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{{Infobox Celebrity {{Infobox Celebrity
| name = EVR better known as Periyar | name = Periyar
| image = Periyar1973.jpg | image = Periyar1973.jpg
| caption = ] | caption = Thanthi Periyar
| birth_date = ], ] | birth_date = ], ]
| birth_place = ], ], ] | birth_place = ], ], ]
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'''E.V. Ramasami Naicker''' (], ] – ], ]), also known as '''E.V. Ramaswami''', '''EVR''', '''Thanthai Periyar''', or just '''Periyar''', was a Indian ], ], ], an ], and the founder of ] and the founder of the radical and sectarian denomination of the ] movement, innocuously called the ] in the ]n state of ].


'''Periyar E. V. Ramaswamy''' ({{lang-ta|பெரியார்}}) (], ] &ndash; ], ]),also known as '''Ramaswami''', '''EVR''', '''Thanthai Periyar''', or '''Periyar''', was an Indian ], who founded the ] and ].<ref>{{citebook|title=Political Ideas in Modern India: thematic explorations |author= Thomas Pantham, Vrajendra Raj Mehta, Vrajendra Raj Mehta,|year= 2006|publisher=Sage Publications|id=ISBN 0761934200|url= http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0761934200&id=KJejtAaonsEC&pg=PA48&lpg=PA48&dq=%22Self-respect+movement%22&ie=ISO-8859-1&output=html&sig=2MFf1OTrHpydPFBq6ZS4SdlaHjs}}</ref><ref>{{citebook|title=Political Theory and Political Thought |author= N.D. Arora/S.S. Awasthy|id=ISBN 8124111642|url= http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN8124111642&id=szBpnYfmH0cC&pg=PA425&lpg=PA425&dq=%22Self-respect+movement%22&ie=ISO-8859-1&output=html&sig=zyuKCxtk4jFplHL8Y_JeaiDUb94}}</ref><ref>{{citebook|title=A Time of Coalitions: Divided We Stand |author= Shankar Raghuraman, Paranjoy Guha Thakurta|year=2004|publisher=Sage Publications|id=ISBN 0761932372|url= http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0761932372&id=pjzyK_gEBcwC&pg=PA230&lpg=PA230&ots=pqykUhg9K7&dq=%22Self-respect+movement%22+DMK+AIADMK&ie=ISO-8859-1&output=html&sig=VCMFaNb_AqKtaMKP19ucfAnwBPU}}</ref>


==Biography== ==Biography==
Ramaswami was from a prominent Naicker caste, a community that descended from the ] Nayak rulers of Tamil Nadu. Hence he is sometimes called E. V. Ramaswami Naicker. "Ramaswami" was his given name and "Periyar" means 'respected one' or an 'elder' in ].He is refered as Periyar and a University was named after him by the Tamil Nadu Government.<ref>
]
http://www.tnuniv.ac.in/periyar/About.htm </ref><ref>http://www.tn.gov.in/pressrelease/archives/pr2004/pr170904/pr170904.htm </ref>His mother tongue was Kannada.<ref>{{cite web|title=Periyar E.V. Ramasami|url=http://www.buddhiwadi.org/periyar.htm|publisher= buddhiwadi.org}}</ref>
EVR's given name was Ramaswami. He was from a prominent Kannada Naicker caste, a community that descended from the Nayak rulers of Tamil Nadu. Hence he is called E. V. Ramaswami Naicker. "Periyar" means 'respected one' or an 'elder' in ].


