Thanthai Periyar Life And Service

THANTHAI PERIYAR Life and Service R. RATHINAGIRI

The fruit that ripened in service His silvery beard falls on his broad chest The world worships his wisdom's spring In the cave of his mind the leopard leaps He is - Periyar, the great - Revolutionary Poet. Bharathidasan

CHAPTER - I

Fundamental Principles Thanthai Periyar was a unique humanist of the twentieth century. His life and services irradiate, like the sunrays for the society that suffered severely from the darkness of ignorance, Ignominy and segragation. Great leaders were born in India to safeguard the people from these maladies ahlicting the society. Among them Thanthai Periyar was one who made strong inprints on the history of mankind. His principles are very lofty, veracious but not selfseeking. They had Universal applicability and a telling curative power on the societal ills viz ignorance and poverty. Therefore, the women of Tamilnadu Convened a conference in Chennai (Madras), on 13th November 1938, passed a resolution and conferred on him the reverential title ‘Periyar’ (Meaning ‘the Great man’) Henceforth, he was respectfully called ‘Periyar’ by the people. This was an expression of their sense of gratitude for the yeman service rendered by him.

Truth is Fundamental The teachings of Periyar are contrary to most of the

conformity with the practices of the majority. Periyar insisted that the principles and practices of human beings should be subjected to reason. Those ideas which do not suit reason should be jettisoned with. He condemned God , religion, caste, rituals, meaningless customs and baseless manners as irrational. His thoughts were based on truth. He abhorred everything that was against truth. There was no difference between his private and public life. He was at the forefront of any agitation lounched by him and thereby he proved himself to be the first man to follow his own principles. By the result of his selfless services most of the illiterates became literates; people who were hitherto denied job opportunities and political power, obtained them. Periyar happily witnessed the fulfillment of most of his aspirations and ideologies to a great extent during his lifetime itself.

Award of the Government of India The Government of India awarded certificates inscribed on bronze plates to all the freedom fighters of the nation. Periyar was also honored with similar award on 3rd October 1972 by Mrs. Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India. On behalf of the Prime Minister, Dr. M. Karunanidhi, the then Tamil Nadu Chief Minister met Periyar at his Chennai residence and passed on the award to him with due honour. The teachings of Periyar are universally applicable and they are not only meant for a particular society nor for a particular nation, but they are essentially needed for the entire humanity.

What are the Doctrines of Periyar? 1.

The world is a single entity.

2.

The people of the world belong to one family

3.

The resources, the pleasures and the pains of the world, are common to all members of the world.

4.

Every one should work according to his capacity

5.

Everyone should enjoy the resources according to his needs

6.

The prime concern and object of the people should be the welfare and prosperity of humanity.

Periyar toiled throughout his life for realizing these ideals. His doctrines are like the breath of a man. They are the guiding principles of the family life too. They are beneficial to human society as a whole. Periyar desired that there should be equality in all spheres of life ie., equitable distribution (socialism), equal possession, equal participation in governance, equal social treatment and equal opportunities. If all these tenets are not obtainable in a society, they should be established at any cost.

Life and Services Periyar’s life span spread over a period of 94 years, 3 months and 7 days, that is 34,433 days. He traveled nearly 8200 days, when there was no comfortable means of transport like that of today. Approximately, total distance of his travel was 13,10,200 kilo meters, and he participated in 10,700 programmes.

If all his speeches are tape recorded and broadcast, it will run for a 21,400 hours or 2 years, 5 months and 11 days continuously both day and night. No social thinker in the past has ever delivered speeches for such a long period in his life time. That is why UNESCO, one of the wings of UNO, commended the greatness of the selfless public service of Thanthai Periyar in a citation which reads.

"Periyar is the Prophet of the New Age; The Socrates of South East Asia; The Father of the Social Reform Movement And Arch enemy of Ignorance, Superstitions, Meaningless Customs and Baseless Manners. This honour was bestowed during on Periyar his lifetime on 27th June 1970 by the UNESCO Forum at Chennai. No one else had such an international honour except Periyar. This book is a humble attempt to portray a portion of the great life of Periyar. The three qualities of a truly Great Man A learned Tamil Scholar T.K.Chidambaranadhan attributes three qualities required for a truly great man. They are: 1.

The people of the world should have a misconceived opinion about him.

2.

His doctrines should be condemned everywhere

3.

He should be harshly vilified and cursed by others. Periyar possessed all these three qualities.

Periyar’s Greatness He was the author of his own philosophy. He gave elucidation and explanation for his own doctrines. He was the spokesman of his principles; he was the writer of his own ideology. He spearheaded the agitations launched by him and succeeded. These agitations aimed at liberating man from the clutches of slavery. He set his wits to work. Without any inhibitions such as God, religion, caste, law and nation, he delivered his message to the world as a free thinker. He declared about himself as follows : “I am a man of free thinking. I have free thoughts, independent experience, independent feelings. I submit them all before you as such. I present my ideas to you on condition that you should examine those ideas with your objective thought, experience, emotions and accept those ideas which are acceptable and reject the rest with the spirit of reasoning. However conservative one might be, if he does not yield to these ideas it will be unjust and unfair. If these ideas appear true, there is no use in merely accepting them. Make attempts to put them into practice. It is my liberty to inform you what I realized through my personal experience. It is also your liberty to examine and adopt them in your life.” By saying this Periyar gave full freedom of thought to his listene.

Human Life only for Service No man is born by himself. Therefore he is not born only for himself. Human life is meant for serving the society. Human life without service is equivalent to the life of an animal. Thus asserted Periyar decisively and definitely. Periyar is a movement by himself. He constitutes an era in the history of the Tamils.

Victory without political participation Periyar brought about changes in the minds of the people by making them think through his brilliant propaganda without entering into electoral politics. The editor and compiler of the book ‘Thoughts of periyar E.V.Ramasamy’ com. V. Anaimuthu has portrayed Periyar’s physical appearance in the following manner: “Board forehead, wire like silver hairs in his head, prominent bushy eyebrows, long curved and large nose, look revealing his sharp intellect and dominant personality, lips with endearing smile, gums stronger than the teeth, moustache pricking the lips, wide and folded ears, broad chins, pure white beard, hump like nape, shoulders resembling a hill, extensive chest, bulging belly, tough waist, hanging hernia with mass of flesh, tottering legs unable to bear the weight of the body”.

The fierce battle of the Tiger With such an appearance this intellectual was wearing

improvised urine bladder between his thighs, he would rest on the shoulders of his assistants on either side. Gripping their hands to get into the van and to get down from it. He would groan in order to rise from and sit on the platform. Unmindful of such an ailing physical condition he would address public meetings like a hero brandishing his sword. His resounding voice would resemble the roar of a lion. The Tamils listened to him day and night throughout the year and trod on the path shown by him.

The Bloodless Revolution Many of his achievements were the result of his heroic addresses, logical writings and agitations without turbulence. All those who wanted to revolutionize the society in the past achieved it only through bloodshed. But it was only periyar who put an end to the 2000 year old slavery through a silent revolution. His followers toiled for 50 long years without sword and blood. Periyar made such a uniq ue revolution without capturing political power.

Doctors’ reception The students of a Medical College arranged a function to accord a reception to Periyar. Speaking on that occasion he remarked: “People call me an atheist because of my negation of God. My propaganda is only oral. But you, doctors are, more radically atheistic than I am. In what way? By curing the diseases and discomforts of the people which are believed to have been caused by God as a reward to their good or bad ; sinful or virtuous deeds of; in the previous birth, you are able to prove that there

is no god. If cholera which is caused by giving oil by Goddess Kali disappears due to your medical treatment and smallpox which is considered as pearls, offered by Goddess Mari runs away because of your inoculation, you are aggressive atheists”. Regarding the increase of man's longevity Periyar asserted thus “If at all man’s average age has increased from 25 to 45, is it not because of you – the scientists – who have invented not only medicines but also methods of treatment?

Enmity towards God “Even, offering food to a poor man would be an act of atheism because when God starves a man for his “Karma” feeding him, goes against the will of God”. “If the ups and downs in the society are of God’s will making them equal is inimical to God. “If the growth of hair on man’s face and head is considered as the act of God shaving the hair is against his will”.

Periyar’s people – forums Periyar did not enjoy support from the intelligentia, the aristocrats, the rich and the dignitaries for his rational dictum namely “forget god; think of man”. Periyar relied only upon the commoners. His journals Kudi Arasu (Republic) Viduthalai (Liberation) were widely read in places like hair cutting saloons, tea stalls, laundaries, cycle shops where the commoners get togetther, They served as vantage points where his principles were enthusiastically read, discussed and adopted. They eliminated the 2000 year-old Brahmin dominance which brought forth a great social change.

