Periyar E. V. Ramasamy was Born in 1879, worked as a Congress worker till 1925. Later, associated himself with Justice Party of Madras.
- Self-Respect Movement (opposed dominance of Brahmins in social life, especially bureaucracy) to redeem the identity and self-respect of Tamils.
- He was against caste discrimination in Tamil society.
- Vaikom Satyagraha of 1924: A mass movement that demanded that lower caste persons be given the right to use a public path in front of famous Vaikom temple. He participated in this movement and would be referred to as Vaikom Veerar (Hero of Vaikom).
- In 1940s, Periyar launched a political party, Dravidar Kazhagam (DK), which espoused an independent Dravida Nadu comprising Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, and Kannada speakers.
- As a social reformer, he focused on social, cultural and gender inequalities, and his reform agenda questioned matters of faith, gender and tradition.
- Over the years, Periyar is revered as Thanthai Periyar, the father figure of modern Tamil Nadu.
- He converted interested crowds into keen listeners, listeners into avid thinkers, and thinkers into principled politicians and die-hard activists.
- He was one of the pioneering voices against Kula Kalvi Thittam introduced by the then Chief Minister C. Rajagopalachari. Kula Kalvi Thittam proposed to impose on schoolchildren a method of education, wherein students would learn their family’s profession as part of the school curriculum.
Quotes by Periyar
- Everyone has the right to refute any opinion. But no one has the right to prevent its expression.
- Wisdom lies in thinking. The spearhead of thinking is rationalism.
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