EVR was an atheist, noted for his antitheistic statement, "He who created god was a fool, he who spreads his name is a scoundrel, and he who worships him is a barbarian." His atheistic attacks and blasphemous acts, however, were directed at ] alone. In 1956, he took a procession of ]'s picture garlanded with slippers near ] and destroyed the portrait in public, drawing widespread protests from Indians whose religious sentiments were hurt. EVR's most popular writing is ''The Ramayana: A True Reading'' (1959), on the ], a Hindu epic.<ref> Ramasami was an atheist, noted for his ] statement, "He who created god was a fool, he who spreads his name is a scoundrel, and he who worships him is a barbarian," attacking ] in particular. In 1956, he took a procession of ]'s picture garlanded with slippers near ] and destroyed the portrait in public, drawing widespread protests from offended Hindus. His most popular writing is ''The Ramayana: A True Reading'' (1959), on the Hindu ] epic.<ref>
http://www.amazon.com/Ramayana-reading-E-Ramaswami-Naicker/dp/B0006E12N4/sr=1-1/qid=1167891710/ref=sr_1_1/002-7042148-2641612?ie=UTF8&s=books </ref> http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0006E12N4/ </ref>
] ]
Though he was born in an affluent ] origin ] family, he started a movement claiming to "fight untouchability" which he used as a podium to tout intensely ] ] and ] prejudices,specifically targeting ]s, the rituals of ], and ] views concerning the ] and the ].


== His Early Life == == His early life ==
Periyar was the son of a merchant Venkata, who was a devout Hindu of the ] school of thought. His mother was Chinna Thayammal alais Muthammal; he had one elder brother named Krishnaswamy and two sisters named Kannamma and Ponnuthoy. Periyar studied for 5 years and joined his father's trade at the age of 12. He used to listen to Tamil ] gurus who gave discourses in his house enjoying his father's hospitality. Periyar was married to Nagammal a girl of just 13 in ]. He became the father of a female child which soon died and he had no more children. After being reprimanded by his father, Periyar left his house for ].<ref> Ramasami was born as the son of a merchant Venkata, who was a devout Hindu of the ] school of thought. His mother was Chinna Thayammal alias Muthammal; he had one elder brother named Krishnaswamy and two sisters named Kannamma and Ponnuthoy. He studied for 5 years and joined his father's trade at the age of 12. He used to listen to Tamil ] gurus who gave discourses in his house enjoying his father's hospitality. He was married to Nagammal a girl of just 13 in ]. Their first child was a baby girl who died in infancy, after which he had no more children. After being reprimanded by his father, he left his house for Kashi.<ref>
http://www.periyar.org/html/ap_bios_eng1.asp</ref> http://www.periyar.org/html/ap_bios_eng1.asp</ref>


== Pilgrimage to Kaasi == == Pilgrimage to Kashi ==
He went on a pilgrimage to ] to worship in the famous Siva temple ] in ]. He wanted to enter a Free-lunch place but finding that it was meant only for Brahmins he disguised himself as a one. But it was discovered that he was not a ] and he was removed from the place.Later he learnt that the Free-lunch place was built with the donation of a Dravidian merchant.<ref> Ramasami went on a pilgrimage to ] to worship in the famous Siva temple ] in ]. He wanted to enter a Free-lunch place but finding that it was meant only for Brahmins he disguised himself as a one. But it was discovered that he was not a Brahmin and he was removed from the place. Later he learnt that the Free-lunch place was built with the donation of a Dravidian merchant.<ref>
http://www.periyar.org/html/ap_bios_eng1.asp</ref> http://www.periyar.org/html/ap_bios_eng1.asp</ref>
He saw the discrimination against non brahmins. He had pictured ] as a place where all Hindus would be treated equally. This humililation was the turning point in Periyar's life and after that made a deep wound in the heart of Periyar and it inflamed intense hatred towards the caste system and Hindu religion itself<ref>http://snphilosophers2005.tripod.com/louis.pdf</ref> He saw the discrimination against non-Brahmins. He had pictured Kashi as a place where all Hindus would be treated equally. <ref>http://snphilosophers2005.tripod.com/louis.pdf</ref>
On returning to Erode - his father delegated all his trade rights to this second son and renamed his major commercial concern under the title: "E.V. Ramasamy Mandi"


== Timeline of Ramaswami's political struggle and ideology ==
== Rationalism ==
=== Ramasami as member of Congress Party 1919 - 1925 ===
Ramaswami was a believer till the age of 28 and managed (dharmakartha) a temple. He became an atheist and followed western philosopher ] and claimed that God is dead. His ] rhetoric was carefully camouflaged in atheism. This won him considerable following in Tamil Nadu. He portrayed the Brahmins as villains of the society. Soon political parties saw an advantage in his rhetoric and began imitating him. Except a few, the majority of the people who listened to him did not give up religion or idol worship. Even today, his followers clandestinely offer prayers in Hindu temples and to swamis.
Ramasami was a member of the Congress Party from 1919 onwards. He gave up many of his lucrative positions and properties at that time. However, he split from Congress because the Congress refused to support his demand for entry into temples for all castes. This was because the Congress party was dominated by orthodox Brahmins(who were at that time considered to be people of a higher caste in the society) in Tamilnadu at that time.