Women’s right, rule and authority Due to the tireless efforts of Periyar the womenfolk received a welcome boost in their lives. As a result women obtained equal chances to enter educational institutions, proportional employment opportunities and even property rights. They entered public life and got reservation of seats in local administration. In the elections held for local administration and co-operative societies in 1996, nearly 50,000 women were elected members of the corporations, municipalities, major panchayats, village panchayats and co-operative societies. Some of them became chairpersons and directors in various units. This victory of women as directors in various units is so praiseworthy as it has not been achieved in any other State in India.

A Great Social Revolution American Prof. John Raihly an American historian of international repute has pointed out that a great social revolution had taken place only in Tamil Nadu. But it had not occurred anywhere in India during the last 2000 years. It was Periyar, the leader of the Dravidar kazhagam who engineered that revolution.

CHAPTER - II

CHILDHOOD Periyar was born on 17th September 1879 at Erode, a Municipal town in Tamilnadu. His father was famous merchant by name Venkitta Naicker and his mother was Chinnathayammai. He was the second son to his parents. He was named Ramasami. His elder brother was Krishnasami. The first son young Krishnasami was once seriously ill. His parents vowed that if their first son recovered from his illness they would dedicate the second son to god. The first son recovered. The second son Ramasami was given in adoption to the younger mother of his father. He grew up independently without parental strictness and control.

Young Ramasami Young Ramasami was admitted into a pyol school at his 6th year. He did not go to school regularly. The days that he was beaten-up by the teachers were more in number than the days he actually attended school. He used to thrash the fellow students driven by his mischievous nature. His teacher used to award him imposition to write thousand times stating, "Hereafter I will not beat other children."

While sending him to school his parents advised not to drink water from the house of the unsociable castes living near the school. If at all he was very thirsty he should take water only from his teacher’s house. Ramasami did not know how to drink water by keeping the tumbler little away from the lips. One day while drinking water at his teacher’s house he could not hold the tumbler in proper position. Consequently water ran into his nose and also spilled over his body making him cough and spit out the water. The people at his teacher’s house felt it nasty. This impelled Ramasami to move freely with the students of unsociable castes and to take water and food from their houses thereby he disregarded all the norms of unsociability. Without the direct supervision and control of his parents he was growing rough-and-tumble.

Chained ankles In order to tame him, his parents used to place chained block of wood on his ankles. Even with that block, Ramasami loitered with the unsociable children. At one time he was playing for 15 days with the chained block carrying it on his shoulders. His roughness remained unabated.

Theory of Destiny or ‘Karma’ Even the age of twelve Ramasami started arguing against the theory of karma. He asserted. “To believe that everything will occur according to fate is a sheer foolishness. We are solely responsible for our own good and bad”. In the market street at Erode, one Ramanatha Iyer was running a shop. Ramasami used to pass by that shop every day. Ramanatha Iyer who was believer in the doctrine of karma

Ramasami asked him whether he would accept everything that happened was due to fate. Iyer replied in the affirmative. There was a plaited bamboo lattice in front of his shop supported by a bamboo poll at the centre. Ramasami pulled down the poll suddenly. The lattice fell on Iyer’s head and caused bleeding. Iyer chased Ramasami to beat him, Ramasami said to him, “It is your fate to get injured to-day. Why should you chase me to beat”. This made Iyer to doubt his belief on fate.

Shop Assistant School education did not tame Ramasami. As his toughness increased day by day, he was stopped from attending school. Thereafter, his father put him as an assistant in his wholesale shop with a view to make use of his cuteness As he was employed in the shop, his parents decided to get him married. They were on the lookout for a bride from a rich family.

Love marriage Nagammai was the daughter of his maternal uncle. As his parents were poor, they had consented to offer their daughter to a rich old man as his third wife. Having come to know of this news Ramasami fought with his parents for his marriage with her. Much against the will of his father he married 13 year old Nagammai when he was just 19. A daughter was born to them and expired a little later. There was no offspring for them thereafter. Yet they led a very happy life.

The custom and usage of those days There were worst forms of social hierarchical ups and downs throughout the country . The people were divided into hundreds of castes and kept apart. Almost all members of the working communities were oppressed as untouchables. 1. The socalled untouchables should not walk along the streets where other caste people live. 2. They should not wear dothi covering their kness 3. They should not put on foot-wear. 4. They should not carry umbrella

‘

5. They should not wear upper garments or angavastras’ 6. Ladies should not wear blouses 7. They should carry water only in mud pots. 8. They should not use metal vessels 9. They should work as slaves 10.They should not own lands 11.They should not carry out tenancy cultivation 12.They should not ride a horse in any procession 13.They should not get drums played during their marriages 14.They should not travel in vehicles

15.They should not take water from the public well or on tank 16.They should carry dead bodies to their separate grave yards only through the earmarked paths 17. Even in court they should stand apart at a specified distance to give witness. 18. They were not permitted to enter the temple 19. They could worship only the temple towards from a distant place 20. There was no place for them in the school 21. They could not travel in buses 22. They could not attend public functions or dramas 23. The huts of the working class were located only at the outer fringes of the villages 24. The dwellers were called Cheri people Ramasami’s mind was filled with anger and fury on seeing these discriminations. He felt all these taboos such as unsociability, unapproachability and denial of entry into the temples based on birth were a great injustice done to humanity. He wanted those sastras which created these taboos to be destroyed. If the laws permit such inequality they should be done away with. If it is an outcome of religious injunctions they should also be eradicated. He desired that everyone should have equal rights. This idea of equality which sprouted in his mind, assumed greater

Sharing the profit In 1902 he proved himself a successful business man noted for honesty and trustworthiness. He earned huge profit in business due to his immense involvement. In those days the profit in the business went entirely to the owner of the business and the labourers were paid wages alone. Ramasami wanted to change this condition. He distributed a share of the profit to all the workers employed in his wholesale shop.

Samabandhi bojanam (Inter Caste – dining) In order to remove the caste difference, he collected money from all the shop keepers of the market street and he conducted Samabandhi Bojanam (Inter Caste –dining) in which people of all castes and religions participated. This was followed by cultural programmes, songs and dances. Thereby he helped to reduce caste differences and contributed to their disappearance to a great extent.

Intercaste marriage In those days, endogamy was quite common and exogamy was very strange. At this juncture he conducted an inter-caste marriage between a Naidu bridge-groom, an employee of his shop and a Vellala bride Though this was initially a small step it became a giant leap towards caste eradication later on.

Widow re-marriage In those days if a woman lost her husband she had no chance of re-marriage. She had to lament throughout her life and die in anguish. In such social conditions he conducted the re-marriage of his widowed niece surmounting the serious

I will utter only the truth In his 24th year he forged his father’s signature in the accounting process of the business. In practice, this was not considered a serious act, yet it was a crime for which he was sued for forgery. In the court of law he confessed his guilt without hiding the fact. The honorable judge realized Ramasami’s candid nature, set aside the case and acquitted him.

Leaving the home At the age of twenty five he borrowed money from his friend and purchased twenty six acres of land at Erode in his father’s name. Venkitta Naicker did not approve of it. He felt that borrowing from someone was a damage to the dignity of the family and reprehended him. Ramasami got angry with his father, and left home for North India.

Experiences in North India In North India, he attired himself as an ascetic and received alms as a beggar. He wandered over places like Elur, Vijayawada, Puri, Kasi (Varanasi) Calcutta etc. There he witnessed the selfish, exploitative and the deceptive nature of the Brahmin prohits who amassed wealth through foul means. This reated in him a feeling of contempt against the prohits. Meanwhile his father, traced him and brought him back to Erode. Then,The charge of running the shop was entrusted to Ramasami.

Rescue operation during plague At Erode a devastating plague broke out and many people died of this cruel disease. It is an ironically victims of this disease were deserted even by their relatives. But Ramasami came forward with fortitude and engaged himself in rescue operations. He helped the diseased with medicines and involved himself in clearing the dead bodies. He also acted as a pallbearer to burn them in the graveyard.

CHAPTER - III

ASSOCIATION WITH CONGRESS The Congress movement launched so many agitations against the British rule in the year 1907. It is true that Ramasami was attracted by those agitations. Thenceforth he attended the Congress Conferences held in various provinces all over India along with his friends.

President of the Devasthana Committee Even from his early days Ramasami was an atheist. He abhorred idol worship. He considered the temples and their festivals as a sheer waste. But, he had to serve as the President of the temple committee as a hereditary honour. Realizing his responsibility, as President he saw to it that all the Pujas in the temple were carried on periodically. He renovated many temples. He safeguarded the properties of the temple against misappropriation. Before his assumption of office as the President, the devasthanam was in debt. He completed so many renovative works. In spite of it he saved a large sum for the temple.

