Erode Venkata Ramasamy (17
September 1879 – 24 December 1973), affectionately called by his followers as
Periyar,
Thanthai Periyar or
E. V. R., was a businessman,
politician,
Indian independence and
social
activist, who started the
Self-Respect Movement or the
Dravidian Movement and proposed the creation
of an independent state called
Dravida Nadu, comprising the states of
South India. He is also the
founder of the socio-cultural organisation,
Dravidar Kazhagam.
Periyar was born in
Erode,
Madras Presidency
to a wealthy family of
Kannada speaking
Balijas. At a young
age, he witnessed numerous incidents of racial, caste and gender
discrimination. Periyar
married when he was 19, and had a daughter who lived for only 5 months. His
first wife, Nagam
mai, died in
1933. Periyar married for a second time in July 1948. His second wife, Maniammai, continued Periyar's social work after his death in
1973, but still his thoughts and ideas were being spread by Dravidar
Kazhagam.
Periyar joined the
Indian National Congress in 1919, but
resigned in 1925 when he felt that the party was only serving the interests of
the Brahmins. In 1924,
Periyar led a non-violent agitation (
satyagraha) in
Vaikom,
Kerala.
From 1929 to 1932 toured Malaysia, Europe, and Russia, which had an influence on
him. In 1939, Periyar became the head of the
Justice Party, and in
1944, he changed its name to
Dravidar Kazhagam. The party
later split and one group led by
C. N. Annadurai formed the
Dravida
Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in 1949. While
continuing the
Self-Respect Movement, he advocated for an independent
Dravida Nadu
(
Dravidistan).
Periyar propagated the principles of
rationalism,
self-respect,
women’s rights
and eradication of
caste. He opposed the
exploitation and
marginalisation of the
non-Brahmin indigenous Dravidian peoples of
South India and the imposition of, what he
considered,
Indo-Aryan India. His work has greatly
revolutionised Tamil society and has significantly removed caste-based
discrimination. He is also responsible for bringing new changes to the Tamil
alphabet. However, at the same time, Periyar is also held responsible for making
controversial statements on the Tamil language, Dalits and Brahmins and for
endorsing violence against Brahmins. The citation awarded by the
UNESCO described Periyar as "the prophet of the new age,
the Socrates of South East Asia, father of social reform movement and arch enemy
of ignorance, superstitions, meaningless customs and base manners".
Early years
Periyar was born as Erode Venkata Ramasami Naicker on 17 September 1879, in
the town of Erode, then a part of the Coimbatore District of the
Madras
Presidency. Periyar's father, a rich businessman, was Venkatappa Naicker (or Venkata), and
his mother was Chinna Thayammal, alias Muthammal. He had one elder brother named
Krishnaswamy and two sisters named Kannamma and Ponnuthoy. He
later came to be known as "Periyar" meaning 'respected one' or 'elder' in
Tamil.
In 1929, Periyar announced the deletion of his caste surname
Naicker
from his name at the First Provincial Self-Respect Conference of
Chenggalpattu. He
could speak three
Dravidian languages:
Kannada, Tamil and
Telugu. His mother
tongue was Kannada. Periyar attended
school for five years after which he joined his father's trade at the age of 12.
He used to listen to Tamil
Vaishnavite gurus who gave discourses in his house enjoying his
father's hospitality. At a young age, he began questioning the apparent
contradictions in the
Hindu mythological stories which he opined to
be lies spread by the
Indo-Aryan race. As Periyar
grew, he felt that people used
religion only as a mask to deceive innocent people and
therefore took it as one of his duties in life to warn people against
superstitions and priests.
Periyar's father arranged for his wedding when he was nineteen. The bride,
Nagammai, was only thirteen. It was not, altogether, an
arranged marriage
because Periyar and Nagammai had known each other and were already in love with
each other. Nagammai actively supported her husband in his later public
activities and
agitations. Two years
after their marriage, a girl child was born to them. However, this child lived
only for five months. The couple had no more children.
Kasi Pilgrimage
Incident
In 1904, Periyar went on a pilgrimage to
Kasi to worship in the revered
Siva temple of
Kashi Vishwanath. Though regarded as one of the holiest sites of
Hinduism, he witnessed immoral activities, begging,
and floating dead bodies. His
frustrations extended to functional Hinduism in general when he experienced what
he called
Brahmanic exploitation.
However, one particular incident in Kasi had a profound impact on Periyar's
ideology and future work. At the worship site there were free meals offered to
guests. To Periyar's shock, he was refused meals at choultries, which
exclusively fed
Brahmins. Due to extreme hunger, Periyar felt
compelled to enter one of the choultries disguised as a Brahmin with a
sacred
thread on his bare chest, but was betrayed by his moustache. The gatekeeper
at the temple concluded that Periyar was not a Brahmin, as Brahmins were not
permitted by the Hindu
shastras to have moustaches. He not only prevented
Periyar's entry but also pushed him rudely into the street.
As his hunger became intolerable, Periyar was forced to feed on leftovers
from the streets. Around this time, he realised that the choultry which had
refused him entry was built by a wealthy non-Brahmin from
South India. This
discriminatory attitude dealt a blow to Periyar's regard for Hinduism, for the
events he had witnessed at Kasi were completely different from the picture of
Kasi he had in mind, as a holy place which welcomed all. Ramasami was
a
theist till his
visit to Kasi, after which his views changed and he became an
atheist.
Member of Congress Party (1919–1925)
Periyar Ramaswamy joined the Indian National Congress in 1919 after quitting
his business and resigning from public posts. He held the chairmanship of Erode
Municipality and
wholeheartedly undertook constructive programs spreading the use of
Khadi, picketing toddy
shops, boycotting shops selling foreign cloth, and eradicating
untouchability. In 1921,
Periyar courted imprisonment for picketing toddy shops in Erode. When his wife
as well as his sister joined the agitation, it gained momentum, and the
administration was forced to come to a compromise. He was again arrested during
the
Non-Cooperation movement and the
Temperance
movement. In 1922, Periyar was elected the President of the
Madras Presidency Congress Committee during
the
Tirupur session, where he
advocated strongly for reservation in government jobs and education. His
attempts were defeated in the Congress party due to a strong presence of
discrimination and
indifference, which led to him leaving
the party in 1925.