The fact that Brahmins dominated the Congress Party from 1920's is shown by the fact that when the Congress Party formed the ministry in 1937 the chief minister was ], the Revenue Minister was ] and the labor minister was ]. All of them were Brahmins and had a long political life marked with major successes. Though it could be argued that most of them were chosen by each of their merits and not merely by their caste.
Ramaswami's ''rationalism'' was focussed on deriding the ritualistic practices by the priests, who were all Brahmins, in ]. His rhetoric always steered clear of Christians and Muslims.


=== Vaikom struggle - 1924-1925===
== Affiliation with the ] ==
Ramasami was involved in securing rights to entry into temples and access to temple roads for people of all castes in Vaikom in Kerala which was part of the princely state Travancore during 1924.Periyar who was the President of the Madras Presidency (Tamil Nadu) Congress Committee at that time to lead the agitation after many other leaders had been arrested .Periyar agreed and came to Vaikom in April 1924 and he was arrested but he was unrelenting and refused to leave to Vaikom and the satyagraha gained strength and Mahatma Gandhi, on an invitation from Rajaji, went to Vaikom and began talks with the Queen of Travancore where it was agreed that the police pickets would be removed and that the State police would do nothing to prevent the lower castes using the roads. Periyar refused to participate in the negotiations but he had to agree, reluctantly, to Gandhi's idea that the demand for all Hindus entering the temple be put off at least for the time being He played a role along with other great statesmen and national leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, C. Rajagopalachari, and Acharya Vinoba Bhave.<ref>
Initially, he joined the Congress Party in their political activism against British occupation.
http://www.media-watch.org/articles/0499/65.html </ref><ref>http://pib.nic.in/feature/feyr98/fe0798/PIBF0707983.html </ref><ref>http://www.atheist-community.org/library/articles/read.php?id=710</ref>
His critics dispute his contributions to the Congress party and say that his role was magnified as part of Dravidian nationalist propaganda.<ref>
Madras Presidency(Tamil Nadu) Congress passed a resolution umanimously praising Periyar's significant contribution to the Vaikom Satyagarha and hailing him as ''Vaikom Veerar''(Vaikom Hero) in ] in the Kanchipuram Session .<ref>
http://pib.nic.in/feature/feyr98/fe0798/PIBF0707981.html</ref>.<ref>http://rajeev2004.blogspot.com/2006/12/dravidiana-perversity-of-periyarana.html</ref>,
http://snphilosophers2005.tripod.com/louis.pdf </ref>
His views on ] prompted him to change his political position and support the British occupation of South Asia, feeling that the invasionist scenario pseudoscience touted by the British (who viewed themselves as "Aryans" and so justified in their occupation of South Asia) was a valid reason.<ref>
http://www.expressindia.com/ie/daily/19990331/iex31073p.html </ref>.] did not like his views as he wanted to bring in reforms gradually and spoke of inclusion, not exclusion and hate; Periyar bolted away from the freedom movement.


==Self-Respect Movement: 1925-39== ===] - 1925-39===
Periyar and his followers campaigned constantly to influence and pressurise the government to take measures to remove social inequality even while other nationalist leaders focussed on the struggle for political independence. Ramasami and his followers campaigned constantly to influence and pressurise the government to take measures to remove social inequality even while other nationalist leaders focussed on the struggle for political independence.
== Anti-Hindi ==
Hindi imposition in ] started in ] when the Congress Government of the Madras Presidency under (]) made ] a compulsory subject in schools. ] opposed ] imposition immediately and the Justice Party under Sir A. D. Panneerselvam and Periyar organized anti-Hindi imposition protests in 1938 and were arrested and jailed by the ] government.
More than 1200 people, including women and children, were imprisoned in ], of which two, ] and ], lost their lives. In ] the Rajaji government quit and it was withdrawn in ] by the British governor.