Honorary Posts Because of his selfless service Ramasami was elected the Vice-President of Erode Taluk Board. He was Honorary

six honorary posts in Erode such a member of the District Board, the Secretary of various institutions and committees such as Reading Room, Mahajana School, Tennis club, Advisor on Income-Tax, Peace Committee and War fund.

The Municipal Chairman of Erode In 1917 Ramasami became the Chairman of the Municipality of Erode. From then onwards he was respectfully called E.V.R by almost all. He administered the Erode Municipality without any nepotism.

Removal of encroachments of roads The bazaar road of Erode was narrow and very congested which obstructed not only the vehicular traffic but also the movement of the people. If the market street was to be widened even terraced buildings had to be demolished. Whoever might become his enemy or whatever be the opposition, E.V.R. determined to remove the encroachments in the interest of the public. He widened the market street by removing the encroachments and by demolishing big buildings. Even now he is commended by the people of Erode for this great service.

Over-head tank In those days there was a feeling among the people that even the water pipe line, which passed through the street of a particular caste was considered polluted. Periyar was the pioneer of the scheme of distributing drinking water through pipeline by constructing an overhead tank at Erode.

At the inaugural function many of the Municipal Chairmen of the Presidency participated and acclaimed E.V.R. for this praiseworthy task.

The Title of Rao Sahib Sir Paravasthu Rajagopalachari, an officer of the British Government came to Erode and inspected all the progressive works carried out by E.V.R.as Chairman of the Municipality and recommended his name for the award of the title of Rao Sahib. At that time Rajaji was the Chairman of Salem Municipality. The Congress party launched many agitations against the British rule. E.V.R. was drawn closer to the Congress Party with the hope that it would dedicate itself for social reform, accept communal reservation and give proportional representation for nonbrahmin communities in Government service.

Resignation of all Honorary Posts E.V.R. firmly believed that unless the Britishers were driven out of India, the Indian people could not become prosperous. He made up his mind to work for the congress party inorder to achieve his opjectives. He considered all the posts which he held under the British rule as impediments to go ahead with his tasks. Therefore, he resigned all his twenty eight honorary posts which included such prestigious posts as Honorary Magistrate and the President of Devasthana Committee etc. He resigned from his position as the Chairman of the Erode Municipality and all other posts at one stroke.

Khadi Sales E.V.R. was leading a luxurious life in a big mansion. He was living like a monarch with chariot rides, silk shirts, glittering clothes, ornaments, delicious foods and with many other comforts. After joining the Congress he began to lead a life of simplicity. He renounced all the pleasures of a luxurious life, avoided silk clothes and ornaments. Instead he clad himself in coarse khadi. He persuaded his 80 year old mother Chinnathayammai, sister Kannammai and wife Nagammai to wear Khadi. He started spinning Khadar yarn with the help of thakli ( a kind of spindle) and spinning wheel like Gandhi. He carried bundles of Khadi cloths on his head to many villages and sold them. He inaugurated the Khadi Ashram at Thiruchengodu.

Prohibition Propaganda

E.V.R.engaged himself in the prohibition propaganda very actively. Mahatma Gandhi called upon the people to fell the palm tress from which toddy was tapped. Responding to his call, many date palm trees were cut down in different places in North India. But it was only E.V.R. who cut down 500 coconut trees in his own grove at Thadampatti near Salem.

The Amritsar Congress Conference E.V.R. even in his 40th year dedicated himself with all his energy to the work of the Congress Party. In 1919 the all India Congress Conference was held at Amritsar. E.V.R and Rajaji went to Amritsar with a large band of supporters. They were agonized on hearing the sorrowful tales of the massacre of Jallianwala Bagh perpetrated by the British Government. They grew wild with anger on seeing the sight of massacre. Soon after his return to Tamil Nadu, he intensified his activities in the Congress movement.

Public services led to personal losses As he worked very hard for the growth of the Congress Party he was not able to devote adequate attention to his personal business and industries properly. Consequently in 1920, he had to close his traditional business which was fetching him nearly Rs.20,000 per year. He also closed down his cotton mill which was running on profit.

Congress rejected Communal Reservation The Brahmins had grabbed almost all the job opportunities in Tamilnadu. The majority of the Nonbrahmins were not given any educational oppurtunities. Therefore E.V.R. pleaded for employment opportunity to the eligible Nonbrahmins according to their numerical strength in the society. At that juncture during 1921 a Provincial Congress Conference was convened at Tirunelveli. E.V.R. moved a resolution in that conference demanding communal reservation of jobs for the Nonbrahmins. All the upper caste people joined together and rejected this resolution.

Picketing toddy shops E.V.R. propagated that drinking of toddy was harmful to the people. He wanted to intensify his propaganda against it. He presided over picketing the toddy shops at Erode for which he was arrested and awarded a month’s imprisonment. He was taken to Coimbatore prison with handcuffs on.

Family members in picketing Following E.V.R his wife Nagammai, sister Kannammai and thousands of people indulged in picketing the toddy shops.

They violated the ban order promulgated under section 144 of the Indian Penal Code. They were arrested and imprisoned. Thus E.V.R. not only involved himself but also persuaded the female members of his family. Thus, he set himself an example to other India leaders. In the Bombay Congress Conference, Mahatma Gandhi was requested by the Congressmen to give up picketing the toddy shop. Gandhi pointed out that stopping the picketing was not in his hands but it was to be decided by the two women of Erode and that they should be requested, thereby he actually denoted Nagammai and Kannammai.

Boycott of courts In the year 1920, the congress had announced the boycott of the courts as one of the action plans of the Non-co-Operation Movement in the year 1920. E.V.R.gave up the idea of filing a suit to realize the business outstanding to the tune of Rs.50,000 including a pronote for an amount of Rs.28,000. Vijayaragavachariar of Salem, a Congress co-worker gave a suggestion. If E.V.R. made it over to him he would realize the amount and remit it to the Swarajya Fund raised by Tilak. The suggestion was rejected by E.V.R. as it would undermine the call for boycott of courts made by the Congress. As a result he suffered a loss of Rs.50,000.

Propagation of Hindi E.V.R. owned a building near the memorial of his father at Erode where he started a centre to propagate Hindi and made

arrangement for the instruction of that language. Motilal Nehru inaugurated the institution. Members of the Civil Disobedience Committee like Mr. Motilal Nehru, Dr. Ansari, Ajmal khan, Rajaji,Vhaitalbhai Patel and Kasturi Ranga Iyengar met at the residence of E.V.R.at Erode and discussed the Programmes of the Congress party and finalized them.

CHAPTER - IV

THE CRUSADE AGAINST CASTE Vaikkom is the place where the first struggle for civil rights started in India. This place is situated within the territory of the then Travancore Princely State but it is now in Kotayam District of Kerala state. Around the Mahadeva temple, there were four public streets in which the upper caste people alone were privileged to walk. The people who belong to the castes like Pulaya., Paraiya Theeyar (a sub caste of Nadars) were not permitted legally to walk along those streets. Untouchability was observed at all levels in the social structure. It was cruel that the people were classified into untouchables, unapproachable and useable in our country.

The sathyagraha One, Madhavan, an advocate of Ezhava Community, had to walk necessarily along the streets around the temple in connection with his case in the court of law. The Travancore Government did not permit him. The leaders of the Kerala Congress started a Sathyagraha struggle against the cruel practice of untouchability. The then Travancore Government acted as the custodian of Varnashrana Dharma and arrested the Sathyagrah is and imprisoned them.

The letter E.V.R received Since many of the leaders were arrested and put behind the bars, the agitation slackened off. The leaders in the prison wrote a letter to E.V.R. seeking his help. He was then the President of Madras Provincial Congress Committee. In spite of his suffering from diarrhea he reached vaikkom at their request.

Refusal of Royal Reception The king of Travancore was a family friend of E.V.R. and a Royal reception was to offered to EVR. But he declined the honour since he was the leader of the struggle and launched the agitation as planned already.

Imprisonment in Kerala The Government requested him repeatedly to stop the agitation but in vain and the agitation continued. The Travancore Government arrested him on 22nd April, 1924 and imprisoned him for a month at Aruvikkuthi jail. While he was in prison Nagammai and Kannammai participated in the struggle. Hence a large number of women in Kerala came forward to take part in the agitation. E.V.R was freed though he was banished from Vaikkom. At the same time, he defied the orders of the Government of Travancore. He was re-arrested and sentenced to six months rigorous imprisonment which he served in Pasuppura jail.

The King of Travancore passed away The struggle against untouchability in Kerala assumed greater proportions of a mass agitation. The orthodox people

who were bewildered conducted a yaga praying God to bring in death to E.V.R. This yaga was called “Sathru Samhara Yaga”. While the yaga was going on, the king of Travancore unexpectedly passed away. On account of the death of the king, the Government ordered the release of all agitators.

