Quick Info→
Hometown: Sangli, Maharashtra
Wife: Seema Athawale
Age: 64 Years
Some Lesser Known Facts About Ramdas Athawale
- Ramdas Athawale worked as the editor of a weekly magazine called Bhumika.
An old picture of Ramdas Athawale
- As a Dalit Panther activist, he fought street battles against the Shiv Sena party in the 1970s. Dalit Panthers was a revolutionary group inspired by the Black Panther Party in the US, that advocated for Dalit causes.
- After a split in the Dalit Panther movement in 1974, he joined Arun Kamble and Gangadhar Gade and led a group called ‘the Republican Party of India’ in Maharashtra.
- When Ramdas Athawale joined the Republican Party of India, it became associated with the Indian National Congress (INC).
- He is a founder member of Parivartan Sahitya Mahamandal.
- In the mid-80s, Maharashtra’s then-Chief Minister Sharad Pawar noticed Athawale’s talent as an organizer and leader of the Dalit groups. Pawar appointed Athawale as a minister for social welfare in Pawar’s government.
- Ramdas Athawale once served as president of Parivartan Kala Mahasangha, the Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Foundation, and the Bauddha Kalawant Academy (Buddhist Artists Academy).
- He is the founder and president of Bauddha Dhamma Parishad (Buddhism conference) in Maharashtra.
- Ramdas Athawale served as a member of the Maharashtra Legislative Council from 1990 to 1996. He represented the Pandharpur constituency of Maharashtra.
Ramdas Athawale while listening to the problems of local people
- He served as Cabinet Minister for Social Welfare, Transport, Employment Guarantee Scheme, and Prohibition Propaganda in the Government of Maharashtra from 1990 to 1995.
- Ramdas Athawale is the president of the Republican Party of India (Athawale).
Ramdas Athawale in Mumbai in 1997 during a Dalit riot after desecration of a Dr Ambedkar statue in Ghatkopar
- He represented Mumbai North Central constituency in the 12th Lok Sabha from 1998 to 1999. He was re-elected to the 13th Lok Sabha from the same constituency and served in the position from 1999 to 2004.
- Ramdas Athawale is inspired by B. R. Ambedkar, an Indian jurist, economist, social reformer, and political leader.
Ramdas Athawale while worshipping a statue of B. R. Ambedkar
- When Shiv Sena leader Manohar Joshi was the Lok Sabha speaker, he told journalists in a media talk that Joshi would ask Athawale to speak whenever the atmosphere in the House became tense. Athawale would provide comic relief.
- He served a third term in the 14th Lok Sabha from 2004 to 2009.
- Various parties often seek his support in gathering votes from the Maharashtrian Dalit community.
- In 2008, Ramdas Athawale had a small role in the Marathi film, Joshi ki Kamble.
The poster of the film Joshi ki Kamble (2008)
- As a theatre artist, he once appeared in a Marathi drama titled Ekach Pyala.
- In 2008, Athawale got upset when he was not selected as a contestant on the Indian reality show Bigg Boss, where Congress politician Sanjay Nirupam participated. Later, his supporters protested, calling it “injustice to a Dalit leader.”
- Ramdas Athawale contested from the Shirdi constituency in the 2009 election.
- In 2009, a social media report ranked him as the second-best performing member of the 14th Lok Sabha based on various data points.
- Ramdas Athawale left the Nationalist Congress Party-INC alliance in 2011 after losing in the 2009 Lok Sabha election.
- He led the Republican Party of India (Athawale) party and joined the Shivsena and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alliance in 2011. Together, they contested the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections.
- He demanded the dismissal of caste-based information from the 2011 Census of India to deal with the inequalities in the reservation system.
- In 2014, Ramdas Athawale was elected to the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of parliament. His RPI(A) organization became a part of the National Democratic Alliance led by the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Ramdas Athawale while speaking in Rajya Sabha
- In 2014, he introduced Bollywood actor Rakhi Sawant to his party.
Ramdas Athawale with Rakhi Sawant
- In 2015, after attacks on some Dalits in Haryana, he suggested that if the police did not protect Dalits then special protection teams led by senior police officers should be formed from the community. He also said that they should be given firearms licenses for self-defence.
- On 6 July 2016, Ramdas Athawale became the Minister of State in the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment and worked under the minister Thawar Chand Gehlot.
Ramdas Athawale with Thawar Chand Gehlot (left)
- Devyani Khobragade was proposed as Athawale’s Personal Secretary in July 2016. However, Thawar Chand Gehlot, a senior minister, blocked the appointment due to a conflict of interest because during that time, her father, Uttam Khobragade, was the national executive president of the RPI(A).
- In 2016, Ramdas Athawale and his wife appeared on the television show ‘Kon Hoil Marathi Crorepati.’
Ramdas Athawale with his wife on the television show ‘Kon Hoil Marathi Crorepati’
- In 2017, he embraced Buddhism after being convinced that Dalits would not receive justice in the Hindu religion. He also advised Dalits to convert from Hinduism to Buddhism to avoid atrocities.
- In September 2017, Ramdas Athawale started a children’s wing of the RPI(A) and appointed his son as its head.
- In December 2017, he criticised Mayawati, a former Dalit Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, for not doing enough to help Dalits during her four terms in office.
- Ramdas Athawale said Mayawati’s lack of action led the Dalit community to support BJP and RPI in Uttar Pradesh.
- He suggested introducing a 25 per cent reservation quota for Dalits in sports, including cricket, after India’s defeat in the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy Final against Pakistan.
- Ramdas Athawale once proposed that the armed forces should have a quota system.
- In January 2018, around 130 people were arrested for protesting against him during a speech.
- In March 2018, Ramdas Athawale responded to the violence against Dalits in Saharanpur, Unnao, and Allahabad by supporting inter-caste marriages as a way to reduce such incidents. He used his marriage to a Brahmin as an example.
- In May 2019, he continued working as the Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment.
- In March 2020, a video of Ramdas Athawale chanting “Go Corona!” at a political rally went viral. It became a popular meme.
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- He once criticized the BJP and RSS for their poor record in managing discrimination against Dalits and other disadvantaged communities in India.
Ramdas Athawale while speaking during a press conference
- He often advocates for reservation for economically disadvantaged upper-caste communities in India.
- Ramdas Athawale believes that the Rajya Sabha and the Union cabinet should have constituencies reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, similar to the Lok Sabha.
- He often supports increasing the quota for government jobs and educational institutions from 50 per cent to 75 per cent for all economically disadvantaged castes, including Other Backward Classes.
- Ramdas Athawale is known for his quick humour. He can instantly create poems on current topics, like drought or mocking rivals. For example, once during a media talk, he said,
Desh mein chal rahi hain Narendra Modi ki Aandhi, Usme Ud Jayenge Sabhi Gandhi.”
- Reportedly, he and Sharad Pawar are the only two politicians in Maharashtra known for being able to call their workers and followers by their first names.
- Ramdas Athawale likes travelling to distant places, writing poems, and painting in his free time.
Ramdas Athawale while enjoying a trip