Vaikom
Satyagraha (1924–1925)
In Vaikom, a small town in Kerala state, then
Travancore, there were strict laws of untouchability
in and around the temple area.
Dalits, also known as
Harijans were not allowed into the
close streets around and leading to the temple, let alone inside it. Anti-caste
feelings were growing and in 1924 Vaikom was chosen as a suitable place for an
organised
Satyagraha, passive resistance campaign as practised by Gandhi.
Under his guidance a movement had already begun with the aim of giving all
castes the right to enter the temples. Thus, agitations and demonstrations took
place. On April 14, Periyar and his wife Nagamma arrived in Vaikom. They were
arrested and imprisoned for participation. In spite of Gandhi's objection to
non-Keralites and non-Hindus taking part, Periyar and his followers continued to
give support to the movement till it was withdrawn. He received the title
Vikkom Veeran, mostly given by his Tamil followers who participated in
the
Satyagraha However, a
considerable section of intellectuals feel that Periyar's participation in the
Indian independence movement and his contributions in the Vaikom Satyagraha have
been highly exaggerated.
The way in which the
Vaikom Satyagraha events have been recorded
provides a clue to the image of the respective organisers. In an article entitle
Gandhi and Ambedkar, A Study in Leadership, Eleanor Zelliot relates the
'Vaikom Satyagraha' including Gandhi's negotiations with the temple authorities
in relation to the event. Furthermore, the editor of Periyar's
Thoughts
states that Brahmins purposely suppressed news about Periyar's participation. A
leading Congress magazine
Young India in its extensive reports on Vaikom
never mentions Periyar.
Self-Respect
Movement
Periyar and his followers campaigned constantly to influence and pressure the
government to take measures to remove social inequality, even while other
nationalist forerunners focused on the struggle for political independence. The
Self-Respect Movement was described from the beginning as "dedicated to the goal
of giving non-Brahmins a sense of pride based on their Dravidian past".
In 1952, the Periyar
Self-Respect Movement Institution was registered
with a list of objectives of the institution from which may be quoted as
for the diffusion of useful knowledge of political education; to allow people to live
a life of freedom from slavery to anything against reason and self
respect; to do away with needless customs, meaningless ceremonies, and blind
superstitious beliefs in society; to put
an end to the present social system in which caste, religion, community and
traditional occupations based on the accident of birth, have chained the mass of
the people and created "superior" and "inferior" classes... and to give people
equal rights; to completely eradicate untouchability and to establish a united
society based on brother/sisterhood;
to give equal rights to women; to prevent child
marriages and marriages based on law favourable to one sect, to conduct and
encourage love marriages, widow marriages, inter caste and inter-religious
marriages and to have the marriages registered under the Civil Law; and to
establish and maintain homes for
orphans and widows and to run educational institutions.
Propagation of the
philosophy of
self respect
became the full-time activity of Periyar since 1925. A Tamil weekly
Kudi
Arasu started in 1925, while the English journal
Revolt started in
1928 carried on the
propaganda
among the English educated people. The
Self-Respect Movement began to grow fast and received the sympathy of the
heads of the Justice Party from the beginning. In May 1929, a conference of
Self-Respect Volunteers was held at Pattukkotai under the
presidency of S. Guruswami. K.V. Alagiriswami took
charge as the head of the volunteer band. Conferences followed in succession
throughout the
Tamil districts of the former
Madras Presidency. A training school in Self-Respect was opened at Erode, the
home town of Periyar. The object was not just to introduce social reform but to
bring about a
social
revolution to foster a new spirit and build a new society.
International travel (1929–1932)
Between 1929 and 1935, under the strain of
World Depression,
political thinking worldwide received a jolt from the spread of
international communism. Indian political parties, movements and considerable sections of leadership were
also affected by inter-continental
ideologies. The Self-Respect Movement also came
under the influence of the leftist
philosophies and institutions. Periyar, after
establishing the
Self-Respect Movement as an independent institution,
began to look for ways to strengthen it politically and socially. To accomplish
this, he studied the history and politics of different countries, and personally
observed these systems at work.
Periyar toured
Malaysia for a
month, from December 1929 to January 1930, to propagate the
self-respect
philosophy. Embarking on his journey from
Nagapattinam with his wife Nagammal and his
followers, Periyar was received by 50,000
Tamil Malaysians in
Penang. During the same month, he inaugurated the Tamils
Conference, convened by the Tamils Reformatory Sangam in
Ipoh, and then went to Singapore. In December 1931 he
undertook a tour of Europe, accompanied by S. Ramanathan and Erode Ramu, to
personally acquaint himself with their
political systems,
social movements, way of life, economic and
social progress and
administration of public bodies. He visited Egypt, Greece, Turkey, Russia,
Germany, England, Spain, France and Portugal, staying in Russia for three
months. On his return journey he halted at
Ceylon and returned to India in November 1932.
The tour shaped the
political ideology of Periyar to achieve the
social
concept of Self-Respect. The
communist system obtained in Russia appealed to him
as appropriately suited to deal with the social ills of the country. Thus, on
socio-economic issues Periyar was
Marxist, but he did not
advocate for abolishing
private ownership. Immediately after
his return, Periyar, in alliance with the enthusiastic communist M. Singaravelu
Chettiar, began to work out a
socio-political scheme incorporating
socialist and
self-respect ideals. This marked a crucial stage of development in the
Self-Respect Movement which got politicised and found its compatibility
in Tamil Nadu.
Opposition to Hindi
In 1937, when
Chakravarthi Rajagopalachari
became the
Chief
Minister of Madras state, he introduced Hindi as a compulsory language of
study in schools, thereby igniting a series of anti-Hindi agitations.
Tamil nationalists,
the Justice Party under Sir
A. T. Panneerselvam, and Periyar organised
anti-Hindi protests in 1938 which ended
with numerous arrests by the Rajaji government.
During the same year, the slogan "Tamil Nadu for Tamilians" was
first raised by Periyar in protest against the introduction of Hindi in schools.
