Father of Dravidian and Self-Respect Movement

Mention of Tamil Nadu evokes images of sacred cities like Kanchipuram, Thanjavur, Madurai, Tiruchirappalli, Kumbakonam, and many more places filled with temples and rituals. Equally vivid are the images of Brahmin and other upper caste devotees with white Vibhuti marks on their fore heads. 

In such a deeply religious and caste-conscious society, political parties in Tamil Nadu cannot function without invoking the word ‘Dravida’. Two major political  parties, DMK and AIDMK, as well as others grounded in Dravidian ideology, all trace their roots back to the ideas of the radical reformer, Periyar Ramaswamy (17 September 1879 - 29 December 1973). Whether it’s superstitious traditions or the masses who follow them, no one can ignore Periyar, a fierce critic of religious orthodoxy.  His enduring influence reflects the deep respect and love he earned from the Tamil people!

It can be said that Periyar lived a full life and achieved in his lifetime what visionaries like Mahatma Jyotirao Phule, Sree Narayana Guru, and Dr. B.R. Ambedkar could only began to realise. If the life of Periyar Ramaswami Nayakar is to continue inspiring Dalit and Dravida movements, today’s youth must study his journey: his struggles, values, and victories.

Birth and Early Life

Erode Venkatappa Ramaswamy (E.V. Ramasamy) was born on 17 September 1879 in Erode, Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu to Venkatappanayakar and Chinnathayi Muthammal.[1] At the age of 12, without any formal education, he began assisting his father in business. Even as a child, Ramaswamy was a keen rational thinker. Upset by his father’s anger, he once left home on a pilgrimage, where he encountered filth, corruption, caste discrimination, and hypocrisy in temples. 

In Kashi, despite extreme hunger, he was denied food at Dharamshalas and Annadana Satrams (Free kitchens) that served only Brahmins, though built with donations from all communities. This injustice awakened the rationalist in him. He observed with dismay how the so-called holy city, Kashi, was filled with beggars, corruption, fraud, robbery, filth, and floating corpses, which contradicted its sacred reputation. Upon returning, he vowed to oppose inhuman customs and caste-based discrimination.[2]

In 1905, when a plague outbreak struck Erode, wealthy families fled the town, but Ramasamy stayed to serve the sick and even cremated the orphaned corpses. His leadership and mediation in resolving community disputes amicably earned him government appointments to several key positions: Erode Municipality Chairman, Taluka Board Chairman, District Board Chairman, Urban Bank Chairman, and Temple Board Chairman. With the support from Rajaji, he became Chairman of the Madras Congress Committee.[3]

Fight as a Congress leader

After joining the Indian National Congress, Ramasamy carried out every assignment with discipline and  passion. During the Non-cooperation Movement in 1920, he resigned from all 29 of his official posts. He also gave up his hereditary business, which generated Rs. 20,000 annually, and donated family gold jewellery to the freedom movement. Imprisoned for defying colonial laws, he had full faith in Gandhi and implemented every directive of the Madras Congress, considering them Gandhi’s commands. 

When Gandhi launched the Khadi movement, Ramaswamy gave up foreign clothes and adopted khadi. He also persuaded his wife, sister, and even his 80-year-old mother to wear khadi. Gandhi stayed at his home during his visit to Erode in 1920. At the request of Ramasamy’s wife Nagammal and sister Kannammal, Gandhi launched an alcohol prohibition movement. At Gandhi’s call, Ramasamy cut down over 580 palm (toddy) trees on his own land and was jailed for one month.[4]

In 1924, he actively participated in the Vaikom satyagraha in Kerala alongside Sree Narayana Guru and Ayyankali to demand temple entry for lower castes. He stayed in Kerala for over a year and helped in the movement’s success.[5] 

Back in Tamil Nadu, he protested against caste-based dining practices at a Gurukul School in Tirunelveli, funded by non-Brahmins but reserved for Brahmin children! Even Gandhi remained silent on this issue.6 At the Thiruchanur Provincial Congress Meeting, Ramasamy introduced a resolution to allow untouchables into temples, but it was rejected by Brahmin delegates. In protest,  he vowed to burn texts like the Manusmriti and Ramayana that upheld caste discrimination and superstition. 