Vaikkom Hero The Queen became the ruler of Travancore after the demise of the King. She expressed her desire to hold talks with the leaders of the agitation. Accordingly talks were held. As a consequence, the Queen agreed to permit the so-called untouchables to walk along the streets around the temple with a condition that they should not enter the temple. The conditional concession was accepted by the agitators and they requested E.V.R. to stop the agitation. The Vaikkom struggle was brought to an end. Immediately the Government issued an order

permitting the people of all castes to walk along the streets of Vaikkom from 21st June 1925. This agitation led by E.V.R wrested freedom for all castes in India to walk along the streets without any restriction. E.V.R. was hailed as “Vaikkom Hero” by the Tamil savant Thiru V. Kalyanasundranar. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar also commended the success of this agitation.

Temple Entry Agitation After the Vaikkom struggle a conference was held at Kottayam which was presided over by E.V.R. and resolutions were passed regarding temple entry. Subsequently, a similar conference was convened at Ernakulam for the abolition of caste. In this conference it was recommended that the Hindus might convert themselves to Islam irrespective of their caste, thereby then could eradicate the caste disparity. After this resolution a large number of depressed people embraced Islam. The Government Considered the continuation of this situation as harmful of Hinduism. With no alternative it passed orders allowing the Hindus of all castes to enter into temples.

Again E.V.R. in Prison E.V.R. returned to Erode as “Hero of Vaikkom”. Seven months before the agitation of Vaikkom.he had delivereda speech popularising khadi at Madras which convicted him on the charge of sedition.

Eradication of caste at Gurukulam A Gurukulam was established at Seranmadhevi in Tirunelveli District to spread one of the principles of Congress viz., nationalism among children. V.V. Subramaniya Iyer was its Secretary. An annual grant of Rs.10,000 to that institution was given from congress party funds. There was no commondining in that institution. The varna system enjoined a nonbrahmin not to see a Brahmin eating, as it would be considered contaminated. So also accommodations and prayers were separate for the children of brahmin and nonbrahmin communities.

Thus the gurukulam instead of promoting unity, became the breeding ground of caste divisions, disunity and segregation. E.V.R condemned this discrimination and considered it injurious

to national unity and insisted on common dinning. In protest against this injustice he as the secretary Tamil nadu congress committee, stopped at once the grant of Party funds to the gurukulam.

‘Kudi Arasu’ (Republic) started To sow the seeds of self-respect and to grow them in the minds of the people of Tamilnadu E.V.R. started a weekly magazine Kudi Arasu at Erode. The printing press was called unmai Vilakkam Achagam which means Truth Exposition Press. The Gnaniyar Swamigal of Thirupathirippuliyur released its first issue on 2nd may 1925. The Kudi Arasu had the following aims inscribed on its wrapper. 1. The idea of self-respect, equality and fraternity should flourish among the people. 2. The discrimination among people such as high and low add fuel to the fire of caste clashes. They should be uprooted in order to develop the spirit of harmony among all human beings.

CHAPTER - V

THE SELF RESPECT MOVEMENT What does the Self-Respect Movement proclaim? 1. There should not be any discrimination among the people in social life. 2. There should not be any economic imbalances in the society. Lands and other resources should be equitably distributed. 3. There should be equality between men and women in all walks of life. 4. The affinity towards caste, religion, nation, varna and God should altogether be dispensed with. There should be social unity among the people. 5. Every individual in the society be it a labourer of a captalist should work according to his capacity towards the fulfillment of the social needs and enjoy the fruits thereof equally. with out any gradation. 6. Man should not be a slave to anything in any way. He should have complete freedom to act in accordance with his own wisdom, reason, perception and feeling. All activities and agitations of E.V.R. were based on the above six tenets.

Quitting the congress

“The people of the upper castes in the society are well educated and almost all of them are employed and they lead a very happy life. But the people of the lower castes have no adequate opportunities for education and there is no scope for them for employment. They suffer without basic amenities like food, cloth and shelter. Education and employment opportunities should be given according to the proportional strength of population of each community”. This measure will help achieve social transformation. This is called communal representation. E.V.R. emphasized the principle of communal representation at the Provincial Conference of the Congress party at Tiruchy. He moved a resolution to that effect in the conferences held at Tirunelveli, Thanjavur, Tirupur, Salem and Thiruvannamalai. But it was not admitted. In 1925, the 31st Provincial Conference of the Congress party was held at Kancheepuram under the President ship of

E.V.R. moved the same communal resolution there also. The resolution was rejected by the President of the Congress on the pretext of public interests. At that time E.V.R. was the Secretary of the Tamilnadu Congress Committee. He felt sad that his resolution was successively rejected in all the five conferences. And this led to his quitting the Congress party along with his followers. Theafter, he involved himself totally in the propagation of the ideologies of the Self-Respect Movement.

The uniqueness of the ‘Self-Respect Movement’ When E.V.R. was asked what was the difference between the Self-Respect Movement and other parties, he clarified: “The Self-Respect Movement never seeks Votes; it never asks for jobs or money; it never demands high positions or even awards. Besides, its followers spend all their time, money and influence for the sake of the Party”.

The Conference of the ‘Nons’ A small but powerful minority of the society who had taken the governance in their hands was not only dominating, but also exploiting and impoverishing the majority of the people. E.V.R. wanted to expose this injustice to the people. Therefore he convened the Non-Brahmin Conference.He also convened the following conferences : Non-landowners Conferences, Non-usurers Conferences * Non-Capitalists conference *Non -Industrialists conference

* Non - House oweners conference. * Non - Jamindars Conference * Non - Upper Castes Conference etc These are the important objectives of the Self Respective Movement. It is the prime duty of the Self respect Movement to annilhielate such institutions or Communities which are found detrimental to the equality and progress of the society or blocking the path of peace and harmony. If should be further ensured that they do not resurrect at a later date.

Meeting with Mahatma Gandhi E.V.R. met Gandhi at the latter’s request in Bangalore in 1927. At that time, E.V.R made an attempt to convince Gandhi that if the evils of the society were to be eradicated Hinduism and Brahmin dominance should first of all be put to an end. He was not convinced with the explanations of Gandhi.

The approval of Communal Reservation Dr. Subbaroyan, an independent, elected to the Madras Legislative Council formed his Ministry in Madras Presidency in 1926 with the support of the Justice Party. This Ministry accepted the Communal Reservation Policy put forward by E.V.R. He commended S. Muthiah (Mudaliar), the Minister concerned for his invaluable service to the Nonbrahmin Communites.

Railway employees’ strike There was a strike at that time by the South Indian Railway Employees went on a strike which was supported by E.V.R. He

was arrested and sent to jail for having defied the ban order on the strike.

Lauching an English Journal, ‘Revolt’ E.V.R. started an English journal called Revolt on 7th November 1928 for propagating the ideals of the Self-Respect Movement. Revolt means breaking the restrictions that are contrary to reason and human nature. The world and its pleasures are common to everybody. Further the aim of the journal was to spread conscientiously the principles of social equality in all possible ways.

The First Self-Respect Conference E.V.R at the age of 50, convened the first Self-Respect Conference in 1929 at Chengalpattu. This had a far-reaching impact on the History of Self-Respect Movement. The resolutions passed by the conference, later became the beacon for all political parties which came to power subsequently in Tamil Nadu.

The gist of the resolutions: 1.

Communal Reservation particularly in education, politics and employment should be provided.

2.

There should be no discrimination based on birth.

3.

Religion, Vedas, Sastras and Puranas, (that preach discrimination) should not be followed.

4.

There should be no divisions like Brahmins, Kshatrias, Vaisyas, Sutras and Panchamas.

5.

Untouchability should not be practised in public places like roads, tanks, wells, schools and choultries.

6.

There should be statutory provision against the practice of untouchability. (It has been enshrined in Article 17 of the Constitution of India since 26th January 1950 due to the efforts of Dr.B.R.Ambedkar)

7.

Caste names should not be suffixed with the names of individuals.

8.

No one should not bear any caste or religious symbol.

9.

Women should have the right to divorce and remarriage;

10.

The marriageable age of girls should be raised.

11.

Mother tongue must be the medium of instruction in educational institutions.

12.

Elementary education should be made compulsory.

The First Self Respect conference

13.

The so-called untouchables should be provided with books, food, cloths free of cost.

14.

Public funds should not be spent on higher education incase of need it should be on the basis of communal resevation.

15.

There should be no middlemen or broker between the worshipers and the workshipped.

16.

Temples, mutts, choultry or Vedapadasala should not be built anew.

17.

Celebrations of festivals in the temples should be stopped.

18.

People should be involved in intellectual pursuits.

19.

Non-brahmin association should be organized in all villages to condemn the injustice done to them by the Brahmins.

20.

The Government should offer lands to depressed people.