He explained that the introduction of Hindi was a dangerous mechanism used by
the Ayrans to infiltrate Dravidian culture. He
reasoned that the adoption of Hindi would make Tamils subordinate to
Hindi-speaking
North Indians. Periyar explained that Hindi would
not only halt the progress of Tamilians, but would completely destroy their
culture and nullify the progressive ideas that had been successfully inculcated
through Tamil in the recent decades.
Cutting across party lines,
South Indian politicians rallied together in their opposition to
Hindi. There were recurrent
anti-Hindi agitations in 1948, 1952 and
1965.
As President of the Justice Party (1938–1944)
A political party known as the
South Indian Libertarian Federation
(commonly referred to as
Justice Party) was founded in 1916, principally
to oppose the economic and political power of the Brahmin
jati groups. The party's goal was to render
social justice to
non-Brahmin groups. In order to gain the support of the masses, non-Brahmin
politicians began propagating an ideology of equality among non-Brahmin
jati groups. Brahmanical priesthood and
Sanskritic social class-value hierarchy were
blamed for the existence of
inequalities among non-Brahmin
jati
groups.
In 1937, when the government required that Hindi be taught in the school
system, Periyar organised opposition through the
Justice Party to this
policy. After 1937, the
Dravidian movement derived considerable
support from the student community. In later years, opposition to Hindi played a
big role in the
politics of Tamil Nadu. The fear of the
Hindi language had its origin in the conflict between Brahmins and non-Brahmins.
To the
Tamils, acceptance
of Hindi in the school system was a form of bondage. When the
Justice
Party weakened in the absence of mass support, Periyar took over the
leadership of the party after being jailed for opposing Hindi in 1939. Under
his tutelage the party prospered, but the party's conservative members, most of
whom were rich and educated, withdrew from active participation.
Dravidar Kazhagam (1944–onwards)
Formation of
the Dravidar Kazhagam
At a rally in 1944, Periyar, in his capacity as the leader of the Justice
Party, declared that the party would henceforth be known as the
Dravidar
Kazhagam, or "Dravidian Association". However, a few who disagreed with
Periyar started a splinter group, claiming to be the original Justice Party.
This party was led by veteran Justice Party leader
P. T. Rajan and survived till 1957.
The
Dravidar Kazhagam came to be well known amongst the urban
communities and students. Villages were influenced by its message. Hindi, and
ceremonies that had become associated with Brahmanical priesthood, were
identified as alien symbols that should be eliminated from Tamil culture.
Brahmins, who were regarded as the guardians of such symbols, came under verbal
attack. From 1949
onwards, the
Dravidar Kazhagam intensified social reformist work and put
forward the fact that superstitions were the cause for the degeneration of
Dravidians. The
Dravidar Kazhagam vehemently fought for the abolition of
untouchability amongst the
Dalits.
It also focused its attention on the
liberation of women,
women's education,
willing marriage, widow marriage,
orphanages and mercy homes.
Split with Annadurai
In 1949, Periyar's chief lieutenant,
Conjeevaram Natarajan
Annadurai, established a separate association called the
Dravida Munnetra
Kazhagam (DMK), or Dravidian Advancement Association. This was
due to differences between the two, where Periyar advocated a separate
independent Dravidian or Tamil state, while Annadurai compromised with the Delhi
government combined with claims of increased state independence. Periyar was
convinced that individuals and movements that undertake the task of eradicating
the social evils in the Indian sub-continent have to pursue the goal with
devotion and dedication without deviating from the path and with uncompromising
zeal. Thus, if they contest elections aiming to assume political power, they
would lose vigor and sense of purpose. But amongst his followers, there were
those who had a different view, wanting to enter into politics and have a share
in running the government. They were looking for an opportunity to part with
Periyar. Thus, when Periyar married Maniammai on 9 July
1948, they quit the
Dravidar Kazhagam, stating that Periyar set a bad
example by marrying a young woman in his old age - he was 70 and she 30. Those
who parted company with Periyar joined the DMK. Though the DMK split from the
Dravidar Kazhagam, the organisation made
efforts to carry on Periyar's Self-Respect Movement to villagers and urban
students. The DMK advocated the thesis that the Tamil language was much richer
than
Sanskrit and
Hindi in content, and thus was a key which opened the
door to subjects to be learned. The
Dravidar Kazhagam continued to counter Brahminism, Indo-Aryan propaganda,
and uphold the Dravidians' right of
self-determination.
Later years
In 1956, despite warnings from
P.
Kakkan, the President of the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee, Periyar
organised a procession to the Marina in order to burn pictures of the Hindu God
Rama. Periyar was subsequently arrested and confined to prison.
The activities of Periyar continued when he went to Bangalore in 1958 to
participate in the All India Official Language Conference. There he stressed the
need to retain English as the Union Official Language instead of Hindi. Five
years later, Periyar travelled to North India to advocate the eradication of the
caste system. Nearing Periyar's last years, an award was given to him by the
United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and it
was presented to him by the Union Education Minister, Triguna Sen in Madras
(Chennai), on 27 June 1970. In his last meeting at
Thiagaraya Nagar, Chennai on 19 December 1973, Periyar
declared a call for action to gain social equality and a dignified way of life.
On 24 December 1973, Periyar died at the age of 94.
Principles and
legacy
Periyar spent over fifty years giving speeches, propagating the realisation
that everyone is an equal citizen and the differences on basis of caste and
creeds were man-made to keep the innocent and ignorant as underdogs in the
society. Although Periyar's speeches were targeted towards the illiterate and
more mundane mass, scores of educated people were also swayed.
Periyar viewed reasoning as a special tool. According to him, all were blessed
with his tool but very few used it. Thus Periyar used reasoning, with respect to
subjects of social interest, in his presentations to his audience. Communal differences in
Tamil
society were considered by many to be deep-rooted features until Periyar
came to the scene.
Cho Ramaswamy
remarked in
India
Today:
"Periyar was accepted and acclaimed as the leader by a significant section of
the Tamil population in spite of all his contempt for Tamil and disdain for
Tamils only because he was perceived to be a genuine individual, a rarity among
those in public life. There was no shade of hypocrisy in him and he never
attempted sophistry while propounding his social philosophy."