During 1920-23, he introduced resolutions advocating reservations for non-Brahmins at every annual Congress meeting: Thiruvanveli (1920), Thanjavur (1921), Thiruchanur (1922), and Salem (1923), but each was defeated. Hopes rose again in 1925 at Kanchipuram under the leadership of Tirukalyan Sundaram, a trade unionist and non-Brahmin scholar, but the resolution was once againdefeated.7 Disillusioned, Ramasamy resigned from the Congress and launched the Dravidian Self-respect Movement in Kanchipuram.

In 1923, he supported the  Madras Assembly law by the Maharaja of Panagal, which provided opportunities for non-Brahmins in education, and employment, decrying Congress for opposing that law. 

The Dravidian Self-Respect Movement

Periyar believed all human beings are equal. However, Hindu society maintained two sets of moral rules: one for Brahmins and another for non-Brahmins. He condemned Brahmins for controlling institutions funded by non-Brahmins while denying them equal respect and access. He described this disparity as “Arya Dravida morality,” rooted in racist and colour-based hierarchies. He blamed the Manusmriti and Ramayana for embedding caste in Dravidian society, which he argued had been colonised by Aryan Brahmins. Periyar asserted that the Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam speaking people were indigenous Dravidians and the Self-respect movement aimed to liberate them from Aryan domination.[8]

Periyar travelled across Tamil Nadu conducting mass meetings, inter-caste, inter-faith, and widow remarriages without Sanskrit rituals or Brahmin priests. He encouraged women to lead meetings and championed Tamil cultural traditions rooted in Sangam literature. After the DMK came to power in 1967,  marriages without priests were legalised. 

The movement prioritised women’s rights and fought the Devadasi system (Temple Prostitution) and alcoholism. Many women, including Ramamritam Ammayyar, Narayani Ammayyar, Tamaraikkanni Ammayyar, Munnagada Azhigiyar, and Dalit women like Veerammal and Annai Minambal Shivaraj led these campaigns. In fact, Dalit women were instrumental in conferring the title Periyar (Respected Elder) on Ramaswamy.[9]

In 1927, at a meeting with Gandhi in Bangalore, Periyar declared that untouchability could not be abolished without destroying Varnashram Dharma.[10] He insisted that Congress must disavow Hinduism, which justified caste. As the Self-respect movement gained momentum, Periyar visited Malaysia and Singapore to galvanise support among the Tamil diaspora. He was also the first Indian philosopher to write a book on family planning, not merely as population control, but as a woman’s right over her own body. 

In 1937, Periyar opposed the Rajaji-led Madras government’s order of compulsory teaching of Hindi in Tamil Nadu and from Tiruchirappalli, he called for a separate Tamil state. He was jailed for two years during this anti-Hindi agitation.[11] 

He also called for reform in everyday language to eliminate patriarchy and caste supremacy. He condemned the word ‘masculinity’ as derogatory to women and challenged the worship of gods who upheld caste and male domination. He insisted that just as a woman is called a widow after her husband’s death, a man should be called a widower, and a man who commits adultery an ‘adulterer’. 

In 1953, idols were publicly broken to prove their material and symbolic powerlessness. His provocative questions like “Why do gods have two wives? Why are their marriage celebrated every year?” — were designed to break blind devotion. 

He coined the term Brahmanocracy to mock Brahmin dominance. His oft-repeated poser was: “Why should we touch the feet of Brahmin priests who perpetuate our slavery?” 