=== Anti-Hindi Movement - 1937-1940 ===
==]: 1939-1944 ==
Hindi imposition in ] started in ] when the Congress Government of the Madras Presidency under (]) made ] a compulsory subject in schools. ] opposed ] imposition immediately and the Justice Party under Sir A. D. Panneerselvam and Ramasami organized anti-Hindi imposition protests in 1938 and were arrested and jailed by the ] government. More than 1200 people, including women and children, were imprisoned in ], of which two, ] and ], lost their lives. In ] the Rajagopalachari government quit and it was withdrawn in ] by the British governor.
Justice Party was a rich man's party and had no grassroots support or leadership. Before World War II, the Justice Party ruled Madras Province for a short period. People voted Congress Party into power soon after the War. It was then the Justice Party began looking for someone popular with the masses, Ramaswami was an obvious choice. And the popular slogan social was "social justice",as a euphemism for ] rhetoric. He targeted Rajaji, the Congress leader and a Brahmin.


== ] and propaganda == ===] - 1939-1944 ===
Before World War II, the Justice Party ruled Madras Province for a long period from 1920 to 1937 with many leaders ]. As Gandhi revitalized the Congress Party with the common man message, People voted Congress Party into power from 1937 to 1967. As the Justice Party lost its power and began looking for someone popular with the masses, Ramasami was an obvious choice. And the popular slogan social was "social justice",as a euphemism for ] rhetoric. He targeted Rajagopalachari, the Congress leader and a Brahmin. However, largely due to the popularity of Mahatma Gandhi, the Congress party remained in power till 1967.
To give a local flavor, Ramaswami changed the name of the Justice Party to Dravidar Kazhagam (Party of the Dravidians). He pitched himself against the so-called "]s", who were the ]s again. He avoided parliamentary democracy and started his campaigns on his own. His followers who wanted politics split with him after his marriage to a very young woman and started the ], popularly known as the DMK. The DMK was first led by C.N. Annadurai and after him by M. Karunanidhi.
<ref>http://www.gallup.unm.edu/~smarandache/Periyar.pdf </ref>
EVR and his dramatic anti-Brahman protests put new life into the party.The Dravidian Federation, and launched a Tamil "cultural offensive," including theatrical productions of a "reinterpreted" ]-a version transposing hero and villain, in which the
] demon king ] becomes a heroic "] of 'excellent character,' "
and the Aryan prince Rama a conniving, "despicable character" . This and later political uses of drama capitalized on the strong literary focus among Tamils. Despite such attempts at mass propaganda, however, the party's membership continued to be drawn from the elite.<ref>Sara Dickey,"The politics of adulation in South India", Journal of Asian Studies Vol 52 No 2 (1993) pages 340-372</ref>


=== ] 1944 - till death ===
The logical culmination of Periyar's anti-Hindi, anti-north Dravidian non-Brahmanism was reached when the Justice Party became secessionist in nature, demanding an independent ] for the Dravidians. Thus, caste-region interaction in Tamil Nadu strengthened an exclusionary regional nationalism. Further, it also sought to delegitimize Brahmans not only from society but also from their regional identity. However, this exclusion did not last long. Once the regional claims were realized through formation of Madras (now Tamil Nadu) State and non-Brahman claims were translated into an extensive policy of reservations, Brahmans were incorporated as members into the Tamil society. Brahmans are accommodated as ideologues and legitimizers of the regional legacy of the Dravidian movement.
Ramaswami changed the name of the Justice Party to Dravidar Kazhagam (Party of the Dravidians). He pitched himself against the so-called "]s", who included ]s among other sects. He avoided parliamentary democracy and started his campaigns on his own. Some of his followers split with him after him due to growing differences of opinion within the party and started the ], popularly known as the DMK. The DMK was first led by C.N. Annadurai and after him by M. Karunanidhi.<ref>http://www.gallup.unm.edu/~smarandache/Periyar.pdf </ref>