21.

The so-called untouchables should be given first priority in Government appointments.

22.

Any lesson in the text book preaching superstitions should not be prescribed.

23.

The lessons that induce reason, self efforts, and research aptitude should be prescribed for study.

24.

There should be equal property rights between men and women.

25.

Only women teacher should be appointed in primary

26.

Mass media such as drama and films should inculcate reason, self respect and self confidence in the minds of the people.

27.

The restaurants that show communal should not be given license.

28.

The discriminations practised at Railway restaurants on the basis of caste, religion, and colour should be removed. (not in vogue now)

29.

Siddha system of medicine should be encouraged and widely practised.

30.

Wages should be paid according to work. A Share in the profit of the business must compulsorily be paid to the workers.

31.

For youngsters, fully equipped gymnasia should be established everywhere.

32.

People are requested to elect Self Respecters only in the ensuring elections.

33.

Resolution felicitating E.V.R who was responsible for the social upliftment and liberation and requesting the public to adopt and propagate the ideals of E.V.R. were passed.

discrimination

Women’s right to property The Resolution passed in the Chengalpattu Conference in 1929 to provide for equal property rights to men and women was legalized after 60 years in 1989, by Dr. Karunanidhi, the then Chief Minister, making suitable enactments in Tamilnadu

First Malaysian tour E.V.R. started his first Malaysian tour from Nagapattinam port on 15th December 1929. He toured there for thirty two days and delivered thirty nine lectures enunciating the principles of Self-Respect Movement and attended 34 felicitation meetings. He returned to Nagapattinam on 16th January 1930.

The tale of his beard During his voyage one day E.V.R. had to wait for hours at the saloon to have a shave. This made him think, whether it was worthwhile to wait so long as to have a shave. At once he decided to give up to habit of shaving as it was a futile job. “It needs 10 minutes a day; 300 minutes for a month; 3650 minutes per year. The time thus saved by giving up this practice of shaving could be spent for useful purposes. Thereafter he continued to have the beard throughout his life.

The old woollen clothes E.V.R began his European tour from Madras (Chennai) Harbour on 13th December 1931. He was accompanied by S. Ramanathan and Erode Ramu. They searched for dresses that would withstand the European cold. Ramanathan purchased woollen coat and suit and boots etc. for more than a thousand rupees. But E.V.R purchased second- hand coat. Suit, boots and a woolen blanket used by the military personnel for a paltry sum of Rs.20. from a shop where old clothes were sold. He used only those clothes till the end of his tour. The woollen blanket was used in the meetings as turban and the same was used as bed spread. On some occasions it

Though E.V.R. was affluent enough to spend a large amount of money towards his foreign tour he completed his journey simply with old woolen clothes. Thus his frugality is highly commendable. Frugalilty – the best of virtues Periyar was of opinion: Spending on essentials is only frugality Spending on non-essential things is extravagance Spending not even on essentials is miserliness Periyar used to remark: “Perhaps I would have felt the pains of carrying the bundle but never did I have any sense of shame in carrying it”. A rationalist should lead an average standard of living. This should be the ideal of his life everyday.

European tour E.V.R.wanted to study the political, economic and social conditions in the West. He had a keen desire to observe personally the implementation of the socialist principles in Russia. But his health did not permit him to undertake a foreign tour. Doctors advised him not to embark on a journey. But he ignored their advice and proceeded.

Journey in the fourth deck It was usual with many wealthy people to travel by aero planes in those days. Otherwise they preferred to travel by ship in the first class. Though E.V.R. was rich, he desired to travel by ship only in the fourth deck intended for the poor.

His choice of fourth deck travel inspite of his ill-health made those who came to the harbour to see him off brim with tears.

At Berlin E.V.R stayed in Berlin, the capital of Germany for many days. Germany was then a Republic. There were many societies and newspapers with socialist stance. E.V.R. visited those societies with his friends. He discussed with some of the Government officials and understood their motives and objectives.

Experiences in Russia E.V.R. and his friends stayed for a long time in Russia. As the State guests, they visited 15 to 20 cities in the country. They also visited Government offices, big industrial establishments and educational institutions. They studied the working of the labour unions. They paid a visit to the agriculture farms and observed how agriculture was being carried on scientifically.

They met the high dignitaries and officers of the Russian Government. Warm Reception was accorded to them everywhere by the people, the workers, and the officials. Periyar and others were felicitated with citations at many places. They also addressed several public meetings.

Lectures in England During his visit to England E.V.R met many labour union leaders among whom Saklathwala was a noteworthy person. He enquired and learned about the trade union movement of that country. A public meeting of workers was held at Maxborouogh Lake Park, England on 20th June 1932. more than 50,000 Labourers attended the meeting where E.V.R delivered a valiant address.

“You may consider the Indians to be ridiculous as a community but we in turn consider the British Labour Party as a Party to be jeered at. The laborers of Indian mines are paid a meager eight Annas as wage for an individual for ten hours of work. Nearly 40,000 women labourers are working in the mines for a wage of mere five Annas daily. What has this Labour Government done to stop this ignominy and cruelty? India is administered by a political body dominated by the Indian kings, zamindars, capitalists and European traders. Such a Government is not accountable to the majority of the people who are deprived of their rights with the support of the Britishers. Therefore the workers of Yorkshire! Do not believe those bogus parties and their hypocritical ideologies. Ensure unity among the workers of the world to fight for social emancipation, human freedom and equality with the spirit of truth.” Then he travelled to Wales, Greece, Portugal, Italy, France, Egypt and Ceylon and returned to Erode on 11th November 1932 with rich experiences.

Nagammai passed away Nagammai passed away on 11th May 1933 when E.V.R. was 54 years. E.V.R. wrote an editorial in his weekly 'Kudi Arasu' under the caption “Nagammai’s death”. The editorial was in fact an elegy which is considered as an immortal literary piece. He wrote: “Nagammai lived and aspired to live only for me, not for herself. I realized this fact every minute of my life. I consider Nagammai’s death neither a tragedy nor a loss. I desire to

consider it not only an advantage but also a matter of joy. I really consider it as such. The latter chapter of my life time may be replete with extraordinary episodes. If Nagammai were alive to witness them she might get agonized. There is no doubt that I may also grow pensive and grief-stricken on seeing her agony. Therefore Nagammai’s death has given me more freedom. The fact that I have been much relieved of the domestic bondage elevated me to a higher position in life.” Thus Periyar considered “Service is a panacea for all sufferings and ills” and involved himself still deeper in the service of the society.

Service amidst crises Neither death nor illness of the members of the family did detract E.V.R from rendering public service. He did not spare time for them. Examples are many: one young boy of his family was sent to London on his 10th year for higher studies. He returned home and died of tuberculosis. At the time of his death, E.V.R. was on tour to participate in the activities of the movement. When his father-in-law was suffering from deadly fever at E.V.R’s house the latter was in Madras. On the day when his elder brother’s wife expired, E.V.R. went out for attending the party work. An hour before the death of his mother he went on a tour Likewise when his wife was on the deathbed he had gone to Tirupathur conference and returned. On the very next day of the death of his wife Nagammai he went to Trichy to preside over a Christian inter-caste marriage. There was a prohibition order under the Indian Penal Code against the marriage.

However, he conducted the marriage by defying the order and courted arrest. Later he was released. Again he was arrested at Erode for having written an article published in the weekly viz. 'Dravidan' run by the South Indian Liberal Federation. Since he became weak due to anemia and malarial fever in Vellore Central Jail he was released within a month.

‘Puratchi’ (Revolution) published He started ‘Puratchi’ (Revolution), a weekly on 20 th November 1933. In its first issue E.V.R. observed ‘Puratchi’ has been started to thwart the attempts made by the vested interests to eliminate Kudi Arasu. It is true that if there is no place for republic (Kudi Arasu) which literally means the government for the masses in the world. Definitely a revolution (Puratchi) will break out. Accordingly the people who have faith in revolution will welcome this journal ‘Puratchi’. This weekly magazine puratchi is looking forward to the support of the exploited and the poverty – stricken masses. Puratchi is not published to-day to exterminate the white capitalists in order to safeguard the black capitalists nor even to abolish the white rule with a view to establishing the black rule. In the same way ‘ Puratchi’ is not born to propagate Islam and Christianity by annihilating Hinduism. Puratchi has emerged to make all people (both men and women) live with self-respect and social equality by destroying the entire class of capitalists and all kinds of religions.

Punishment for his writing E.V.R. wrote an article in his journal Kudi Arasu entitled “Why should this present Government be eradicated?” for which he was arrested on a charge of sedition on 30th December 1933 and sent to jail. The District Collector of Coimbatore heard this case and convicted him with 9 months imprisonment and penalty of Rs. 300. In default, he should undergo one more month of imprisonment. His sister Kannammai suffered the same punishment as she was the publisher of the magazine.

