Ramdas Athawale
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Ramdas Bandu Athawale () (born 25 December 1959) is an Indian politician and social activist from
Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...
. He is the president of the
Republican Party of India (A) The Republican Party of India (Athawale) ( RPI(A)) is a political party in India. The party is a splinter group of the Republican Party of India and has its roots in the Scheduled Castes Federation led by B. R. Ambedkar. The president of the pa ...
, a splinter group of the
Republican Party of India The Republican Party of India (RPI, often called the Republican Party or simply Republican) is a political party in India. It has its roots in the Scheduled Castes Federation led by B. R. Ambedkar. The 'Training School for Entrance to Polit ...
and has its roots in the
Scheduled Castes Federation The Republican Party of India (RPI, often called the Republican Party or simply Republican) is a political party in India. It has its roots in the Scheduled Castes Federation led by B. R. Ambedkar. The 'Training School for Entrance to Polit ...
led by
B. R. Ambedkar Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (14 April 1891 – 6 December 1956) was an Indian jurist, economist, social reformer and political leader who headed the committee drafting the Constitution of India from the Constituent Assembly debates, served a ...
. Currently, he is the Minister of State in the
Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment is a Government of India ministry. It is responsible for welfare, social justice and empowerment of disadvantaged and marginalised sections of society, including scheduled castes (SC), Other Backwar ...
in
Second Modi ministry The Second Ministry of Narendra Modi is the Council of Ministers headed by Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi that was formed after the 2019 general election which was held in seven phases in 2019. The results of the election were announce ...
and represents Maharashtra in
Rajya Sabha The Rajya Sabha, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. , it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using si ...
, the upper house of
India's Parliament The Parliament of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the president of India and two houses: the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok Sabha (House of the ...
. Previously he was
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 ...
MP from
Pandharpur Pandharpur (Pronunciation: əɳɖʱəɾpuːɾ is a well known pilgrimage town, on the banks of Candrabhagā River, near Solapur city in Solapur District, Maharashtra, India. Its administrative area is one of eleven tehsils in the District, ...
.


Early life

Athawale was born on 25 December 1959 in Agalgaon,
Sangli district Sangli district (Marathi pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, aːŋɡli is a Districts of Maharashtra, district of Maharashtra state in India. Sangli city is the district headquarters. It is bordered by Satara district, Solapur district to the ...
,
Bombay State Bombay State was a large Indian state created at the time of India's Independence, with other regions being added to it in the succeeding years. Bombay Presidency (roughly equating to the present-day Indian state of Maharashtra, excluding Sou ...
, which is now Maharashtra. His parents were Bandu Bapu and Honsabai Bandu Athawale. He attended
Siddharth College of Law, Mumbai Siddharth College of Law was founded in Mumbai in 1956. It is run by the ''People's Education Society'' which was formed by Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar on 8 July 1945. The college is affiliated to the University of Mumbai. The college was formed ...
and married to Seema Athawale, on 16 May 1992. He has a son. Ramdas Athawale is a practitioner of
Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
. Athawale has been editor of a weekly magazine called ''Bhumika'' and is a founder member of Parivartan Sahitya Mahamandal. He has served as president of Parivartan Kala Mahasangha, the Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Foundation and the Bauddha Kalawant Academy (Buddhist Artists Academy) and was founder president of Bauddha Dhamma Parishad (Buddhism conference). He played the title role in a Marathi film, ''Anyayacha Pratikar'', and also had a small role in another Marathi film, ''Joshi ki Kamble'', as well as roles in Marathi dramas such as ''Ekach Pyala''.


