In the politics of the Untouchables the great change over large parts of India is that they can no longer be presumed as a dumb vote bank. To a much greater extent they have begun to shape their own politics. The biggest change can be seen in the northern India with Ram Vilas Paswan gradually developing as the special leader of Dalits. Paswan`s fortunes have risen and fallen with the position of his party, but his strategy is pretty eminent.

This Dalit Indian Politician from the state Bihar was born on 5th July 1946 to father late Shri Jamun Paswan and mother Siya Devi. Paswan spent his early days in Shaharbanni village in Khargaria district of Bihar. From his first wife Raj Kumari he has two daughters. Now he is married to Reena Sharma, an upper-caste Punjabi Brahmin from Amritsar and the couple have a son and a daughter. He is M.A., B.L. from Kosi College, Khagaria and Patna University, Patna (Bihar).

As a member of die Samyutka Socialist Party Ram Vilas Paswan was elected to the Bihar State Assembly in 1969. At the time he was appreciably attracted to the Naxalite movement and believed in whatsoever non-vio-lence.` Paswan`s confrontationist tactics in 1970 led him to imprisonment for seven months in Bhagalpur Gaol. It was only with the coming of the `JP Movement` that he came to accept the superiority of non-violence. In 1974 as a follower and a close colleague of Jayaprakash Narayan, he became the general secretary of the Lok Dal.

The prominent leaders of anti-emergency like Karpuri Thakur and Satyendra Narayan Sinha, Paswan was personally close to them. By virtue of being both an MLA and also a Harijan (the term still used in Bihar), Paswan possess some importance in the movement. In 1975, when emergency was proclaimed in India, he was arrested at the beginning of the Emergency. He spent the entire period of the Emergency in jail. In the year 1977 he was released and became the member of the Janata Party. In the very same year he contested for election and for the first time on its ticket won a reserved Parliamentary seat for the Janata Party. He was re-elected to the 7th Lok Sabha in 1980. Paswan has been a member of the Lok Sabha ever since with the elision of the period from 1984 to 1989.

He has diversely been a member of the Janata Party, Lok Dal and the Janata Dal as his party tie-up has changed with the many recompositions of the secular anti-Congress parties. The three leaders he has acknowledged in this time are Charan Singh, Karpoori Thakur and V. P. Singh. In the year 1983, for Dalit liberation and welfare, he established an organization, the Dalit Sena. His object was to be seen as the national leader of the Dalits. He simultaneously promotes himself as a strong leader of other out-groups - the Backwards and also the Muslims, from whom he claims to have particularly strong personal support.

In 1989, Paswan was re-elected to the 9th Lok Sabha and in the Vishwanath Pratap Singh government, was appointed Union Minister of Labour and Welfare. As Minister for Labor and Welfare, Ram Vilas Paswan had a turbulent period. To him, it was the desired portfolio what he wanted, because he could simultaneously do work for the Dalits and the Backward Castes. During that period his notable achievements was effectuation of the long-standing Dalit demand, which was portrait by Dr Ambedkar`s. It was placed in the main hall of Parliament beside the other greats of the national struggle for Independence. Another achievement in that arena was that, he made it possible to carry the Government to the extend reservation in employment to Scheduled Caste persons who had become Buddhists; rite primary beneficiary of this change is the Mahars.

In the year 1996, as the Prime Ministers were members of the Rajya Sabha he led the ruling alliance in the Lok Sabha. In the very same year he first became the Union Railway Minister and continued to hold the position till 1998. Thenceforth, from the October 1999 to September 2001, he beacame the Union Communications Minister. But he was shifted to the Coal Ministry, which office he held till April 2002.

To form the Lok Janshakti Party, Paswan in the year 2000 broke from the Janata Dal (United). Paswan joined the United Progressive Alliance government following the 2004 Lok Sabha elections. Thereafter he was made the Union Minister in Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers and Ministry of Steel. Paswan`s party LJP contested in the February 2005 Bihar State elections, along with the Indian National Congress. The result was notable in the sense that no particular party or alliance could form a government by itself. Paswan`s third-alliance was absolutely wiped out when the November 2005 Bihar state election took place.

The posts he held in his lifetime are:
Member, Bihar Legislative Assembly( 1969) , Joint-Secretary, S.S.P., Bihar( 1970) , General-Secretary, Lok Dal, Bihar( 1974) , Elected to 6th Lok Sabha ( 1977) , Re-elected to 7th Lok Sabha (2nd term)( 1980) , Leader of Lok Dal, Lok Sabha ( 1982-84) , Founder, National President, Dalilt Sena( 1983) , General-Secretary, Lok Dal ( 1985-86) , General-Secretary, Janata Party( 1987-88) , Secretary, National Front( 1988-90) , General-Secretary, Janata Dal, Re-elected to 9th Lok Sabha (3rd term) ( 1989) , Union Cabinet Minister, Labour and Welfare( 1989-90) , Re-elected to 10th Lok Sabha (4th term) Member, Business Advisory Committee( 1991) , Member, Committee on Home Affairs, Re-elected to 11th Lok Sabha (5th term) ( 1996) , Leader of the House, Lok Sabha (During the tenure of 11th Lok Sabha, both the Prime Ministers Sarvashri H.D. Devegowda and I.K.Gujral, being Members of Rajya Sabha, Shri Paswan was designated as Leader of the House (Lok Sabha) ) Member, Business Advisory Committee( ) , Union Cabinet Minister, Railways( 1996-98) , Minister, Parliamentary Affairs( 1 June 1996-29 June 1996) , Re-elected to 12th Lok Sabha (6th term) ( 1998) , Leader, Janata Dal Parliamentary Party, Member, General Purposes Committee ( 1998-99) , Member, Committee on Railways, Member, Consultative Committee, Ministry of Home Affairs, Re-elected to 13th Lok Sabha (7th term) ( 1999) , Union Cabinet Minister, Communications ( 13 Oct. 1999- 1 Sept. 2001) , Union Cabinet Minister, Coal and Mines ( 1 Sept. 2001- 29 April 2002) , Re-elected to 14th Lok Sabha( 8th term)( 2004) , Union Cabinet Minister, Chemicals and Fertilizers; Steel( 23 May 2004 - onwards)

Redoubtable obstacles have always been there in front of Ram Vilas Paswan. His own power base is limited: he is the pre-eminent leader of the Paswans, the second Untouchable community (behind the Chamars) of one State, Bihar. Ram Vilas Paswan is known to be a very endure person.