E. V. Ramaswamy was a Tamil nationalist, politician and social worker. Their fans used to respectfully address 'Periyar' with them. They started 'self-respect movement' or 'Dravid movement'. He formed the Justice Party, which later became 'Dravid Kadgam'. He opposed lifelong conservative Hindutva and strongly opposed the mandatory teaching of Hindi. He worked a lifetime for the exploited class of South Indian society. He attacked the Brahmins and Brahmins and demanded a separate nation 'Dravid Nadu'. Periyar E.V. Ramaswamy emphasized issues like logic, self-esteem and women's rights and a strongly opposed caste system. He fought the right of South Indian non-Tamil people and also opposed the dominion of North Indians. His work changed very much in Tamil society and caste discrimination also reduced to a great extent. In his quotation, UNESCO described him as "the enemy of the new age, the Socrates of Southeast Asia, the father of the social reform movement, the enemy of the ignorance, superstitions and customs of unnecessary".
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| E. V. Ramaswamy 'Periyar' |
Erode Venkata Naikar Ramaswamy was born on September 17, 1879, in a prosperous and traditional Hindu family in Erode, Milano. His father, Venkatappa Naidu, was a wealthy businessman. His mother's name was Chinna Thaimalal. He had a big brother and two sisters.
In 1885, he enrolled for education at the local primary school, but after a few years of formal education, he joined his father's business. From childhood, he used to question the authenticity of the said things in orthodoxy, superstitious and religious observances. He said that the anti-conflicting things spoken in Hindu epics and mythology were absurd and even mocked. He openly opposed social evils like child marriage, devadasi practice, widow remarriage and the exploitation of women and Dalits. They also opposed and boycotted the caste system.
Kashi yatra, 1904
In 1904, Periyar travelled to Kashi, who changed his life. After hunger, he went to the free banquet there but after learning that he was only for the Brahmins. He still used to get food but he was disgraced by being pushed and turned against him because he became an opponent of conservative Hindutva. After this, he did not accept any religion and remained the lifelong atheist.
Congress Party Member, 1919
He worked as the Chairman of the Municipal Corporation of Erode and promoted the work of social uplift. They also worked towards increasing the use of khadi. On the initiative of Chakravarti Rajgopalachari, he became a member of the Congress in 1919. He participated in non-cooperation movement and was arrested. In the Tirupur session of 1922, he became president of the Madras Presidency Congress Committee and advocated reservation in government jobs and education. In 1925, he left the Congress party.
Vaikom Satyagraha
The strict rules of untouchability in Vaikom of Kerala, according to which the Dalits / Harijans were barred on the road surrounding any temple. Periyar led the Vaikom movement on the request of Congress leaders in Kerala. This was done to remove the prohibition of running a Dalit on roads leading to the movement. His wife and friends also joined him in this movement.
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| The leader of Self-respect movement |
Self-respect Movement, 1925
Periyar and his supporters have always pressurized the authorities and the government to reduce the inequality of society. The main goal of 'self-respect movement' was to bring pride to non-Brahmin Dravidis on their golden past. After 1925, Periyar focused on spreading the 'self-respect movement'. The publication of a Tamil weekly 'Kudi Arasu' (started in 1925) and the English Journal 'Revolt' (started in 1928) was started for the propagation of the movement. The aim of this movement was not only 'social reform' but also 'social movement'.
Justice Party or Dravid Kadgam, 1916
In 1916, a political organization 'South Indian Liberation Association' was established. Its main objective was to oppose the economic and political power of the Brahmin community and the social uplift of non-Brahmins This institution later became 'Justice Party' In order to gain the support of the masses, non-Brahmin politicians propagated the ideology of equality among non-Brahmin castes.
Hindi language protest, 1937
In 1937 when C. Rajagopalachari became the Chief Minister of Madras Presidency, he made Hindi language education compulsory in schools, which triggered the anti-Hindi movement. Tamil Nationalist leaders, Justice Party and Periyar organized anti-Hindi movements, which in turn led to the arrest of many people in 1938. In the same year, Periyar gave a slogan "For Tamil Nadu Tamils" in protest of Hindi. He believed that after the implementation of Hindi, Tamil culture would be destroyed and the Tamil community would be subject to North Indians.
Leaders of all South Indian parties, together with their political ideologies, opposed Hindi. In the anti-protest movement of 1937, Periyar took the help of 'Justice Party'. When the Justice Party became a weak post, Periyar took over the leadership and empowered it through the anti-Hindi movement.
In 1944, Periyar changed the name of Justice Party to 'Dravid Kadgam'. The influence of Dravid Kadgam was on urban people and students. Rural areas were also not untouched by the message. On the protest of anti-Hindi and Brahmin customs and rituals, Dravid Kadgam fastened his feet. Dravid struggled for the abolition of assassination in Dalits.
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