Ramasami and his dramatic anti-Brahman protests put new life into the party. The Dravidian Federation, and launched a Tamil "cultural offensive," including theatrical productions of a "reinterpreted" ]-a version transposing hero and villain, in which the
== Anti-Hindi Movement ==
] demon king ] becomes a heroic "] of 'excellent character,' and the Aryan prince Rama a conniving, "despicable character" . This and later political uses of drama capitalized on the strong literary focus among Tamils. Despite such attempts at mass propaganda, however, the party's membership continued to be drawn from the elite.<ref>Sara Dickey,"The politics of adulation in South India", Journal of Asian Studies Vol 52 No 2 (1993) pages 340-372</ref>
Hindi imposition in ] started in ] when the Congress Government of the Madras Presidency under ] introduced ] in the school curriculum. ] opposed ] immediately and the Justice Party under Sir A. D. Panneerselvam and Periyar organized anti-Hindi protests in 1938 and were arrested and jailed by the ] government.
More than 1200 people, including women and children, were imprisoned in ], of which two, ] and ], lost their lives. In ] the Rajaji government quit due to the decision of the Indian National Congress to protest India's participation in World War 2. The teaching of Hindi was withdrawn in ] by the British governor.


Later, the Justice Party became secessionist in nature, campaigning for an independent ] state. Once the regional autonomy was achieved through the formation of Madras (now Tamil Nadu) State and non-Brahman claims were translated into an extensive policy of reservations, Brahmans were incorporated as members into the Tamil society. Brahmans are accommodated as ideologues and legitimizers of the regional legacy of the Dravidian movement.<ref>http://www.democracy-asia.org/Suhas_Palshikar_Caste_&_Region.pdf</ref>
== EVR and Kula Kalvi Thittam/Hereditary Education Policy ==

Rajaji introduced a new education policy based on family vocation which its opponents dubbed ] (Hereditary Education Policy). As per this policy schools will work in the morning and students had to compulsorily learn the family vocation in the afternoon. A ]’s son would learn ], a ]'s son chanting ] and a ]’s son hair cutting and shaving after school in the afternoon.<ref>http://sify.com/news/politics/fullstory.php?id=13569138 </ref> EVR felt that the scheme was a clever device against Dalits and Other Backward Classes as their first generation was getting educated only then.<ref>http://www.tamilnation.org/hundredtamils/periyar.htm</ref> EVR demanded its withdrawal and launched protests against the ] (Hereditary Education Policy) which he felt was caste-based and was aimed at maintaining caste hegemony. Rajaji quit in 1954 and ] scrapped it after becoming chief minister.<ref>http://www.gallup.unm.edu/~smarandache/Periyar.pdf</ref><ref>
=== Split of DMK from Dravidar Kazhagam - 1949 ===
The ] was considered to be split from Dravidar kazhagam, by ]. The main reason for this was that he did not want to be involved in the Government and wanted to do only public service. The second reason was he married Maniammai a woman who was 40 years younger than him.

The more practical and political ] and his followers chose this opportunity to break away and get involved in the new democratic system. Despite the fact that Ramasami chose not to support ] during any election, the ] came to power on its own following the economic turmoils of late 1960s and the promise of cheap rice which was the staple food of Tamil Nadu.

=== Ramasami and Kula Kalvi Thittam/Hereditary Education Policy - 1952-1954===
Rajagopalachari introduced a new education policy based on family vocation which its opponents dubbed ] (Hereditary Education Policy). As per this policy schools will work in the morning and students had to compulsorily learn the family vocation in the afternoon. A ]'s son would learn ], a ]'s son chanting ]s and a ]'s son hair cutting and shaving after school in the afternoon.<ref>http://sify.com/news/politics/fullstory.php?id=13569138 </ref> Ramasami felt that the scheme was a clever device against Dalits and Other Backward Classes as their first generation was getting educated only then.<ref>http://www.tamilnation.org/hundredtamils/periyar.htm</ref> Ramasami demanded its withdrawal and launched protests against the ] (Hereditary Education Policy) which he felt was caste-based and was aimed at maintaining caste hegemony. Rajagopalachari quit in 1954 and ] scrapped it after becoming chief minister.<ref>http://www.gallup.unm.edu/~smarandache/Periyar.pdf</ref><ref>
http://www.periyar.org/html/dk_movement_eng.asp</ref> http://www.periyar.org/html/dk_movement_eng.asp</ref>