Rationalism
The bedrock of Periyar’s principles and the movements that he started was
rationalism. He thought that an insignificant
minority in society was
exploiting the
majority and trying to keep it in a subordinate
position forever. He wanted the exploited to sit up and think about their
position, and use their reason to realise that they were being exploited by a
handful of people. If they started thinking, they would realise that they were
human beings like the rest, that birth did not and should not endow superiority
over others and that they must awaken themselves and do everything possible to
improve their own lot.
Likewise, Periyar explained that wisdom lies in thinking and that the
spear-head of thinking is rationalism. On
caste, he stated that no other living
being harms or degrades its own class. But man, said to be a
rational living being, does these
evils. The differences, hatred, enmity, degradation, poverty, and wickedness,
now prevalent in the society are due to lack of wisdom and rationalism and not
due to God or the cruelty of time.
Periyar also blamed the
capitalists for their control of machineries,
creating difficulties to the workers. According to his philosophy, rationalism,
which has to lead the way for peaceful life to all, had resulted in causing
poverty and worries to the people because of dominating forces. He stated that
there is no use of simply acquiring titles or amassing wealth if one has no
self-respect and
scientific knowledge. An example he gave
was the West sending messages to the planets, while the
Tamil society in India were sending rice and
cereals to their dead forefathers through the Brahmins
.
In a message to the Brahmin community, Periyar stated, "in the name of god,
religion, and sastras you have duped us. We were the ruling people. Stop this
life of cheating us from this year. Give room for rationalism and humanism". He
added that "any opposition not based on rationalism, science, or experience will
one day or another, reveal the fraud, selfishness, lies and conspiracies".
Self-Respect
Periyar's philosophy of self-respect was based on his image of an ideal world
and a universally accepted one. His philosophy preaches that human actions
should be based on rational thinking. Further, the outcome of the natural
instinct of human beings is to examine every object and every action and even
nature with a spirit of inquiry, and to refuse to submit to anything irrational
as equivalent to slavery. Thus, the philosophy of self-respect taught that human
actions should be guided by reason, right and wrong should follow from
rational thinking and conclusions
drawn from reason should be respected under circumstances. Freedom means respect
to thoughts and actions considered 'right' by human beings on the basis of
'reason'. There is not much difference between 'freedom' and 'self-respect'.
Periyar's foremost appeal to people was to develop self-respect. He preached
that the Brahmins had monopolised and cheated other communities for decades and
deprived them of self-respect. He stated that most Brahmins claimed to belong to
a "superior" community with the reserved privilege of being in charge of temples
and performing
archanas. He felt that they were trying to
reassert their control over religion by using their superior caste status to
claim the exclusive privilege to touch idols or enter the sanctum sanctorum.
Women’s rights
As a
rationalist and ardent social reformer, Periyar
advocated forcefully throughout his life that women should be given their
legitimate position in society as the equals of men and that they should be
given good education and have the
right to property. He was keen that women
should realise their rights and be worthy citizens of their country.
Periyar fought against the orthodox traditions of marriage as suppression of
women in Tamil Nadu and throughout the Indian sub-continent. Though
arranged marriages were meant to enable a
couple to live together throughout life, it was manipulated to
enslave women. Much worse was the practice of child marriages practised throughout India at the
time. It was believed that it would be a sin to marry after puberty. Another practice, which is prevalent today, is the
dowry system where the bride's family is supposed to give
the husband a huge payment for the bride. The purpose of this was to assist the
newly wedded couple financially, but in many instances dowries were misused by
bridegrooms. The outcome of this abuse turned to the exploitation of the bride's
parents wealth, and in certain circumstances, lead to
dowry deaths.There have been hundreds of thousands of cases where wives have been murdered,
mutilated, and burned alive because the father of the bride was unable to make
the dowry payment to the husband. Periyar fiercely stood up against this abuse
meted out against women.
Women in India also did not have rights to their families' or husbands'
property. Periyar fought fiercely for this and also advocated for the women to
have the right to separate or divorce their husbands under reasonable
circumstances. While
birth control
remained taboo in society of Periyar's time, he advocated for it not only for
the health of women and population control, but for the
liberation of women.
He criticised the hypocrisy of
chastity for women and argued that it should also
either belong to men, or not at all for both individuals. While fighting against this, Periyar advocated to get rid of the
Devadasi system. In his view it was an
example of a list of degradations of women attaching them to temples for the
entertainment of others, and as temple prostitutes. As a further liberation of women, Periyar pushed for the right of women to have
an education and to join the
armed services and the
police force.
According to biographer M.D. Gopalakrishnan, Periyar and his movement
achieved a better status for women in
Tamil society. Periyar held that in matters of
education and employment there should be no difference between men and women.
Gopalakrishnan states that Periyar's influence in the
State departments
and even the Center made it possible for women to join police departments and
the army. Periyar also spoke out against
child marriage.
Social
reform and eradication of caste
Periyar wanted thinking people to see their society as far from perfect and
in urgent need of reform. He wanted the government, the political parties and
social workers to identify the evils in society and boldly adopt measures to
remove them. Periyar's philosophy did not differentiate social and political service.According to him, the first duty of a government is to run the social
organisation efficiently, and the philosophy of religion was to organise the
social system. Periyar stated that while Christian and
Islamic religions were fulfilling this
role, the Hindu religion remained totally unsuitable for
social progress. He
argued that the government was not for the people, but, in a "topsy-turvy"
manner, the people were for the government. He attributed this situation to the
state of the
social
system contrived for the advantage of a small group of people.
One of the areas of Periyar's focus was on the upliftment of rural
communities. In a booklet called
Village Uplift, Periyar pled for rural
reform. At that time rural India still formed the largest part of the Indian
subcontinent, in spite of the ongoing process of
urbanisation. Thus, the
distinction between rural and urban had meant an economic and social degradation
for rural inhabitants. Periyar wanted to eradicate the concept of "village" as a
discrimination word among places, just as the concept of "outcast" among social
groups. Periyar advocated for a location where neither the name nor the
situation or its conditions imply differences among people. He further
advocated for the modernisation of villages by providing public facilities such
as schools, libraries, radio stations, roads, bus transport, and police
stations.