The Ten Point Programme E.V.R. gave a ten point programme to the conference of the Justice Party held in 1934. 1. The government officers and servants should be paid adequately. 2. The government should take over the mills in the interest and welfare of the people. 3. Co-operative Institutions should be established to eliminate middlemen. 4. Efforts should be taken to relieve the agriculturists from the burden of debt. 5. All steps should be taken to work out a time-bound programme to provide education to all the children and to liberate the people from superstitions at least to some extent and to provide proportional representation in job opportunities to the people of all castes and religions. 6. Religion is an affair of the individual. There should not

administration. There should not be any special privilege or status on the basis of caste or religion. 7. There should not be any tax to a possible extent on the cultivators who employ agricultural labourers should be proportionate to the yield. 8. Local bodies should be vested with more powers. 9. Litigations should be minimized; Death duty should be imposed. An act should be passed to give effect to these items. 10. If the legislature does not have such powers it should obtain them. The Justice party accepted the above programme and therefore E.V.R. started supporting the Justice Party. ‘Pakutharivu’ (Reason) a weekly started The journal Puratchi was stopped and in its place another weekly by name Pakutharivu was started by Periyar E.V.R. In the first issue of Pakutharivu dated 26th August 1934 E.V.R. wrote as follows: Pakutharivu will strive to destroy the harmful admiration which has emerged in human society due to the foolish adoration and affinity to God, caste, religion, country and self-esteem. It will consider the human dignity and unity as the most important factor. It will lead the people to humanism but not to a retrograde life of slavery. Thus the principal that “the journals are intended to render service to humanism but not to a retrograde life of slavery. Thus the principle that “the journals are intended to render services to the people by guiding them properly remains as the

The reformation of Tamil alphabets It was only in ‘Pakutharivu’ that E.V.R. introduced certain reforms in the Tamil alphabets. He introduced the process of reformation of some of the Tamil scripts through his weekly ‘Pakutharivu’ for the first time. He cut down fourteen letters from the total number of Tamil alphabets. As a result typing and composing have become easy. The Government of Tamil Nadu implemented these reforms in Tamil alphabets only after fifty years of its introduction. Malaysia and Singapore followed suit.

Launching of ‘Viduthalai’ (Liberation) Viduthalai, the daily newspaper which was started on 1st June 1935 continues to exist now. It is noteworthy that this is the only ‘Atheist’ daily in the whole of India. E.V.R. expressed his views thus: “We desire that this daily news paper should live longer and serve the masses as well as scholars and bring in real freedom to the people of the world.”

Death of his mother E.V.R.’s mother Chinnathayammai died on 28th July 1936. An hour before she breathed her last, E.V.R. had obtained permission from his mother to attend a meeting at Jolarpet. The same night he returned only to see the dead body of his mother.

CHAPTER - VI

THE JUSTICE PARTY The Justice Party suffered a defeat in the General Elections held in January 1937. E.V.R. was not demoralized. But he encouraged the leaders of the Justice Party that there was still scope for working better for the Nonbrahmin Movement. He took an active part in the activities of the Justice Party.

Anna’s Entry C.N. Annadurai, a post-graduate from Pachaiyappa’s College joined Periyar as his assistant. It was known fact in those days that educated people would eagerly seek Government employment. An M.A. graduate without evincing interest in government job and considering social service as the most important one and joining E.V.R. who had studied only up to 4th standard, was praise worthy.

The Test Tube Baby In ‘Kudi Arasu’ dated 31st January 1938, E.V.R. stated that there would be no connection between child birth and manwoman conjugal relationship It became a prophecy of the future Test Tube Baby. Anna took notes of the speech of Periyar delivered in a marriage and published it in his weekly Dravida Nadu under the caption ‘The

world to come’. E.V.R. had thus anticipated such scientific achievements even in those days.

Special emphasis on family planning Periyar warned as early as 1928 itself that of population explosion would turn out to be a social disaster. The plight of women being child-bearing machines should be transformed. E.V.R. emphasized that if the sufferings of the families were to be mitigated, family control method should necessarily be adopted. Today we witness that in the name of family planning this method is followed all over the world.

E.V.R. the Periyar The Women’s Conference of Tamil Nadu was held on 13th November 1938 in Chennai. Neelambigai Ammai, daughter of Maraimalai Adigal, a great Tamil Savant presided.

This conference adopted a resolution conferring upon E.V.R. a respectful title namely ‘PERIYAR’ ( a Great man) in consideration of his selfless and matchless services the cause of Tamil society. The conference decided to prefix the title ‘Periyar’ to his name.

Opposition to compulsory Hindi In 1938 Rajaji, the then Premier of the Madras Presidency introduced Hindi as a compulsory subject in High Schools in Tamilnadu. Periyar started the Anti-Hindi agitation with the support of Tamil scholars and the public. Many Anti Hindi conferences were held. Periyarr was arrested at the very first Anti-Hindi agitation and was sentenced to two years imprisonment.

The leader of the Justice Party When Periyar was in jail he was elected leader of Justice Party. The Fourteenth Conference of the Party was held at Madras on 29th December 1938 which was presided over by sir. A.T. Panneerselvam in the absence of E.V.R. He took away the garland offered to him and placed it on the portrait of Periyar adorning the dais. He read out the address sent by Periyar from jail. People were immersed in a flood of emotions. Periyar was transferred from Madras prison to Coimbatore. Later he was taken to Bellary. After some days he was brought back to Coimbatore. These frequent changes of places told upon his health which suffered a serious set back. His weight decreased to 73kg from 87kg. On seeing his declining health the Government

released Periyar fearing that he would die in jail and consequently there would be a great outburst of violence. Some time after his release, Periyar undertook a tour of North India and during his journey he met Mohammed Ali Jinnah at Bombay, the creator of Pakistan.

Periyar declined Premiership twice On 11 th November, 1940 the Governor of Madras Presidency requested Periyar to accept the responsibility of the administration of Madras Presidency. Periyar refused to assume the office of Premiership as it would seriously affect his social work. In 1942 the Governor-General of India as well as the Governor of Madras Presidency called upon him to form the Government. Once again Periyar declined the offer on the same plea.

CHAPTER – VII

THE DRAVIDAR KAZHAGAM The Justice Party renamed Dravidar Kazhagam The sixteenth Provincial conference of the Justice Party was held at salem on 27th August 1944 under the chairmanship of Periyar. In that Conference, the South Indian Liberal Federation which was hitherto called the Justice Party changed its name into the Dravidar Kazhagam, by a resolution moved by C.N. Annadurai.

The first resolution of Dravidar Kazhagam After changing of nomenclature as the Dravidar Kazhagam, its first resolution was about eradication of caste. a. People have been ascribed caste differences based on birth. Among them some castes are held high and some are considered low. The Dravidar Kazhagam refutes these divisions. The people should not follow the religion, the Sastras, the Smirtis, the Puranas and Kaviyas that support and propagate these discriminations. It is resolved that the Party followers particularly, should not adhere to these differences. The party members should take efforts to resist any attempt meant to impose these differences on them.

b. Every effort should be made to change the laws justifying the above caste distinctions. c. The Dravidar Kazhagam never accepts the principle of Varnashrama Dharma and its concomitant divisions of people as Brahmins, Shatriyas, Vysyas, Sudras and Panchamas. These divisions should be put to an end in whatever forms they exist. d. The practices of untouchability, unapproachability, unseeability, refusal of common-dining, and common worshipping are to be abolished. e. The First Conference of the Dravidar Kazhagam exhorted the people to give up caste suffixes added to their names and also caste symbols. A brigade of Black Shirts Periyar organized a brigade of Black-shirt volunteers for intensive party work. He explained the objectives of this brigade as follows: “The black shirt is not a symbol of a paramilitary force. It is an index of social ignominy for which we feel disgraced and agonized. It is a sign that we have decided to get rid of this humiliation but not otherwise. The Flag of the D.K The flag of the Dravidar Kazhagam was designed and approved by Periyar on 27th April 1946. The flag was of a black rectangular shape with a red circle in the middle. The black colour signified the gloom and misery of the society, the red represented the merging revolution.

The black flag demonstration to Rajaji Periyar conducted the Annual Conference of the Dravidar Kazhagam in 1948 at Tuticorin. Hindi was reintroduced as a compulsory subject in schools. Therefore the second Anti-Hindi agitation started. Rajaji was the Governor-General of India. During his visit to Chennai, Periyar decided to organize a black flag demonstration against him condemning the imposition of Hindi. He was arrested and released after some days. Police harassments to Periyar Periyar violated the ban order issued under Section 144 of Indian Penal Code at Kumbakonam on 18th December 1948. He was arrested at midnight and taken in a van to Tiruchirapalli where he was stationed in the sub-jail and then he was brought to Thanjavur. To keep his whereabouts unknown he was taken to Ayyampettai from where he was entrained to Madras. After all these harassments, the Government released him within two days fearing to detain him any longer in prison.

