Ajay Harinath Singh Greatest Brand Leader 2018-2019

Ramdas Athawale
Dedicating Life to the
Cause of A Better India
One of the strongest proponents of upliftment of the downtrodden and inclusion of the underprivileged in the
growth of India, Ramdas Athawale has dedicated his life completely to make India better where everyone
should have equal rights and opportunities, while working uninhibitedly in all sectors of the Indian economy
& all levels of national growth
Contributing with all vigour towards
building a New India where everyone
would keep India as a nation first
before other petty issues, and work shoulder
to shoulder for its consistent progress as
an engine of growth of the world economy,
Ramdas Bandu Athawale has been working
on all fronts as a politician and a social
activist to make a difference.
He is a senior Ambedkarite leader
from Maharashtra, is the President of the
Republican Party of India (A) – a splinter
group of the Republican Party of India –
and is currently the Minister of State for
Social Justice and Empowerment in the
Narendra Modi government, representing
Maharashtra in the Rajya Sabha, the Upper
House of India’s Parliament. His party – RPI
(A) – is a part of the National Democratic
Alliance led by the BJP in the current Modi
government. He has also been a Member
of Parliament in the Lok Sabha, the
Lower House of India’s Parliament from
Pandharpur constituency, Maharashtra.
He has even established a children’s wing
of his party – RPI (A) – and while launching
this wing in 2017, he appointed his son,
then aged 12, to be its leader. Born in
1959 in Agalgaon, Sangli district, Bombay
State – now Maharashtra – he attended
Siddharth College of Law, Mumbai. He is a
practitioner of Buddhism religion.
A learned man and a believer of change
through activism he has been the Editor
of a weekly magazine called Bhumika, and
is also the Founder Member of Parivartan
Sahitya Mahamandal. A staunch follower
of the philosophy of Dr. Ambedkar, he has
served as President of Parivartan Kala
Mahasangha, the Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar
Foundation and the Bauddha Kalawant
Academy (Buddhist Artists Academy), and
was also the Founder President of Bauddha
Dhamma Parishad (Buddhism Conference).
Displaying his diversified interests, he
has also 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.
Constructive Politics
Always trying to create positivity in
politics and fighting for the rights of the
downtrodden, Ramdas Athawale has
been active in state and national politics.
He invariably raised relevant issues as
a Member of Maharashtra Legislative
Council from 1990 to 1996, and as Cabinet
Minister for Social Welfare and Transport,
Employment Guarantee Scheme and
Prohibition Propaganda in the Government
of Maharashtra between 1990 and 95.
Continuously speaking and working
for his followers and voters in the Indian
Parliament, he represented Mumbai North
Central in the 12th Lok Sabha from 1998
to 99, was elected to serve a second
term in the 13th Lok Sabha from 1999
to 2004, and a third time in the 14th Lok
“My ministry will work to promote
inter-caste marriages. there should be
arranged marriages in different castes”
Sabha from 2004 to 2009. Social Watch,
a non-governmental organization whose
international seat is based in Montevideo,
Uruguay, had ranked him as second-best
performing Member of the 14th Lok Sabha,
based on an analysis of various data points.
In 2014, he was elected to the Upper
House of Parliament, and in 2016 became
Minister of State in the Ministry of Social
Justice and Empowerment under the
Cabinet Minister Thawar Chand Gehlot.
Because of his massive influence and
respect among the Maharashtrian Dalit
section, he is a popular politician across
political parties, as he is able to mobilize
and organize the scattered Maharashtrian
Dalit votes at times of need.
Social Activism
Ever-ready to support Dalits and their
causes, he was quite vocal when in 2015
there were attacks on Dalits in the state
of Haryana, “The intelligence network of
police has failed to prevent such incidents.
If Dalits lodge complaints, the cops do
not register cases. This is the reason for
frequent atrocities on Dalits across the
country. If cops can’t protect us then they
should give us arms licenses.”
Being a follower of Buddhist religion
himself, and of the opinion that Buddhism
propagates more equality than Hinduism,
he has opined that “Dalits should renounce
Hinduism in favour of Buddhism in order to
stop being subject to atrocities.”
Criticizing cases of discrimination of not
only Dalits but also other disadvantaged
communities in India, after becoming a
Minister of State in the Modi government, he
has also advocated inter-caste marriages as
the best way to minimize any ill-treatment
in the Indian society on the basis of caste.
He shares, “I am a firm believer that to
remove casteism we should encourage
inter-caste marriages. We should give
protection to such marriages. It will unify
Indian society. People should accept intercaste
marriages. My ministry will work to
promote inter-caste marriages. I believe
there should be arranged marriages among
different castes.”
Supporting causes of all sections of
people in the society, as he feels that his
helping hand can make a long-lasting
impact in bridging unwanted gaps between
different communities, and relevant issues
may exist in other sections or communities
also, he has advocated for reservation for
the economically disadvantaged upper
caste communities.
He shares, “The government of India
should release the caste-based information
collected during the 2011 Census of India,
which is considered to be a politically
sensitive dataset, in order to address
inequities in the reservation system across
the board.”
At the same time, patronizing the cause
of inclusion of Dalits at other platforms,
he has proposed reservation quota of
25 percent for Dalits in sports, including
cricket, and in the armed forces.
Further, on the lines of the Lower House
of the Parliament, he has suggested
reservation for Dalits in the Upper House
of the Parliament, and the Union Cabinet.
Supporting positive discrimination for
widespread results and extending it for all
needy, 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.
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