 |
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]
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]
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]
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]
Pattali Makkal Katchi is a Vanniyar caste party in Tamil Nadu, India, founded by S. Ramadoss in 1989 for the Vanniyar caste in northern Tamil Nadu. It is a part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). It contests the elections with the "Ripe Mango" symbol.
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The 2013 Marakkanam violence was an incident of violence in Tamil Nadu between Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) and Dalit villagers in Marakkanam. The violence was instigated when drunk PMK cadres attacked Dalit villagers. The Dalit villagers blocked the road demanding their attackers be arrested which stopped the vehicle convoy taking PMK members to a youth festival organized by the Vanniyar Sangam at Mamallapuram. The PMK members attacked the Dalit colony and burned down nine huts of Dalits, they attacked homes of Muslims and offices of AIADMK MPs, they vandalized buses, felled trees among other things. In the ensuing violence, two PMK members were killed.
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