Political career

Athwale was inspired by B. R. Ambedkar, the Indian polymath. Following a split in the
Dalit Panther The Dalit Panthers are a social organisation that seeks to combat caste discrimination. It was led by a group of Mahar writers and poets, including Raja Dhale, Namdeo Dhasal, and J. V. Pawar in some time between the second and the third semes ...
movement in 1974, Athawale joined
Arun Kamble Arun Krushnaji Kamble (14 March 1953 – December 2009) was an Indian Marathi language writer, professor, Politician, and Dalit activist. Arun Kamble, President and one of the founding members of Dalit Panthers of India, worked as a Head of Mar ...
and
Gangadhar Gade Gangadhar Gade is an Indian politician and Ambedkarite sociopolitical activist. He is the former leader of the Republican Party of India, and is president of the Panther Republic Party. He is former minister of Maharashtra. He is a popular Buddhi ...
in leading a rump in Maharashtra. His involvement with a faction of the Republican Party of India, despite the Panther's general disdain for its leadership, eventually led to an association with the
Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...
(INC). Athawale was member of
Maharashtra Legislative Council The Maharashtra Vidhan Parishad or Maharashtra Legislative Council is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of Maharashtra states and territories of India, state in western India. Location The seat of the Vidhan Parishad is situated at ...
from 1990 to 1996 and was Cabinet Minister for Social Welfare and Transport, Employment Guarantee Scheme and Prohibition Propaganda in the
Government of Maharashtra The Government of Maharashtra is the state governing authority for the state of Maharashtra, India. It is a democratically elected government with 288 MLAs elected to the Vidhan Sabha for a five-year term. Maharashtra has a Maharashtra Legisla ...
between 1990–95. He represented the
Pandharpur Pandharpur (Pronunciation: əɳɖʱəɾpuːɾ is a well known pilgrimage town, on the banks of Candrabhagā River, near Solapur city in Solapur District, Maharashtra, India. Its administrative area is one of eleven tehsils in the District, ...
constituency of Maharashtra and is the president of the Republican Party of India (Athawale) (RPIA). Athawale represented Mumbai North Central in the
12th Lok Sabha This is the list of members of the 12th Lok Sabha, (10 March 1998 – 26 April 1999) after the 1998 Indian general election held during February–March 1998. This was the second consecutive Lok Sabha, like the 11th Lok Sabha elections that d ...
during 1998-99 and was elected to serve a second term in the
13th Lok Sabha The 13th Lok Sabha (10 October 1999 – 6 February 2004) is the thirteenth session of the Lok Sabha (House of the People, or lower house in the Parliament of India). It was convened after 1999 Indian general election held during September–Oc ...
of 1999–2004. A third term, in the
14th Lok Sabha The 14th Lok Sabha (17 May 2004 – 18 May 2009) was convened after the 2004 Indian general election held in four phases during 20 April – 10 May 2004, which led to the formation of first Manmohan Singh ministry (2004–2009). Indian Nationa ...
, followed from 2004–2009. Considered something of a lightweight in state politics, he has been courted at various times by various parties because of a perception that he might assist in mobilising the scattered Maharashtrian
Dalit Dalit (from sa, दलित, dalita meaning "broken/scattered"), also previously known as untouchable, is the lowest stratum of the Caste system in India, castes in India. Dalits were excluded from the four-fold Varna (Hinduism), varna syste ...
vote in their favour. He left the
Nationalist Congress Party The Nationalist Congress Party ( NCP) is one of the nine national parties in India. The party generally supports Indian nationalism and Gandhian secularism. It is the largest opposition party in Maharashtra and is also a significant party in ...
-INC alliance in 2011 after having lost in the 2009 Lok Sabha election, when he contested the reserved Shirdi constituency. This defeat was despite a subsequent report by
Social Watch Social Watch is a non-governmental organization that was established in 1995. Its secretariat and coordinating personnel is hosted by the Third World Institute, whose international seat is based in Montevideo, Uruguay. Adopting a critical-libera ...
which ranked him as the second-best performing member of the 14th Lok Sabha, based on an analysis of various data points. Athawale led the RPI party, joined the alliance of
Shivsena Shiv Sena (IAST: ''Śiva Sēnā'') () was a right-wing to far-right Marathi regionalist and Hindu ultranationalist political party in India founded in 1966 by cartoonist Bal Thackeray. Originally emerging from nativist movements in Bombay ...
and the
Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Modi ...
(BJP) in 2011 and contested
Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC; IAST: ), also known as the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM), is the governing civic body of Mumbai, the capital city of Maharashtra. It is India's richest municipal corporation. The BMC ...
elections together. In 2014, Athawale was elected to the Rajya Sabha, which is the upper house of parliament. He became Minister of State in the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment on 6 July 2016, working under
Thawar Chand Gehlot Thawar Chand Gehlot (born 18 May 1948) is an Indian politician who is the current and 19th Governor of Karnataka, being the first person serving as the Governor of Karnataka from Madhya Pradesh. He assumed office of the Governor of Karnataka on ...
. His RPI(A) organisation is a part of the
National Democratic Alliance National Democratic Alliance (NDA) () is a Centre-right politics, centre-right to Right-wing politics, right-wing and Conservatism, conservative Indian big tent political alliance led by the right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). It was foun ...
led by the BJP.
Devyani Khobragade {{Infobox person , name = Devyani Khobragade , image = , birth_date = , birth_place = Tarapur, Maharashtra, India , death_date = , death_place = , monuments = , nationality = Indian , other_names = , education = , alma_mater = ...
was proposed for the role of Personal Secretary to Athawale in July 2016 but the appointment was refused by Gehlot, who saw a conflict of interest because her father, Uttam Khobragade, was the national executive president of the RPI(A). When Athawale established a children's wing of the RPI(A) in September 2017, he appointed his son, then aged 12, to be its leader. In May 2019, Athawale continued his position as Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment. In March 2020, a video of Athawale chanting ‘Go Corona!’ at a rally went viral and became a popular meme.


