S Ramadoss
Founder of Pattali Makkal Katchi
Personal details
Born (1939-07-25) 25 July 1939
Keezhsiviri, Villupuram, Madras Presidency, British India
SpouseSaraswathi
ChildrenAnbumani Ramadoss
Residence(s)Tindivanam, Tamil Nadu, India
Alma materMadras Medical College[1][2]
Occupationpolitician

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

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

Threatening journalists

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

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

  1. ↑ "Ramadoss, MMC '60 class recall medico days". Meera Vankipuram. The Times of India. 9 June 2016. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
  2. ↑ "Quiet Ramadoss joining politics was big surprise: College alumni". Deccan Chronicle. 9 June 2016. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
  3. ↑ "From a sectarian leader, Ramadoss has come a long way". Rediff.com. 30 August 1999. Retrieved 18 August 2009.
  4. ↑ Collins, Michael A (1 January 2017). "Recalling Democracy: Electoral Politics, Minority Representation, and Dalit Assertion in Modern India". Dissertations Available from ProQuest: 137, 138.
  5. ↑ "40-yr-old reservation demand conceded in TN: Is it working for PMK?". Hindustan Times. 5 April 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  6. ↑ Kolappan, B. (7 May 2012). "Vanniyar Sangam revives demand for exclusive quota". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  7. ↑ "Will PMK's investment in caste-politics yield results?". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  8. ↑ 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.
  9. ↑ "'Will cut journalists who suggest I'm a tree-cutter': S Ramadoss". The Federal. 24 June 2019.
  10. ↑ "Tamil Nadu: Viral video shows Ramadoss threatening to hack journalists". The Week. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
  11. ↑ "Ramadoss threatens journalist who questioned him on tree felling". The Hindu. 23 June 2019. ISSN 0971-751X.
  12. ↑ "On the heels of another murder, PMK rakes up 'fake love' again". thefederal.com. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  13. ↑ "PMK chief's anti-Dalit campaign sparks outrage". NDTV.com. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  14. ↑ Kolappan, B. (2 December 2012). "Ramadoss consolidates intermediate caste groups against Dalits". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  15. ↑ Ravishankar, Sandhya. "Who's who in Tamil Nadu elections: S Ramadoss". Scroll.in. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  16. ↑ "'Marriage age for women should be made 21'". The Times of India. 26 August 2016. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  17. ↑ Kolappan, B. (2 December 2012). "Ramadoss consolidates intermediate caste groups against Dalits". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  18. ↑ "PMK leader S Ramadoss comes out of jail on bail, slams J Jayalalithaa government for his arrest".
  19. ↑ "CM holds PMK, Vanniyar Sangam responsible for Marakkanam riots". The Hindu. 29 April 2013.
  20. ↑ "Two youngsters stabbed to death in clash at Arakkonam in TN, VCK blames PMK for murders - the New Indian Express".

References

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