Dr S. Ramadoss (born 25 July 1939) is an Indian politician and physician from Tamil Nadu and the founder of the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK). A village-born doctor who practised at Tindivanam, he organised the Vanniyars, a large farming community of northern Tamil Nadu, first through the Vanniyar Sangam and then through the party he started in 1989. He has never contested an election or held public office himself, but for three decades his party’s votes helped decide which alliance won the state.
Quick Facts
| Full name | S. Ramadoss |
| Born | 25 July 1939, Keezhsiviri, Villupuram district, Tamil Nadu |
| Age | 87 |
| Occupation | Physician, politician |
| Known for | Founder of the Vanniyar Sangam (1980) and the Pattali Makkal Katchi (1989) |
| Education | Madras Medical College (MBBS) |
| Residence | Thailapuram, near Tindivanam |
| Spouse | Saraswathi |
| Children | Including Anbumani Ramadoss |
Early Life
Ramadoss was born into a poor farming family in the village of Keezhsiviri. He studied in local schools and, with help from well-wishers, at Madras Medical College. He worked briefly in government service and then set up practice at Tindivanam, where he became known for treating poor patients for a rupee or two.
Vanniyar Sangam
The Vanniyars were numerous but had little share in education, government jobs or political office. In 1980 Ramadoss brought a number of caste associations together as the Vanniyar Sangam and demanded a separate quota of twenty per cent in the state and two per cent at the Centre.
In September 1987 the Sangam called a week-long blockade of roads across the northern districts. Trees were felled across highways, giving its opponents a taunt they used for years, and twenty-one people were killed in police firing and clashes. In 1989 the government of M. Karunanidhi created a category of Most Backward Classes, including the Vanniyars, with twenty per cent reservation.
Pattali Makkal Katchi
On 16 July 1989 he launched the PMK at a rally in Chennai. He vowed that neither he nor his family would take office, a promise later set aside for his son. The party’s strength lay in a belt of districts from Chennai’s outskirts to Salem and Cuddalore, and Ramadoss moved it between the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam from election to election, usually ending on the winning side. It was part of the governing coalitions in Delhi from 1998 to 2009; his son, Anbumani Ramadoss, was Union Health Minister from 2004 to 2009 and pushed through the ban on smoking in public places.
The party’s best results were five or six Lok Sabha seats in 1999 and 2004 and eighteen Assembly seats in 2006. Fighting alone in 2016, with Anbumani as its candidate for Chief Minister, it won none. In 2021, in alliance with the AIADMK, it won five. Shortly before that election the state passed a law giving Vanniyars 10.5 per cent within the Most Backward Classes quota; the courts struck it down for want of supporting data.
Campaigns
Ramadoss has been a persistent campaigner for total prohibition of alcohol, against smoking and drinking on screen, which brought a celebrated clash with fans of Rajinikanth in 2002, and for the use of pure Tamil; he started a television channel and a newspaper to promote it. For many years he issued a “shadow budget” before the state budget. His party has also been accused of fomenting hostility between Vanniyars and Dalits, notably during the violence at Dharmapuri in 2012, which it denies.
The Feud
At a party meeting in December 2024 Ramadoss announced that a grandson, his daughter’s son, would head the youth wing; Anbumani, then party president, objected from the stage. In April 2025 the founder declared that he was taking back the presidency, and on 11 September 2025 he expelled his son from the party. The Election Commission’s records continued to show Anbumani as president, and the two factions went into the Assembly election of 2026 divided.
Personal Life
He lives at his farm at Thailapuram, where party leaders of every alliance have come to call on him. He is married to Saraswathi; they have a son and daughters.
Featured image: Dr S. Ramadoss, founder of the Pattali Makkal Katchi. Photo by Gowri Mathew GM, licensed under CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
