Dalit Ezhilmalai (24 June 1945 – 6 May 2020) was an Indian union minister. He was a leader of the

Pattali Makkal Katchi Paattali Makkal Katchi (; PMK) is a political party in Tamil Nadu, India, founded by S. Ramadoss in 1989 for the Vanniyars, a caste in northern Tamil Nadu. It is currently part of the BJP led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). It contests th ...

(PMK), and was Union Minister of State, Health and Family Welfare (Independent Charge) during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government in 1998–99.

Early life

He was born on 24 June 1945 in Irumbedu village in Madurantakam taluk of

Chengalpattu Chengalpattu, previously known as Chingleput, is a city and the headquarters of Chengalpattu district of the state Tamil Nadu, India. The town is located near to the industrial and IT hub. It is the headquarters of the district and is away fro ...

district in

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

. He served the erstwhile Post & Telegraph Department between 1963 and 1987. During this period, he was sent on deputation to the Army for five years up to 1974. As an army officer he took part in the

Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was a military confrontation between India and Pakistan that occurred during the Bangladesh Liberation War in East Pakistan from 3 December 1971 until the Pakistani capitulation in Dhaka on 16 Decem ...

. He was a recipient of the K Sainik Seva Medal from the president of India for meritorious service in the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

. Even while in the government service, he held key positions in the National Federation of Postal Union and Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Employees Association Co-ordination Committee, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, besides launching the Dalit People's Front in 1980.

Career

After the formation of the Pattali Makkal Katchi in 1989, he joined the party and became its general secretary. In the 1998

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-past ...

election, he was elected from the

Chidambaram Chidambaram is a town and municipality in Cuddalore district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, on the banks of the Vellar River where it meets the Bay of Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Chidambaram taluk. The town is believed to be of si ...

(reserved) constituency when the PMK contested the poll as part of the

AIADMK The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (; AIADMK) is an Indian Regionalism (politics), regional political party with great influence in the Federated state, state of Tamil Nadu and the union territory of Puducherry (union territory) ...

-led coalition. In March 1998, he was made Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare with independent charge in the Vajpayee Cabinet. However, in August 1999, he quit the PMK as he was denied the party nomination to contest again from the constituency. Later, he joined the AIADMK and was elected as an AIADMK MP from

Tiruchirappalli (Lok Sabha constituency) Tiruchirappalli is a Lok Sabha (Parliament of India) constituency in Tamil Nadu. Its Tamil Nadu Parliamentary Constituency number is 24 of 39. Assembly segments The Tiruchirappalli Lok Sabha constituency is composed of the following assembly se ...

in the 2001 by-election.

Death

He died on 6 May 2020, aged 74, in

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

.Former Union Minister Dalit Ezhilmalai passes away at 74
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References

External links

Lok Sabha members from Tamil Nadu People from Tamil Nadu 1945 births 2020 deaths Pattali Makkal Katchi politicians All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam politicians India MPs 1998–1999 India MPs 1999–2004 People from Kanchipuram district {{India-mil-bio-stub