Social activism

In 2015, following attacks on Dalits in the state of
Haryana Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land ar ...
, Athawale said that if the police were to continue turning a blind eye to their plight then special protection squads led by senior police officers should be formed from among members of the community and they should be granted
firearm A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes ...
s licenses so that they could protect themselves. In December 2017, he suggested that Dalits should renounce Hinduism in favour of Buddhism in order to stop being subject to "atrocities". He also criticised the record of the Hindu-centric BJP and
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh ( ; , , ) is an Indian right-wing, Hindu nationalist, paramilitary volunteer organisation. The RSS is the progenitor and leader of a large body of organisations called the Sangh Parivar (Hindi for "Sangh family" ...
(RSS) in dealing with issues relating to discrimination of not only Dalits but also other disadvantaged communities in India. In March 2018, echoing remarks he had made soon after becoming Minister of State in 2016 and reacting in particular to recent atrocities against Dalits in
Saharanpur Saharanpur is a city and a municipal corporation in Uttar Pradesh, India. It is also the administrative headquarters of Saharanpur district. Saharanpur city's name was given after the Saint Shah Haroon Chishti. Saharanpur is declared as on ...
,
Unnao Unnao is a city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of Unnao district and a part of Lucknow division, between Kanpur and Lucknow. Unnao is a large industrial city with three industrial suburbs around it. ...
and
Allahabad Allahabad (), officially known as Prayagraj, also known as Ilahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi (Benares). It is the administrat ...
, Athawale advocated
inter-caste marriage Intercaste marriage (ICM), also known as marrying out of caste, is a form of exogamous nuptial union that involve two individuals belonging to different castes. Intercaste marriages are particularly perceived as socially unacceptable and taboo in mo ...
as the best way to minimise such events and noted that he had married a
Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru ...
"to set an example". As he had done in December 2017, he attacked
Mayawati Kumari Mayawati (born 15 January 1956) is an Indian politician. She has served four separate terms as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. She is the national president of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), which focuses on a platform of social cha ...
, a Dalit former
Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union terri ...
of
Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...
, on this occasion for what he perceived as a lack of action to help Dalits during her four terms in office. He said that this had caused the community to shift their support to the BJP and RPI, while refuting charges that he was a puppet under BJP control. Although described as a Dalit leader, Athawale has caused controversy among Dalits. In January 2018, around 130 people were arrested when some Dalit activists protested against him during a speech. Aside from his involvement in Dalit affairs, Athawale has also advocated reservation for economically disadvantaged upper caste communities. He has said that the government of India should release the caste-based information collected during the
2011 Census of India The 2011 Census of India or the 15th Indian Census was conducted in two phases, house listing and population enumeration. The House listing phase began on 1 April 2010 and involved the collection of information about all buildings. Information ...
, which is considered to be a politically sensitive dataset, in order to address inequities in the reservation system across the board. He rejects claims that doing so would lead to an increase in casteism. Athawale has said that reservation quota of 25 percent for Dalits should be introduced to sports, including
cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
, following India's defeat in the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy Final against Pakistan, and that the armed forces should also be subject to a quota regime. He has also said that, just as the Lok Sabha has constituencies reserved for members of the
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes The Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are officially designated groups of people and among the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups in India. The terms are recognized in the Constitution of India and the groups are designa ...
, so too should the Rajya Sabha and the Union cabinet. In addition, he favours increasing the prevailing 50 per cent quota that exists for government jobs and places at educational institutions to 75 per cent, stressing that this would apply to all castes that are recognised as economically disadvantaged, which includes those categorised at
Other Backwards Class The Other Backward Class is a collective term used by the Government of India to classify castes which are educationally or socially backward. It is one of several official classifications of the population of India, along with General castes, S ...
es.


Positions held

*1990–96: Member,
Maharashtra Legislative Council The Maharashtra Vidhan Parishad or Maharashtra Legislative Council is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of Maharashtra states and territories of India, state in western India. Location The seat of the Vidhan Parishad is situated at ...
*1990–95: Cabinet Minister, Social Welfare and Transport, Employment Guarantee Scheme and Prohibition Propaganda,
Government of Maharashtra The Government of Maharashtra is the state governing authority for the state of Maharashtra, India. It is a democratically elected government with 288 MLAs elected to the Vidhan Sabha for a five-year term. Maharashtra has a Maharashtra Legisla ...
*1998–99: Member, Twelfth Lok Sabha *1998–99: Member, Committee on Transport and Tourism Member, Consultative Committee for the Ministry of Industry *1999–2000: Member, Committee on Industry *1999–2004: Member, Thirteenth Lok Sabha (second term) *2002–2004: Member, Consultative Committee for the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports *2004–2009: Member, Fourteenth Lok Sabha (third term) *2004: Member, Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture April *2014: Elected to
Rajya Sabha The Rajya Sabha, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. , it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using si ...
*Aug. 2014-past: Member, Committee on the Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Sept. *2014-past: Member, Committee on Industry Nov. *2014-past: Member, Library Committee Freedom Fighter *2016–past: Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment,
Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...
*2020: Reelected to
Rajya Sabha The Rajya Sabha, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. , it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using si ...
unopposed.


References


External links


Ramdas Athawale Facebook page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Athawale, Ramdas Bandu Living people 1959 births Marathi politicians People from Sangli district India MPs 1998–1999 India MPs 1999–2004 India MPs 2004–2009 Lok Sabha members from Maharashtra Rajya Sabha members from Maharashtra Dalit politicians Indian Buddhists Republican Party of India (Athawale) politicians Republican Party of India politicians Narendra Modi ministry Politicians from Mumbai People from Solapur district Members of the Maharashtra Legislative Council 20th-century Buddhists 21st-century Buddhists Buddhist activists