Thirukkural Conference In 1948 Periyar convened a Thirukkural Conference. The book Thirukkural was in the sole possession of Tamil scholars in those days. It is a code of conduct and also a guide to life. Periyar convened this Conference to popularize it among the masses. He observed that all those who study Thirukkural deeply will acquire the spirit of self-respect, as it comprises all the noble principles of politics, sociology, economics and many other things. Therefore he made a fervent appeal to his followers to

Periyar met Rajaji During 1949, Rajaji, the Governor-General of India came to Tiruvannamalai to attend the inaugural function of a pathalalingam. Periyar called on Rajaji at the latter’s Railway saloon at Tiruvannamalai Railway Station and had a conversation.

Marriage with Maniyammai On 9th July 1949 Periyar married Maniyammai. It was a registered marriage. Anna had difference of opinion about this marriage and on that score he parted ways with Periyar. Then he founded the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam with his followers.

Maniyammai The wife of Periyar, Maniyammai was a student of the SelfRespect movement from her childhood. She dedicated herself as a follower of Periyar. She looked after Periyar till his end as a maid and mother. When he could not walk in his old age, Periyar was seated on a wheel chair and taken to all places by his followers. When he was unable to stand upright he mounted up and got down from the platform with great difficulty leaning on the shoulders of his lieutenants. Maniyammai took extra-ordinary care by giving him food at the appropriate time and by controlling his diet. It was very difficult for him to control his diet. He was careful not to waste the served food and therefore he ate stomachful . Maniyammai put him on diet every time with much care. She changing his dress, cleaning his urine and excreta and giving him medicine at regular intervals of time without getting fed up.

Book seller While Periyar was addressing at public meetings Maniyammai would be sitting in a corner, away from the crowd and selling the books written by Periyar. Though she was the wife and the sole heiress of a great leader who had innumerable followers and who headed a movement with properties worth several crores she was very simple. Sometimes she used to take notes of her husband’s speeches and send them to Viduthalai. She was also an orator and good administrator. Yet her humility and selfless services are commendable.

Her Simple Life Despite her affluence Maniammai did not choose to lead a luxurious life. She accompanied Periyar wherever he went skipping even her regular food and sleep. She always stayed with him to render service. She cheerfully accepted this kindof a life of sacrifice with her frail body. It is not an exaggeration to say that Periyar lived upto 95 years only because of her selfless service to him.

Fight for Communal Rights The Indian Constitution came into force on 26th January 1950. Periyar felt that some of its provisions safeguarded the Varnashrama Dharma. Periyar wrote articles condemning those provisions. On 28th July 1950 the Madras High Court declared the Communal Reservation which was in force in Tamilnadu as unconstitutional. The Supreme Court confirmed this judgement in September 1950. Periyar called upon the people

The Golden Sayings of Periyar Periyar was penalized for the publication of his views in a book entitled Golden Sayings of Periyar. At the same time Anna was punished for his book Ariya Mayai (the illusions of Aryanism). On the 18th September, 1950, both of them were imposed a fine Rs.500/-. failing which they would have to under go a six months’ imprisonment. As they refused to pay the fine, they were imprisoned and put in adjacent rooms in Trichy Central Jail. Later, Periyar and Anna were released on the same day i.e. 28-09-1950.

The first Amendment to the Consitution of India The Communal Rights Conference was held at Trichy on 3rd December 1950. Periyar presided over it. He united all people who were deprived of social justice and made them agitate. At last his fight for communal rights succeeded. The Indian Constitution was amended for the first time to protect communal rights. The philosophy of communal rights propounded by Periyar is accepted today by the Government of India and it has blossomed into a report of Mandal Commission which the Government approved and issued orders providing reservation to the Backward Classes in the appointments of Central Government. As a result nearly 50 crores of people were benefited by this order in India. This would be ever cherished in the memory of the people of the Indian subcontinent.

Opposition to the Caste-Based Education During the first Elections of India in 1952 the Congress party was defeated in Tamilnadu. Periyar was responsible for this defeat. Yet Congress formed a cfoalition Ministry. Rajaji

the Government he closed down nearly 2500 schools. Even in the remaining schools he staggered the working hours into two sessions-morning and evening. The evening hours were to be used by the pupils to learn their traditional caste avocations. Periyar described this system as caste-oriented educational Programme. He burst out with anger. In his speeches he pointed out that the future of the Tamilians would be doomed by this system of education. He called upon the people to agitate. Realizing the importance of Periyar’s advice all parties in Tamilnadu supported him.

Resignation of Rajaji A Conference of Dravidar Kazhagam was held at Nagapattinam in 1954. It was decided to set up a propaganda brigade against the castebased educational programme. It set out its march under the leadership of Needamangalam A Arumugam, from Nagapattinam to Madras. On its way the members of the brigade explained the evils of this scheme to the people of the villages. When it reached Madras Rajaji resigned his Chief Ministership citing health reasons

Kamaraj became the Chief Minister K. Kamaraj took over the Chief Ministership of TamilNadu with support of Periyar. He abolished the castebased – education programme of Rajaji on 18th April 1954 and he reopened all the schools closed down by his predecessor, He framed a policy to open one primary school in every village within a radius of 3k.m and a high school within 8k.m. Many schools were opened in Tamilnadu following this policy, which helped to a great extent to eradicate illiteracy. Periyar

Tours in Burma and Malaysia In his 74th year, Periyar began his Burma (Myanmar) and Malaysian tour. At Rangoon he addressed the World Buddhist conference on 15 th December 1954 where he met Dr.B.R.Ambedkar, the architect of the Indian Constitution.

Agitation against castes on name boards The hotels owned by Brahmins in Tamilnadu had name boards as “Brahmin Hotels” this exhibited the caste supremacy of the Brahmins. Periyar declared that these name boards should be removed. His followers picketed the Brahmin hotels and they succeeded in removing those boards.

The Thanjavur Conference A Conference was held at Thanjavur on 3rd November 1957 where thousands of black shirt volunteers participated. It was also decided in that conference to burn the copies of certain containing certain Articles of of the constitution as a mark of protest since they upheld the caste divisions of Varnashrama Dharma

Periyar Weighed Himself ( Thulabaram) In fond rememberance of his great services to the Tamil Society, silver coins equivalent to his weight were presented to Periyar. Offering gifts equivalent to their weights (Thulabaram) to religious saints was only customary in this country. But Periyar, a stubborn atheist was honoured with the presentation of articles such as cereals, betal leaves, tamarind, chillies, red grams, gingelly oil, turmeric, vegetables, rice, milk, sugar, coffee seeds, biscuits, handloom cloths, salt, grams,

Caste-eradication struggle It is the caste system in India that prevented the people from getting themselves united. It also divided them into so many endogamous groups. It was all due to Varnasharama Dharma. The Articles 13, 25, 372 of the Constitution of India safeguard the principles of Varnashrama Dharma. He commanded his followers to print those sections separately and burn them in public places. In response to his call, more than ten thousand volunteers burnt the copies of the articles of the Constitution. Among them nearly thousand party cadres were arrested and penalized. In the endeavour of abolition of caste, two of them died in prison and twenty of them took seriously illly. They too died soon after their release. Nowhere in India such a sacrifice was ever made for the eradication of caste as the followers of Periyar did.

Dr.Lohia met Periyar Periyar in his 79th year addressed many meetings in Trichy district. His speeches, delivered at three villages were considered to be provocative and he was therefore charge sheeted. He was convicted for each speech with six months imprisonment individually which he should undergo concurrently at Madras Central Prison. His health declined while he was undergoing the imprisonment He was admitted for treatment at the Government General Hospital, Madras. Dr. Ram Monohar Lohia, the socialist leader met Periyar on 23rd January 1958 in the hospital. Periyar was released on 31 st May 1958. In this context, the Revolutionary poet

Bharathidasan wrote a verse, welcoming Periyar in his journal ‘Kuyil.’

‘Supreme Court condemnation day’ – meeting The General Electrions were announced in 1962. Periyar, in spite of his poor health, campaigned vigorously for Kamaraj and secured him victory. Kamaraj formed the smallest Ministry. He enacted the Land Ceiling Act. According to this Act nobody was allowed to have more than 30 standard acres of land. The surplus land should be taken over by the Government for distrbution among the landless poor. The Supreme Court of India struck down this Act as unconstitutional. Periyar organized “The Supreme Court Condemnation Day” meetings throughout Tamilnadu against the aforesaid Judgment.