Periyar felt that a small number of cunning people created
caste
distinctions in order to dominate over society, so he emphasised that
individuals must first develop self-respect and learn to analyse propositions
rationally. According to Periyar, a self-respecting
rationalist would readily realise
that caste system had been stifling self-respect and therefore he or she would
strive to get rid of this menace.
Periyar stated that the caste system in south India is, due to Indo-Aryan
influence, linked with the arrival of Brahmins from the
north. Ancient
Tamil Nadu (part of
Tamilakkam)
had a different stratification of society in four or five regions
(
Tinai), determined by natural surroundings and adequate means of
living. Periyar also
argued that birds, animals, and worms, which are considered to be devoid of
rationalism do not create castes, or differences of high and low in their own
species. But man, considered to be a rational being, was suffering from these
because of religion and discrimination.
Ideals and
criticisms
Periyar's political ideal was to nullify the effect of perceived Brahmin
power in favour of a Shudra power. The basis of this strategy was the assumed
truth of the
Aryan Invasion Theory, which viewed the
Indian demography along racial dimensions—the Aryan North and the Dravidian
South. Thus, the political ideal was a mix of
casteism and
racism.
Periyar's opponents accused him of attacking Hinduism and the Brahmin
community. But his was targeted against Brahminism and not Brahmins, and the
manipulation of Hinduism and not Hinduism as a faith. But, there are no
statements attributed to Periyar on any manipulations by other religions such as
Buddhism, Christianity, or Islam.
Periyar was listed amongst the
top 100 most influential people amongst
Tamil society of the 20th century.
Tamil language and
writing
Periyar claimed that
Tamil,
Telugu,
Malayalam, and
Kannada came from the
same mother language of
Old Tamil. He explained that the Tamil
language is called by four different names since it is spoken in four different
Dravidian states. Nevertheless, current understanding of
Dravidian
languages contains statements contradicting such claims. For example, the
currently known classification of
Dravidian languages provides
the following distinct classes: Southern (including Tamil–Kannada (Malayalam)
and Tulu); Central (including Telugu–Kui and Kolami–Parji); and, Northern
(including Kurukh–Malto and Brahui). Additionally, statements on the presence of
evidence for linking
Dravidian
languages and Indo-European languages are available.
With relation to writing, Periyar stated that using the Tamil script about
the arts, which are useful to the people in their life and foster knowledge,
talent and courage, and propagating them among the masses, will enlighten the
people. Further, he explained that it will enrich the language, and thus it can
be regarded as a zeal for Tamil. Periyar also stated that if words of North Indian origin (Sanskrit) are removed
from Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam, only Tamil will be left. On the Brahmin
usage of Tamil, he stated how the Tamil spoken by the
Andrhas and the
Malayalee peoples was far better than the Tamil spoken
by the Brahmins. Periyar believed that Tamil language will make the Dravidian
people unite under the banner of Tamil culture, and that it will make the
Kannadigas, Andhras and the Malayalees be vigilant. With regards to a Dravidian
alliance under a common umbrella language, Periyar stated that "a time will come
for unity. This will go on till there is an end to the North Indian domination.
We shall reclaim an independent
sovereign state for us".
At the same time, Periyar was also known to have made controversial remarks
on the Tamil language and people from time to time. On one occasion, he referred
to the Tamil people as "barbarians" and the Tamil language as the "language of barbarians". However, Anita Diehl explains that Periyar made these remarks on Tamil because
it had no respective feminine verbal forms.
Periyar's ideas on
Tamil
alphabet reforms and his reasons were for the following such as the vowel
'ஈ' (i), having a cursive and looped representation of the short form, 'இ'
(I).
[clarification
needed] In
stone inscriptions from 400 or 500 years ago, many
Tamil letters are found in
other shapes. As a matter of necessity and advantage to cope with printing
technology, Periyar thought that it was sensible to change a few letters, reduce
the number of letters, and alter a few signs. He further explained that the
older and the more divine a language and its letters were said to be, the more
they needed reform. Because of changes brought about by means of modern
transport and international contact, and happenings that have attracted words
and products from many countries, foreign words and their pronunciations have
been assimilated into Tamil quite easily. Just as a few compound characters have
separate signs to indicate their length as in ' கா ', ' கே ' (kA:, kE:), Periyar
argued why should not other compound characters like ' கி ', ' கீ ', 'கு ', ' கூ
' (kI, ki:,kU, ku:) (indicated integrally as of now), also have separate signs.
Further, changing the shape of letters, creating new symbols and adding new
letters and similarly, dropping those that are redundant, were quite essential
according to Periyar. Thus, the
glory and
excellence of a language and its script depend on
how easily they can be understood or learned and on nothing else"
Thoughts on
Thirukkural
Main article:
Thirukkural
Periyar hailed the
Thirukkural as a valuable scripture which contained
many scientific and philosophical truths. He also praised the secular nature of
the work. Periyar praised
Thiruvalluvar for his description of God as a
formless entity with only positive attributes. He also suggested that one who
reads the Thirukkural will become a
Self-respecter, absorbing knowledge in politics,
society, and economics. According to him, though certain items in this ancient
book of ethics may not relate to today, it permitted such changes for modern
society.
On
caste, he believed that the Kural illustrates
how
Vedic laws of
Manu were against the
Sudras and other communities of the
Dravidian race. On the other hand, Periyar opined that the ethics from the Kural
was comparable to the Christian Bible. The Dravidar Kazhagam adopted the
Thirukkural and advocated that Thiruvalluvar's Kural alone was enough to educate
the people of the country. One of
Periyar's quotes on the Thirukkural from Veeramani's
Collected Works of
Periyar was "when Dravida Nadu (Dravidistan) was a victim to Indo-Aryan
deceit, Thirukkural was written by a great Dravidian Thiruvalluvar to free the
Dravidians".
