittal Publications. ISBN 9788183241915.
- Wyatt, Andrew (2009). Party System Change in South India: Political Entrepreneurs, Patterns and Processes. Routledge. ISBN 9780203862209.