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Book No. – 8 (Political Science)
Book Name – Indian Political Thought (Himanshu Roy/ M.P. Singh)
What’s Inside the Chapter? (After Subscription)
1. Situating Periyar
2. Periyar’s Theorization
3. Abolition of Caste
4. Women’s Liberation
5. Rural-Urban Divide
6. Rationalism
7. Revolution and Communism
8. The World of the Future
9. Humanism
10. Periyar’s Legacy: A Critique
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Periyar: Radical Liberalism
Chapter – 27
Table of Contents
- Erode Venkatanaicker Ramasamy (1879–1973), known as Periyar (The Great Man), had a complex legacy.
- He started as a nationalist, worked as a follower of Gandhi, but later became a leader of the anti-Brahminism movement in the Madras Presidency.
- Periyar believed the salvation of the country lay in the destruction of the Congress, Hindu religion, and Brahmin domination.
- He declared the goal of the Dravida Kazhagham (new avatar of the Justice Party) in 1944 to be a sovereign, independent Dravidian Republic.
- He called for observing Independence Day as a day of mourning to represent the enslavement of southerners.
- Periyar viewed himself as a social reformer, Communist, and again a social reformer at different points in his life.
- His call for social justice combined issues of race, varna, caste, class, gender, language, urban-rural divide, and Tamil nationalism.
- He placed the Brahmins (descendants of northern Aryans) on one side of inequality and the Dravidian shudras on the other.
- His campaigns, lasting from 1917 to 1973, focused on human dignity, which remains his lasting contribution.
- Periyar’s accomplishments include:
- End of Brahmin hegemony in Tamil politics and social life.
- Advocacy for egalitarianism and scientific temper.
- Elimination of caste-based segregation and discrimination.
- Improvement in women’s conditions and the right to temple entry and management for non-Brahmins.
- Prevention of Hindi supremacy over Tamil and obtaining Tamil as an official language, enhancing its status and growth.
- Reservations for backward castes in government jobs, leading to the first amendment in the Indian Constitution.
- The emergence of a new leadership in Tamil Nadu from backward castes.
Situating Periyar
- Periyar (Erode Venkatanaicker Ramasamy, 1879–1973) had a complex legacy, beginning as a nationalist, following Gandhi, and later becoming a leader of the anti-Brahminism movement.
- He declared the goal of Dravida Kazhagham (1944) to be a sovereign, independent Dravidian Republic.
- Periyar’s social justice campaign addressed issues of race, varna, caste, class, gender, language, urban-rural divide, and Tamil nationalism.
- Born into a rich business family of the backward caste of Naickars in Erode.
- He studied only up to the fourth standard and later became a social reformer.
- He lived as an ascetic in Benares, where he learned about the deceptions of religion.
- Returned to Erode, became active in public activities, and was Chairman of the Erode Municipality and an honorary magistrate.
- Joined the Indian National Congress in 1919 and became a staunch Gandhian, holding positions of Secretary and President of the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee.
- Led the famous Vaikkom Satyagraha (1924) in Kerala, for Ezhavas’ right to access temple streets; succeeded despite facing imprisonment.
- Faced caste prejudices within the Congress and was elected as the first non-Brahmin President of Tamil Nadu Congress.
- Left the Congress in 1925 after his resolution for communal representation was rejected, calling the Congress a fortress of Brahmin imperialism.
- Associated with the Justice Party (headed in 1938) and later transformed it into the Dravidar Kazhagam in 1944.
- Launched the Self-Respect Movement in 1929 for social reform and upliftment.
- Impressed by the Soviet Union during his 1932 visit, adopting rationalism, anti-religious views, and egalitarianism.
- Formed the Self-Respect Communist Party, which was later banned.
- Gave up communist activities to continue the Self-Respect Movement, but his ideas still influenced many.
- Periyar’s thinking must be understood in the colonial context, which exposed Indians to European rationalism and humanism.
- Many Indians saw colonialism as an opportunity to redeem their ancient civilization, leading to the Indian Renaissance.
- The emergence of nationhood in India was influenced by European nationalism, but was limited to upper-caste elites initially.
- Nationalism spread to middle and lower-middle classes, but many at the bottom rung of the caste system were unaffected by nationalist ideas.
- Rationalism and humanism raised concerns about the dignity and worth of human beings, which resonated with those suffering from caste-based oppression.
- Periyar himself faced caste prejudice despite his influential position in Congress, highlighting the social discrimination of the time.
- Social and religious reform was central to his mission, as he rejected the concept of God and emphasized reason and rational thinking.
- Periyar was influenced by the rationalistic philosophies of Western thinkers such as Socrates, Ingersoll, Broadlaw, and Herbert Spencer.
- He was also inspired by Indian rationalist traditions of Buddha and Thiruvalluvar, continuing their work on human dignity and rational thought.
- Jawaharlal Nehru, a fellow rationalist, also won Periyar’s admiration.
- Periyar was deeply influenced by Communism, particularly the Soviet Union’s rational, anti-religious, and egalitarian approach.