Self-Determination of Dravidistan
The Dravidian-Aryan conflict was believed to be a continuous historical
phenomenon that started when the Aryans first set their foot in the Dravidian
lands. Even a decade before the idea of separation appeared, Periyar stated
that, "as long as
Aryan religion, Indo-Aryan
domination, propagation of Aryan
Vedas and
Aryan "Varnashrama" existed, there was need for a "Dravidian Progressive
Movement" and a "Self-Respect Movement". Periyar became very concerned about the growing north Indian domination over the
south which appeared to him no different from foreign domination. He wanted to
secure the fruits of labour of the Dravidians to the Dravidians, and lamented
that fields such as political, economic, industrial, social, art, and spiritual
were dominated by the north for the benefit of the north Indians. Thus, with the
approach of independence from
Britain, this fear that
North India would take the place of Britain to
dominate
south India became
more and more intense.
Periyar was clear about the concept of a separate multi-linguistic nation,
comprising
Tamil,
Telugu,
Malayalam and
Kannada areas, that is roughly corresponding to the
then existing Madras Presidency with adjoining areas into a
federation guaranteeing
protection
of
minorities,
including religious, linguistic, and cultural freedom of the people. A
separatist conference was held in June 1940 at Kanchipuram when Periyar released
the map of the proposed
Dravida Nadu, but failed to get British approval.
On the contrary, Periyar received sympathy and support from people such as
Bhimrao Ramji
Ambedkar and
Muhammad Ali Jinnah for his views on the Congress,
and for his opposition to Hindi. They then decided to convene a movement to
resist the Congress.
The concept of
Dravida Nadu was later modified down to Tamil Nadu This led to a proposal of a union of the Tamil people of not only
South India but including those
of Ceylon as well. In 1953, Periyar
helped to preserve Madras as the capital of Tamil Nadu, which later was the name
he substituted for the more general Dravida Nadu. In 1955 Periyar
threatened to burn the national flag, but on Chief Minister Kamaraj's pledge
that Hindi should not be compulsory he postponed the action. In his speech of 1957 called
Suthantara Tamil Nadu En? (Why an
independent Tamil Nadu?), he criticised the Central Government of India inducing
thousands of Tamilians to burn the constitution of India. The reason for this
action was that Periyar held the Government responsible for maintaining the
caste system. After stating reasons for separation and turning down opinions
against it he closed his speech with a "war cry" to join and burn the map of
India on June 5. Periyar was sentenced to six months imprisonment for burning
the Indian constitution.
Advocacy of such a nation became illegal when
separatist demands were banned by
law in 1957. Regardless of these measures, a
Dravida Nadu Separation Day
was observed on September 17, 1960 resulting in numerous arrests. However, Periyar
resumed his campaign in 1968. He wrote an editorial on 'Tamil Nadu for
Tamilians' in which he stated, that by nationalism only Brahmins had prospered
and
nationalism had been
developed to abolish the rights of
Tamils. He advocated that there was need to
establish a
Tamil Nadu Freedom Organization and that it was necessary to
work towards it.
Anti-Brahmanism
vs. Anti-Brahmin
Periyar was a radical
advocate of
anti-Brahmanism. His
anti-brahmanism was
evident from his comments to his followers that if they encountered a Brahmin
and a
snake on the road they should kill
the Brahmin first. He also
used violent and vulgar language in his writings against
Hindu gods.
In 1920 when the Justice Party came to power, Brahmins occupied about 70
percent of the
high level posts in government. After reservation was introduced by the Justice
Party, it reversed this trend, allowing non-Brahmins to rise in the government
of the Madras Presidency. Periyar,
through the Justice Party, advocated against the imbalance of the domination of
Brahmins who constituted only 3 percent of
the Population over
Government jobs,
judiciary and the Madras University. His
Self-Respect Movement espoused rationalism and
atheism and the movement had currents of
anti-Brahminism. Furthermore,
Periyar stated that:
"Our Dravidian movement does not exist against
the Brahmins or the Banias (a North Indian merchant caste). If anyone thinks so, I would only pity
him. But we will not tolerate the ways in which Brahminism and the Bandiaism is
degrading Dravidanadu. Whatever support they may have from the government,
neither myself nor my movement will be of cowardice".
However, at the same time, Periyar has also advocated the destruction of
Brahmins.
"Only if the Brahmin is destroyed, caste will be destroyed. The Brahmin is a
snake entangled in our feet. He will bite. If you take off your leg, that's all.
Don't leave. Brahmin is not able to dominate because power is in the hands of
the Tamilian
Periyar also criticised
Subramanya Bharathi in the journal
Ticutar for portraying Mother Tamil as a sister of Sanskrit in his
poems:
"They say Bharati is an immortal poet.…Even if a rat dies in an akrakāram,
they would declare it to be immortal.…All of Tamilnadu praises him. Why should
this be so? Supposedly because he sang fulsome praises of Tamil and Tamilnadu.
What else could he sing? His own mother tongue, Sanskrit, has been dead for
years. What other language did he know? He cannot sing in Sanskrit.…He says
Tamilnadu is the land of Aryas."
Comparisons with
Gandhi
In the
Vaikom
Satyagraha of 1924, Periyar and Gandhi both cooperated and confronted each
other in
socio-political action. Periyar and his
followers emphasised the difference in point of view between Gandhi and himself
on the
social issues, such as fighting the
Untouchability Laws and eradication of the caste system.
According to the booklet
Gandhi and Periyar Periyar wrote in his paper
Kudi Arasu, in 1925, reporting on the fact that Gandhi was ousted from
the
Mahasabha, because he opposed
resolutions for the maintaining of caste and Untouchability Laws which would
spoil his efforts to bring about Hindu-Muslim unity. From this Gandhi learned
the need of pleasing the Brahmins if anything was to be achieved.
Peiryar in his references to Gandhi used opportunities to present Gandhi as
on principle serving the interests of the Brahmins. in 1927, Periyar and Gandhi
met at
Bangalore to discuss this
matter. The main difference between them came out when Periyar stood for the
total eradication of Hinduism to which Gandhi objected saying that Hinduism is
not fixed in doctrines but can be changed. In the
Kudi Arasu, Periyar
explained that:
"With all his good qualities, Gandhi did not bring the people forward from
foolish and evil ways. His murderer was an educated man. Therefore nobody can
say this is a time of high culture. If you eat poison you will die. If
electricity hits the body you will die. If you oppose the Brahmin you will die.
