Vai Balasundaram: Difference between revisions

Balasundaram entered in to the public life for the uplifitment of the dalit communities at the age of 20, became Mayor of Madras in 1969 and MLA of Tamil Nadu in 1971. After the 1975 emergency, Dr Balasundaram left his Dravidian party and realized his own autonomous space within the struggles of the Dalit community and formed "Ambedkar Makkal Iyakkam" aka "Ambedkar People Movement' in 1977. After his demise, Ambedkar Makkal Iyakkam is led by [[Vai Ramalingam]]''' as the President of the party and [[Siva Murugesan]] as the General Secretary of the party. Balasundaram was instrumental in successful implementation of Nagarpalika in Tamil nadu with reservation to women and SC/STs and also played a key role in installation of numerous Ambedkar statues across the state. Balasundaram's outreach across political spectrum was seen when Ministers of Government of Tamil Nadu, Leader of Opposition of Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, political leaders, and icons of dalit movements of the state paid homage to the veteran leader at his home.