Rationalist propaganda wing Periyar conducted self-respect training classes for his followers at Trichy from 15th June 1964 for a period of 24 days. A fifty member Rationalist Propaganda Wing of the Dravidar Kazhagam was constituted to propagate the deceptive nature of the concept of God and Puranas which suppressed truth and suggested only falsehood. Periyar declared that wisdom, virtue, good conduct and integrity were the watch words of this wing.

Eradication of caste “In our country one can change one's religion if he desires but not the caste. Periyar was of firm opinion that caste which discriminated one from the other should be immediately dispensed with. Caste is inseparably intertwined with religion which in turn is controlled by Vedas and Puranas. Therefore it

is necessary to separate Vedas and Puranas from religion. Ssince the bond between the two is stronger it is inevitable that religion, Vedas and Puranas in one heap should be burnt”. So said Periyar. In April 1965 he wanted his followers to burn Ramayana, which in his opinion, perpetuated caste distinction.

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam In the General Elections held in 1967 the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam registered a resounding Victory. Anna formed the Ministry. On the same day he travelled to Trichy met Periyar, paid his respects and sought his support for his Government. Periyar agreed to lend his support to the D.M.K. on the basis of Principles. The D.M.K. Government headed by Anna made three improtant historic achievements. 1. The name of Madras State was changed into Tamilnadu. 2. The Government adopted the two - language formula, making Tamil as the official language in Tamilnadu and English as the link language between the State and the Central Government. 3. The Government gave the legal sanction to the Self Respect Marriages which Periyar advocated and conducted all over Tamil Nadu Section 7 of Hindu Marriages Act.

CHAPTER VIII

RATIONALISTS’ FORUM Launch of the Jounral ‘Unmai’ (Truth) On 14th January 1970 (Pongal Day) Periyar started a new journal by name Unmai (Truth). In the editorial of its first issue Periyar announced, that “The aim of the journal is to turn people rational”. He started Rationalists Fora throghout the state.

The people of all castes as ‘Archakas’ To fulfill the aspirations of Periyar an Act was passed by the Tamilnadu Legislature on 12the January 1971 enabling the people of all castes to become Archakas. Later this Act was struck down by the Supreme Court of India become according to Hindu agamas Brahmins alone could perform archanas to god. By Virtue of birth, non – Brahmins were not considered eligible to do it. The Constitution of India endorses such practices.

The Superstition Eradication Conference Periyar convened the Superstition Eradication Conference at Salem on 23rd January 1971 with a view to condemning the superstitious beliefs of the people.

Launching of ‘Modern Rationalist’ – and English Monthly Periyar started an English monthly named 'Modern Rationalist' on 1st September 1971 to propagate Humanism, Atheism and Rationalism among the people.

A Symbol of selflessness : Periyar’s health deteriorated and rendered him incapable of walking during the last ten years of his life. He developed complications in the Urinary bladder. He also suffered from hernia. Consequently, a surgery was performed and a rubber tube was attached to the urinary bladder facilitating the out let of accumulated urine into a bottle, kept in a plastic bucket. Wherever Periyar moved his assistants would carry this urine bucket also. Even at this shage he would insist on being carried physically to the public meetings. Unmindful of his agony, he would start speaking. In the course of his speech he would roar like a lion In conferences he would sit up on the dais all through the day and boserve the proceedings. It is natural for any leader to retire from public life on grounds of ill-health. Contrarily, age, senility, agonizing illness all his physical sufferings and pains would not deter him from his tireless crusade against the ills of the society. He was a great beginning of the history of awakening and reform. He proved himself to be a leader par excellence, who toiled all his life for the common good.

History has recorded martyrdom and crucifixion in the name of religion. But as a non– believer Periyar’s was a case of supreme sacrifice in the annals of history.

Punctuality He would arrive in time to any programme however simple it was. Whenver he ad to attend marriages in villages, he would reach the respective place on the previous day itself. He would collect the information about the family life, profession and income, educational and job opportunities of those people who conducted the wedding During the course of his speech, he would offer suggestions to improve the status of their life. He maintained punctuality strictly throughout his life.

His Manners He would receive his party men and others irrespective of their age and social status with great politeness. He would address them using the honorific plural (Vaanga and ponga). He did not mind the age differences. He did not distinguish people on the basis of position, power or wealth. He was a very careful listener of the views of the people who met him. He never showed an indifference to people who came to hi,. He would stand up and receive them inspite of his physical inability.

Tireless work even in old age. No leader in this world with so much hardship met the people daily in the streets by traveling in an ordinary van on poor unmemorable roads with physical pain and with great sense of forbearance, as Periyar did in Tamilnadu.

The Uprooting Ignominy In the name of Hindu religion one is differentiated as a person of upper caste and the other of a lower caste based on birth. Periyar considered those differences as enemies to self – respect. He convened the conference for Eradication of Ignominy on 8th and 9 th December 1973 in Madras to discuss the ways and means to put and end to this injustice outright.. There should not be and discrimination between man and man. Periyar had a firm opinion that showing any discrimination Particularly in places of worship was still more unjust. To dispense with this kind of inequality, he insisted on taking necessary steps to make people of all castes eligible to become archival. Tamilnadu Government accepted the rationale of his argument and enacted a law to that effect. The Superme Court declared it illega. Condemning the judgment as unjust Periyar decided to organize an agitation against the verdict of the court. Periyar delivered his last speech at Theayagaraya Nagar in Madras on 19the December 1973. He took ill on the next day and he was admitted into the Christian Medical college hospital Vellore where he passed away on 24the december 1973. He was then – 95. The Tamil Nadu Government issued an ‘obituary note’ in a special gazette. Periyar was not a leader of a political party but he spearheaded a social movement. It was for the first time that such an obituary note was issued by the Government of Tamil Nadu.

The Last Journey After his demise Periyar’s body was taken to Rajaji hall at Chennai and laid up there for public homage. Lakhs of people filed past and placed wreaths on the body and bid a tearful farewell. His body was taken in a procession on a decorated carriage followed by his volunteers in black shirts. In the midst of that occean of sorrow, thousands of black – shirt volunteers shouted “Long Live Periyar”., Lakhs and lakhs of people echoed this slogan rending the air. The flood of sorrow was transformed into an ocean of heroic homage on the evening of 25the December 1973. Periyar ‘s body was entombed at Periyar Thidal in Chennai with full state honours. Periyar lives as an ideology.

His Message What does the long life and services of Thanthai Periyar tell us? A Man should treat everybody alike. A follower of Periyar should be true to himself in thought, word and deed. The Government of India and the Government of Tamilnadu besides honouring Periyar in a fitting manner brought in many reformatory measures in fulfilment of his idelogies and mentioned below: 1. The Government of India issued commemorative stamp on Periyar after his deatg. 2. The Government of Tamilnadu celebrated the centenary of Periyar and his golden sayings were inscribed on pillar installed in all districts. 3. The Government put into practice certain logical changes in Tamil alphabets, propounded and adopted by Periyar. 4. The communal reservation for other backward classes as advocated by Periyar was implemented thoughout India by the former Preime Minister V.P. Singh following the recommendations of the Mandal Commission. 5. The Government of Tamilnadu has legalized the self – respect marriages.

6. The Government of Tamilnadu introduced Periyar Awards to honour people who have rendered services for the propagation of Periyar’s ideologies. 7. The Government of Tamilnadu has established Periyar ninaivu Samathuvapurams (casteless township) in memory of Periyar 8. The Government of Tamil Nadu passed an Act for equal Property Rights to women. The following Golden sayings of Peeriyar have been inscribed on the pillars installed by the Government of Tamilnadu Commemorating Periyar’s centenary in all districts of Tamilnadu. .1. Honour and wisdom are the hallmarks of mom 2.

Rational approach is a cultured way of life.

3.

Do not lose your intellect or reasoning ability by just believing in fate.

4.

The acquisition of education and knowledge is to live with human quality without troubling others.

5.

Teachers should not make their students as protagonists of religious faith.

6.

High degree of honesty, self – discipline, firmness and sense of sacrifice are the pre – requisites of men public life.

7.

The ultimate goal of rationalism is communism.

8.

A life of high morality is one, which causes no hindrance to

9.

No man is born with caste identity.

10. To abolish unsociability caste should be eliminated. 11.

Women are not properties of men to be possessed but they are human beings like men.

12. Social revolution is a desideratum to achieve social justice. 13. To safeguard Humanity should be a lifetime service. 14. The arch – enemies of society are superstitions and meaningless customer. 15. Alcoholism spoils morality as well as the reasoning ability of the people. 16. Rationalism is nothing but discernment. 17. Life without piety loses nothing, but life without morality loses everything. 18. Thirukkural is the intellectual treasure house of rationalism. 19. Art should not a domain scope for immorality and superstition. 20. Everybody is entitled to freedom of expression and nobody has the right to deny it.