On his death anniversary, a look at legacy of Dravidian patriarch Periyar who worked against caste discrimination & superstition.
There is no god, there is no god, there is no god at all
He who invented god is a fool
He who propagates god is a scoundrel
He who worships god is a barbarian
– E.V. Ramasamy Periyar
Erode Venkatappa Ramasamy, commonly known as “Periyar”, is now the focal point of Dravidian parties, Communists, Dalit outfits, Tamil nationalists and feminists in Tamil Nadu. Periyar, who died 45 years ago on 24 December 1973, left behind a legacy that had an astounding influence on how the state operates today.
Early life
E.V. Ramasamy was born to Venkata Naicker and Chinnathaai on 17 September 1879 in Erode district of what is now Tamil Nadu. Belonging to a rich trading family, Periyar stopped his school education at the early age of nine to assist his father. Though he had religious gurus who came home to teach him the shastras, the young Ramasamy was not interested. At the age of 19, he was married to a 13-year-old girl, Nagammai.
On a pilgrimage to Kasi (Varanasi) in 1904, Periyar observed the dynamics of Hinduism. The Hindu rituals and discrimination that he saw in the sacred place made him conclude that Hinduism was nothing but a Brahminical exploitation.
Party politics
In 1919, Periyar joined the Congress under the influence of his close friend C. Rajagopalachari (Rajaji) and went on to head the Congress Committee of Madras Presidency. But he left soon after his demand for communal representation in the party was defeated during the Tirupur session.
In the Congress, he actively participated in movements relating to khadi, liquor prohibition and abolition of untouchability. He was also jailed for participating in the non-cooperation movement. In his initial days in politics, he held various positions in the Erode municipality.
Periyar’s deep dive into the radical on-ground politics started with a trade union movement in Nagapatinam in 1925. His first encounter with Singaravelan, the pioneer of communist ideology in the state, also happened on this occasion. He also started his Self-Respect Movement around this time.
He went on to join the Justice Party, which eventually became the Dravida Kazhagam (party) in 1944. When the Muslim League’s demand for Pakistan came up, Periyar’s Dravida Kazhagam also demanded for a separate Tamil country.
In 1950, he presented a vision where he said that the Dravida Kazhagam would be a platform to lead social and religious reform. “The final agenda of this party is to destroy all religion,” he said.
Also read: Periyar’s legacy serves as a reminder for Dravidian parties to be caste conscious
But this didn’t stop here. It also envisioned a separate Tamil country. In fact, Periyar announced that the country’s first Independence Day would be marked as a day of sorrow for failing to form a separate Tamil country.
Periyar was at the forefront of the protests against Hindi imposition. He believed that Hindi was an Aryan language and making it compulsory in education was an attempt to conquer Dravidian culture. During this time, he also gave the slogan “Tamil Nadu for Tamilians” in a meeting in 1938.
His party never contested any election. Like many others in the party, his protege C.N. Annadurai, who had ambitions of electoral politics, left the party to start his own Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in 1949.
Periyar also founded a newspaper, Kudi Arasu, where he wrote to disseminate his ideas of social justice and self-respect. This became his full-time activity until his death at the age of 97.
The Soviet effect
Periyar was absorbed by the Bolshevik Revolution and hence decided to visit the Soviet Union. After his trip in 1932, he wrote vastly about the socialist republic in Kudi Arasu. Later, he also wrote a series in the name ‘Unmai’, inspired from the Bolshevik party’s ‘Pravda’, both meaning truth. He was also the first person to translate the Communist manifesto into Tamil.
“In the socialist country, there is no God, no religion, or no belief in Shastras. No human being considered high or low,” he wrote in an essay.
A radical feminist
Periyar had seen child marriage from close quarters in his community, and was resistant to the idea. He once organised for his niece, who had become a child widow, to get remarried.
Periyar was one of the few leaders who encouraged women to be active in politics and step out into the streets. The mass movement of 1921 against the toddy shops (Kallukadai Mariyal) and the anti-Hindi agitation of 1937 witnessed many women on the vanguard because of him.
