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S. Ramadoss
Indian politician (born 1939) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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S. Ramadoss (born 25 July 1939) is an Indian politician. He is the founder & president of the Pattali Makkal Katchi, an Indian caste based party.[3]
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Early life
Ramadoss was born on 25 July 1939 in Kilsiviri (also spelled Keezhsiviri) village, Villupuram, Madras Presidency (now Tamil Nadu) to Sanjeevi Rayar Gounder and Navaneetham Ammal. They belonged to the Vanniyar community and were farmers.
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 trees were felled, highways blocked and damaged.[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]
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Controversy
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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 Rhetoric
Ramadoss stirred up an anti-Dalit campaign that the Dalit men lure wives of Vanniyar men and impregnate them.He also claimed that the most children birthed by Vanniyar women post year 1999 were children born out of such affairs. In an event in 2010, he said, "Dalit men sporting jeans, t-shirts and fancy glasses lure our wives into relationships 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.[12][13][14] 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.[15] 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.[16] 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.[17][18] Later this allegations where not proven and two PMK cadre died in the violence. Six Non PMK members were convicted by a sessions court in Villupuram district in 2016[19] Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) accused PMK of murdering two Dalit youths in Arrakonam in April 2021.[20]
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