Gandhi did not advocate the eradication of Varnasrama Dharma structure but sees in it a
task for the humanisation of society and social change possible within its
structure. The consequence of this would be continued high-caste leadership.
Gandhi adapted Brahmins to social change without depriving them of their
leadership".
Thus, Gandhi did not advocate the eradication of the Varnasrama Dharma
structure but saw in it a task for the humanisation of
society and
social change possible within its structure. The
consequence of this would be continued high-caste leadership. Gandhi accepted
karma in the sense that "the
Untouchables reap the reward of their
karma, but was
against discrimination against them using the revaluing term
Harijans. As
shown in the negotiations at Vaikom his methods of abolishing discrimination
were: to stress on the
orthodox inhumane
treatment of
Untouchables; to secure voluntary lifting of the ban by
changing the hearts of caste Hindus; and to work within a Hindu framework of
ideas.
On the Temple Entry issue Gandhi never advocated the opening of
Garbha
Griha to
Harijans in consequence of his Hindu belief. These sources
which can be labelled "pro-Periyar" with the exception of M. Mahar and D.S.
Sharma, clearly show that Periyar and his followers emphasised that Periyar was
the real fighter for the removal of Untouchability and the true uplift of
Hairjans, whereas Gandhi was not. This did not prevent Periyar from having faith
in Gandhi on certain matters.
Religion and atheism
Periyar was generally regarded as a
pragmatic propagandist who attacked the evils of religious
influence on society, mainly what he regarded as Brahmin domination. At a young
age, he felt that some people used religion only as a mask to deceive innocent
people and considered it as his life's mission to warn people against
superstitions and priests. Anita
Diehl explains that Periyar cannot be called an atheist philosopher. Periyar,
however, qualified for the definition of what the term 'atheist' implies in his
address on philosophy. He repudiated the term as without real sense: "…the talk
of the atheist should be considered thoughtless and erroneous. The thing I call
god... that makes all people equal and free, the god that does not stop free
thinking and research, the god that does not ask for money, flattery and temples
can certainly be an object of worship. For saying this much I have been called
an atheist, a term that has no meaning".
Anita Diehl explains that Periyar was against incompatibility of faith with
social equality and not religion itself. In a book
on revolution published in 1961, Periyar stated, "be of help to people. Do not
use treachery or deceit. Speak the truth and do not cheat. That indeed is
service to God".
On Hinduism, Periyar believed that it was a religion with no distinctive
sacred book (bhawad gita), or origins, but to be an imaginary faith preaching
the "superiority" of the Brahmins, the inferiority of the Shudras, and the
untouchability of the Dalits (Panchamas).
Maria Misra, a lecturer at
Oxford University, compares him to the
philosophes, by stating, "his contemptuous attitude
to the baleful influence of Hinduism in Indian public life is strikingly akin to
the anti-
Catholic
diatribes of the
enlightenment
philosophes". In 1955,
Periyar was arrested for his public agitation of burning the pictures of
Rama at public places, as a symbolic protest
against the Indo-Aryan domination and
degradation of the Dravidian
leadership according to the
Ramayana
epic. Periyar
also shoed the images of
Krishna and
Rama, stating that they were Aryan gods that considered the Dravidian Shudras to
be "sons of prostitutes".
Periyar openly suggested to those who were
marginalised within the Hindu
communities
to consider
converting to other faiths such as
Islam,
Christianity, or
Buddhism. On Islam, he stated how it was good for
abolishing the disgrace in human relationship, based on one of his speeches to
railway employees at
Tiruchirapalli in 1947. Periyar also commended
Islam for its belief in one invisible and formless God; proclamation of equal
rights for men and women; and advocating of social unity.
At the rally in Tiruchi, Periyar said:
"Muslims are following the ancient philosophies of the Dravidians. The Arabic
word for Dravidian religion is Islam. When Brahmanism was imposed in this
country, it was Mohammad Nabi who opposed it, by instilling the Dravidian
religion's policies as Islam in the minds of the people"
Periyar viewed Christianity similar to the
monotheistic faith of Islam. He
explained that their faith says that there can be only one God which has no name
or shape. Periyar took an interest in Rev.
Martin Luther, where both he and his followers
wanted to liken him and his role to that of the European
reformer.
Thus, Christian views such as that of
Ram Mohan Roy's
The Precepts of Jesus has
had at least an indirect influence on Periyar.
Apart from Islam and Christianity, Periyar also found in Buddhism a basis for
his philosophy though he did not accept that religion. It was again an
alternative in the search for self-respect and the object was to get
liberation from the discrimination of
Hinduism. Through Periyar's movement
Temple Entry Acts of 1924, 1931, and up to
1950 were created for the non-Brahmins. Another accomplishment took place during
the 1970s when Tamil replaced Sanskrit as the Temple language in Tamil Nadu,
while Dalits were finally eligible for
priesthood.
Controversies
Comments on Brahmins, Dalits and Religious Minorities
Dalit intellectual Ravikumar states that Periyar was not much of a supporter
of the minorities. He cites Periyar's sayings from the book "Periyar E V R
Sinthanaigal" by Anaimuthu in support of this claim:
We feared the Brahmin, and yielded extra space to Muslims. We are facing the
consequences today. It's like that proverb: Fearing the dung, we have stepped on
shit. If sahibs (meaning Muslims) get proportionate representation and the
Scheduled Castes get representation in jobs and education and if the rest of the
slots are monopolised by Brahmins, O Shudra, what will be your future
These comments, along with other controversial comments allegedly made by
Periyar, were also perceived as anti-Dalit by a section of the intelligentsia
and were the subject of a book "'E V Ramasamy Naickarin Marupakkam" or "The
other side of E V Ramasamy Naicker" written by M. Venkatesan. However, Dalit leader and founder of Puthiya Tamizhagam
K. Krishnasamy praises
Periyar and credits him for administering justice to Dalits during the 1957
Ramnad riots. His views
are echoed by Punitha Pandian of
Dalit Murasu.