In 1938, at a women’s conference in Madras, Ramaswamy was given the title Periyar (Honorable, Elder and Wise). His title became more popular than his name. His Dravida Kazhagam (DK) critiqued Hindu scriptures, mythology, and Aryan dominance in simple, relatable language. The DK launched both Tamil and English publications like Unmayi” (Truth) in 1970, followed in succession by Kudi Arasu (Right King), Viduthalai, Modern Rationalist, and Purachchi Egutayu to spread its ideas.12

Rewriting Mythologies and Questioning Gods

Drvidian ideologues reinterpreted Hindu epics. They saw Lord Rama, hero of the Ramayana, as a symbol of Aryan aggression, who invaded India from Persia and Central Asia, defeated native Dravidian kingdoms, portrayed them as demons, enslaved them, and manipulated public sentiment with mythologies. Heroes like In contrast, figures like Ravana, Kumbha Karna, and Tataki were seen as misrepresented Dravidian leaders. They asked provocative questions: 

Where was Vishnu’s Chakra during invasions by Ghazni, Ghori, or Clive? 

Periyar once stated:

“If I’m asked whether I want caste, or poverty to end first, I would say caste. Because, a poor man can become rich, but a lower-caste man can never become an upper-caste man.” 

Legacy

From grassroot activism, the self-respect movement evolved into a political force. Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), led by C.N. Annadurai, emerged from DK and came to power in 1967. Later, AIADMK split from DMK, but both retained Dravidian ideology, and Tamil Nadu’s politics revolved around these two parties. In 1970, Tamil Nadu government issued an order opening doors for non-Brahmins for appointment as priests.[13]

Periyar never held any government position, but upon his death on 29 December 1973, the Tamil Nadu government gave him a full state funeral. His influence spread beyond India, particularly his advocacy for the rights of states and linguistic identities. 

His memorials, statues, and institutions stand across Tamil Nadu and other Indian states, even during his lifetime. The Periyar Rationalist Library and Research Institute was opened in 1974, and Periyar Memorial Hall in 1977. The 2007 film Periyar, starring Sathyaraj, was dubbed into several Indian languages, and screened internationally, including in film festivals in Malaysia. His ancestral Home in Erode was declared the Periyar Memorial, and a dedicated Building was inaugurated in Madras. Government of Karnataka honoured him by naming a Bus Station in Bangalore Thanthai Periyar Bus Stand. 

He inspired figures like Kanshiram, who named him among the 23 ideological forefathers of the Bahujan Samaj Party. Writers like Bharathidasan, Inculab and  Lalisingh Yadav translated and disseminated his ideas in multiple languages. 

The Dravidian Self-respect movement fundamentally transformed the political, social, and cultural fabric of modern India, specially South India. Though divided into factions, its legacy is visible in education, employment, caste reform, and gender justice.14 Regardless of which party holds power in Tamil Nadu, Dravidian ideology and Periyar’s legacy remain central.

Periyar continues to shine a light in a society long divided by caste and superstition. To walk in that light and uphold his vision is the responsibility of the current and future generations.

References

1.Periyar E V Ramasamy. Periyar Maniammai Institute of Science & Technology https://www.pmu.edu › pdf › Biographical_Sketch. PDF
2. Ambedkaritetoday.Unknown Facts About Erode Venkata Ramasamy Periyar
3. Periyar E V Ramasamy. Periyar Maniammai Institute of Science & Technology https://www.pmu.edu › pdf › Biographical_Sketch. PDF
4.ibid
5.ibid
6.Periyar Erode Venkatappa Ramasamy. Pathasala. GS Paper I: Modern Indian History. Daily Current Affairs English. September 20, 2024
7. Periyar. Wikipediadia, the free encyclopedia
8.Ilangovan Rajasekaran. Periyar’s legacy remains strong even today: K. Veeramani Dravidar Kazhagam leader says Self-Respect Movement remains vital in fighting caste, with both gains made and work still ahead in Tamil society. Frontline./Published : Aug 05, 2024 21:14 IST - 8 MINS READ
9.  Veeramani K. Dr. Collected Works    of PERIYAR E.V.R. The Periyar Self Respect Propaganda Institution.Periyar Thidal, 50, E.V.K. Sampath Salai, Vepery, Chennai - 600 007
10.Ibid
11.ibid
12.Anandi S. Dr. Women, Periyar self-respect moment (Telugu).Bhoomi Trust.Hyderabad.2018
13. Wikipedia. Religious views of Periyar
14.  Gnana Sekharan.Periyar was against Brahminism, not Brahmins.interview with Shobha Warrior.