D. Raja

Early life and education

Raja was born in Chithathoor, a village near Gudiyatham in present-day Vellore district of Tamil Nadu, to a Dalit family. His father, P. Doraisamy, and mother, Nayagam, were landless agricultural workers.

He completed a B.Sc. from G.T.M. College in Gudiyattam, and a B.Ed. from Government Teachers College in Vellore. He was the first graduate in a predominantly Dalit village. Till he finished primary school, Raja survived on a mid-day meal but in high school he often went hungry because his mother couldn't afford lunch for him and there were no free meals. Raja claimed that he developed his reading habit when he was allowed in the reading rooms during the PT periods because the PT teacher knew he was often on empty stomach.

While in college, he became active in student politics.

Personal life

Raja met his wife, Annie Raja, while they were both in the All India Youth Federation, and they married on 7 January 1990 in a simple wedding. She is now the general secretary of the National Federation of Indian Women, the women wing of the CPI, and they have a daughter together named Aparajitha Raja. Aparajitha Raja was herself an activist during her student days.

During April 2021, Raja was diagnosed with COVID-19 while campaigning for election and had to be admitted to AIIMS.

Political career

During college, he joined the All India Students Federation and became active in student politics. He later became the leader of the All India Youth Federation and was the State Secretary of the Tamil Nadu unit from 1975 to 1980, and was then elected general secretary from 1985 to 1990. He became the national secretary of the Communist Party of India (CPI) in 1994 and served until 2019. On 21 July 2019, the National Council of the CPI elected him as the general secretary of the party.

Raja was first elected to Rajya Sabha in July 2007 from Tamil Nadu and was re-elected in 2013.

Raja took over as general secretary of Communist Party of India (CPI) on 21 July 2019. Raja was the first Dalit to occupy the position in a mainstream communist party. His name was proposed unanimously by the CPI national secretariat.

Writing for the Indian Express regarding the Russian invasion of Ukraine, he wrote that "If peace is to prevail in the world, NATO should be disbanded."

Bibliography

• Dalit Question: The Way Forward (New Delhi, CPI Publication, 2007)
• Marx and Ambedkar: Continuing the Dialogue by D. Raja, N. Muthumohan (New Century Book House, 2018)
• D. Raja in the Parliament by Rajeev Suman (The Marginalised Publication, 2021)

References

References

1. "Detailed Profile: Shri D. Raja".
2. "D. Raja".
3. (2007-05-24). "Tamil Nadu News : Doraisamy Raja, CPI candidate for RS polls". [[The Hindu]].
4. (16 June 2013). "CPI re-nominates D. Raja for Rajya Sabha". The Hindu.
5. "D. Raja: Age, Biography, Education".
6. "King and queen of hearts".
7. (2021-09-11). "CPI's D. Raja recalls humble beginnings at book release". The Hindu.
8. Jigeesh, A. M.. (2 August 2019). "Comrade Raja's onward march".
9. (16 December 2018). "'I never fasted but I starved,' CPI leader D Raja on growing up in poverty". Hindustan Times.
10. (22 December 2018). "King and queen of hearts". The Week.
11. Saini, Shivam. (2016-02-27). "Aparajitha Raja is in the eye of a 'patriotic' storm". Business Standard India.
12. (2021-04-12). "D. Raja admitted to AIIMS". The Hindu.
13. (21 July 2019). "D. Raja takes over as CPI general secretary". The Hindu.
14. (21 July 2019). "D. Raja takes over as CPI general secretary". The Hindu.
15. (6 April 2022). "NATO is a danger to world peace. It must go".
16. (11 September 2021). "CPI's D. Raja recalls humble beginnings at book release". The Hindu.