In 1954, Periyar controversially referred to Tamil Nadu's Christians and
Muslims as non-Tamils.
Factionism in the
Justice Party
When B. Munuswamy Naidu became the Chief Minister of Madras Presidency in
1930, he endorsed the inclusion of Brahmins in the Justice Party, saying:
So long as we exclude one community, we cannot as a political speak on behalf
of or claim to represent all the people of our presidency. If, as we hope,
provincial autonomy is given to the provinces as a result of the reforms that
may be granted, it should be essential that our Federation should be in a
position to claim to be a truly representative body of all communities. What
objection can there be to admit such Brahmins as are willing to subscribe to the
aims and objects of our Federation? It may be that the Brahmins may not join
even if the ban is removed. But surely our Federation will not thereafter be
open to objection on the ground that it is an exclusive organisation.
Though certain members supported the resolution, a faction in the Justice
Party known as the "Ginger Group" opposed the resolution and eventually voted it
down. Periyar, who was then an observer in the Justice Party, criticised
Munuswamy Naidu, saying:
At a time when non-Brahmins in other parties were gradually coming over to
the Justice Party, being fed up with the Brahmin's methods and ways of dealing
with political questions, it was nothing short of folly to think of admitting
him into the ranks of the Justice Party.
This factionism continued till 1932 when Munuswamy Naidu stepped down as the
Chief Minister of Madras and the
Raja of
Bobbili became the chief minister.
Violence by
Periyar's followers
In response to Hindu processions during Ganesha Chathurthi and Ram Navami,
Periyar led processions which slippered and broke idols of Rama, Lakshmana and
Pillaiyar. Though Periyar claimed to follow peaceful means of protest, nevertheless, these
processions often caused violent clashes between Periyar's followers and
theists, represented in
modern times by right-wing organisations as
Hindu Munnani and
Hindu Makkal Katchi. From time to time, activists of the Dravidar Kazhagam have also launched
physical attacks on Brahmins. Tempers reached a boiling point when a member of the Dravidar Kazhagam tried to
assassinate Rajagopalachari. The attack was, however, unsuccessful and was severely condemned by Periyar who
prohibited the usage of violence.
On 7 December 2006, a statue of Periyar opposite the Ranganathaswamy temple
at Srirangam was defaced by activists of the Hindu Makkal Katchi. Supporters of Periyar retaliated with violence against Hindu
mutts and temples. Petrol bombs were allegedly hurled and devotees attacked at
Ayodhya Mandapam, a
Hindu religious congregational centre in
West Mambalam, by members
of
Thanthai Periyar Dravidar
Kazhagam, a splinter group of the Dravidar Kazhagam.
Followers and
influence
MGR paying respects to Periyar's mortal
remains
After the death of Periyar in 1973, conferences were held throughout Tamil
Nadu for a week in January 1974. The same year Periyar's wife, Maniyammai, the
new head of the
Dravidar Kazhagam, set fire to the
effigies of '
Rama', '
Sita' and '
Lakshmana' at Periyar Thidal, Madras.
This was a retaliation to the
Ramaleela celebrations where effigies of
'
Ravana', '
Kumbakarna' and '
Indrajit' were burnt in New Delhi. For this act she
was imprisoned. During the 1974
May
Day meetings held at different places in Tamil Nadu, a resolution urging the
Government to preserve 80 percent of jobs for
Tamils was
passed. Soon after this, a camp was held at Periyar Mansion in
Tiruchirapalli to train young men and women to
spread the ideals of the
Dravidar Kazhagam in
rural areas.
On Periyar's Birthday of 17 September 1974, Periyar's
Rationalist
Library and
Research Library and
Research Institute was opened
by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi. This library contained Periyar's
rationalist
works, the
manuscripts of Periyar and his recorded
speeches. Also during the same year Periyar's ancestral home in Erode, was dedicated as a
commemoration building. On February 20, 1977, the opening function of
Periyar
Building in Madras was held. At the meeting which the Managing Committee of
the
Dravidar Kazhagam held, there on that day, it was decided to support
the candidates belonging to the
Janata Party, the
Dravida Munnetra
Kazhagam (DMK), and the
Marxist Party during the General
Elections.
On 16 March 1978, Maniyammai died. The
Managing Committee of the Dravidar
Kazhagam elected
K.
Veeramani as General Secretary of the
Dravidar Kazhagam on March 17,
1978. From then on, the
Periyar-Maniyammai Educational and Charitable
Society started the
Periyar Centenary Women's Polytechnic at
Thanjavur on September 21, 1980. On
May 8, 1982, the
College for Correspondence Education was started under
the auspices of the
Periyar Rationalist Propaganda Organization.
Over the years, Periyar's influence had an impact on Tamil Nadus political
party heads such as
C.N. Annadurai and
M.
Karunanidhi of
the
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam' (DMK),
V. Gopalswamy founder
of the
Marumalarchi Dravida
Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK),
S.
Ramadoss founder
of the
Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK),
Thol.
Thirumavalavan, founder of the
Dalit
Panthers of India (DPI), and
Dravidar Kazhagam's K. Veeramani. Other political figures influenced by Periyar were former Congress minister
K. Kamaraj, former
Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh
Mayawati Periyar's life and teachings have also influenced writers and poets such as
Kavignar Inkulab, and
Bharathidasan including actors
such as
Kamal Hassan and
Sathyaraj. Noted
Tamil Comedian
N. S. Krishnan was a close friend and follower of
Periyar.
W. P. A. Soundarapandian Nadar
was a close confidant of Periyar and encouraged Nadars to be a part of the
Self-Respect Movement.
In popular culture
Sathyaraj and
Khushboo
Sundar starred in a government-sponsored film on Periyar E. V. Ramaswami
released in 2007. Directed by
Gnana Rajasekaran, the film was screened in
Malayisa on 1 May 2007 and was screened at the Goa International Film Festival
in November that year. The president of
the
Dravidar
Kazhagam,
K.
Veeramani, said there were plans to dub the film in
Hindi and other foreign languages, including French.
Sathyaraj will be reprising his role
as Periyar in the film
Kalavadiya Pozhudugal directed by
Thangar Bachan which will
release in late 2010.