Also read: In the new statue politics, the media has boxed Periyar into OBC politics
It was a Dalit woman, Meenabal, who first addressed Ramasamy as “Periyar” at a women’s conclave in 1938 in Chennai. Periyar was a strong proponent for women’s education and gender equality. He insisted that women have the right to choose their life partners and also to walk out of a failed marriage. He said that bearing a child too is, ultimately, a woman’s choice.
Socrates of south India! Ridiculous. UNESCO never gave such a title to anyone. These leftist media are spreading false information all through the years. Shame on you print!!
Calling Periyar Socrates in this article is unintelligible and feels more like a “clickbait”. Whereas people arguing about how reservation brought in equality and abolished “Brahminical patriarchy “,it started another era of casteist chauvinism. Equality is not opposing a set of people to establish authority and calling it a movement.Little did Ee Ve Ra or his devotees wanted to establish this sense into people and rationalise them. All he wanted was patronise his communist, polygamous and anti-Hindu ideologies, he was not an atheist, he didn’t bend an ear about discrimination in other major religions. This man is a sexist , chauvinist and an influential con man. Though the Brahmins are a minority in the state, they are doing far better than all the so called rationalists in social strata, adding fuel to the fire. Keep opposing and make bigotry statements, after all that’s the only thing you can do!
I see that economic progress is being mistaken for social progress. No doubt TN is a progressive state doing well in the Economic parameters, but the article was about social emancipation of the Downtrodden and Women. What is the status of Dalits in Tamil Nadu. What is the representation of minorities in the state politics. How many Dalit CMs or Minority Community Chief Secretaries have been there. The Dalits are as under represented in Tamil Nadu as in the rest of the country.
As for Mr Docherla’s comment about Brahmins holding most of the important posts and political positions in TN, where has he got these ‘facts’ from. Surprised. Most of the power in TN is wielded and held by the Forward caste leaders.
Periyar’s legacy has been forgotten. Until Dalits get emancipated the dream would remain work in progress. I leave the post on this positive note.
I agree with the other commentators. There is nothing in this article that proves what the title says. I did not get what was common between Periyar or Socrates. Socrates was a philosopher but not a reformist. Periyar was predominantly a reformist not a philosopher. Socrates delved into the unknown whereas Periyar tried correcting the existing dogma. Socrates was not a chauvinist or a nationalist or a casteist while Periyar encouraged Tamil racial & linguistic chauvinism which we can still see today (they refuse to speak in other languages or watch movies or books in other languages even if they know them when they encounter outsiders), and also caste chauvinism rather than caste eradication as a result of which Tamil polity is so fractured that politically, they can neither unite with even their own neighbouring states (let alone rest of India) nor can any of the castes actually rule the state. Most of the power in the state is still held by Brahmins in various positions despite forming only 4% of the population.
The title is misleading. Patriarchy is not only prevalent but flourishing in all communities and religions in India. Lot of the per-independence Tamil Leaders encouraged women’s emancipation but 10 decades down the line the status of women remains subservient.
As regards Brahminism, to portray all ills that the society inherits and propagates till this day is a result of Brahmincal tyranny is far fetched. The Brahmins in Tamil Nadu do not wield any influence in matters of state or the society. If they did or continue to do so what has the Dravidian movement achieved in more than 7 decades.
The society has moved on. All communities including the forward ones are clamouring to be classified as ‘backward’. In effect the only community that cannot claim any share in the social or governmental benefits is the Brahmin community. Even if a Brahmin is destitute and poor he cannot be given any state benefits. That’s the new reservation equation.
what has the Dravidian movement achieved in more than 7 decades ??? It brought social justice and representation of under privileged by bringing in 65 % reservation first time in India. Brahmins did not stop from gaining influence, even present chief secretary is Brahmin Janta Party stooge and literally ruling the state. They are trying hook or crook, but it wont work. TN busted the myth that reservation is not seen here as regressive like brahminical north India, here it is seen as social empowerment. The result is TN is in NO 2 in GDP in whole of INDIA. TN was less developed than gujarat before 25 years, now even after modi took gujarat it is in No5. We achieved it without brahmins and we ll always keep them out of our sight
Jayalalitha is a Brahmin Iyengar.
Rajaji and Bharathiyar are Brahmins too
Dravidians should stop being Dumb Idiotic fools.
Dalit cannot be a CM in Tamilnadu.
Periyar’s madness is a result of ur stupidity