=== Ramasami supports Kamarajar of Congress Party - 1954-1963 ===
== EVR's ideas on Modern Tamil Alphabet ==
Ramasami wrote two articles in his magazine Viduthalai (Freedom) in 1954 supporting Kamarasar and Congress Party which he had vehemently opposed. He did not support the ] party which was formed by ] his protege.
He instituted ] ] reforms and his reasons are as follows:<ref>

These articles appeared under the headline 'Kamarasar Atharipu Ean?,' (Why supporting Kamarasar?) in Viduthalai on ], ] and ], ].

The reason for his support seems to be the fact that Kamarasar was a bachelor without issues and therefore has no ulterior selfish motives. Further he was a pure Tamilian and not of Brahminical descent. Kamarasar maintained a balanced view of all castes and was palatable to all walks of people.

Ramasami consistently supported Kamarasar for all the years Kamarajar lead the Congress Party.

===The final years - 1963-1973===
Both Congress Party in Tamilnadu and ] formed an alliance to contest the 1973 election against the ] which they won. The party ] became a fringe party as its ideals were considered too extreme by the majority of the people of Tamilnadu.

The leader of ] ] was openly pro-Hindu and visited many temples even though he was once a major part of the ]. He had openly admitted that he is a God fearing person.

The leader of ] ], the current chief minister of Tamilnadu, has toned down his opposition to ] in recent times.

== Ramasami's ideas on modern Tamil alphabet ==
Ramasami instituted ] ] reforms and his reasons are as follows:<ref>
http://www.uni-giessen.de/~gk1415/revolutionary.htm#9</ref> http://www.uni-giessen.de/~gk1415/revolutionary.htm#9</ref>


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Changing the shape of letters, creating new symbols and adding new letters and similarly, dropping those that are redundant, are quite essential.The glory and excellence of a language and its script depend on how easily they can be understood or learnt and on nothing else. Changing the shape of letters, creating new symbols and adding new letters and similarly, dropping those that are redundant, are quite essential.The glory and excellence of a language and its script depend on how easily they can be understood or learnt and on nothing else.


==Periyar and ]== == Ramasami and the 'Upper Castes'==
The ] was accompanied by growing anger towards the perceived historical oppression inflicted upon 'true' Dravidians by upper castes.
Periyar's self-respect movement was founded on a principle of intense ] racism, while nominally claiming to be a movement espousing "]" and "]".] Brahmins (]s and ]s) were frequently held responsible by followers of Periyar for direct or indirect oppression of lower-] people on the canard of "Brahmin oppression" and resulted in innumerable hate attacks on Brahmins and which amoung other reasons started a wave of forced mass-migration of the Brahmin population.<ref name="Rudolph">Lloyd I. Rudolph Urban Life and Populist Radicalism: Dravidian Politics in Madras The Journal of Asian Studies, Vol. 20, No. 3 (May, 1961), pp. 283-297</ref>. Periyar is alleged to have called for "Brahmin killing"s and burning down Brahmin homes. Later, in regards to a DK member's attempt to assassinate Rajagopalachari, he "expressed his abhorrence of violence as a means of settling political differences".<ref>Lloyd I. Rudolph and Suzanne Hoeber Rudolph, The Modernity of Tradition: political development in India P78,University of Chicago Press 1969, ISBN:0226731375</ref>The canard of "Brahmin oppression" rationalized ] and pointed to Brahmins as enemies against whom the radical movements pitted themselves.<ref name="Rudolph"/> The legacy of the anti-Brahmanism of the self-respect movement was taken over by the later ] parties. Growing anti-Brahmanism in ] provided a rationale for polarization of the lower castes in the DMK movement.<ref> Singh, Yogendra,Modernization of Indian Tradition: (A Systemic Study of Social Change),Oriental Press 1974 page 167</ref> Eventually, the virulent anti-Brahmanism subsided somewhat with the replacement of the DMK party by the ]<ref>C. J. Fuller,The Renewal of the Priesthood: Modernity and Traditionalism in a South Indian Temple P117, Princeton University Press 2003 ISBN:0691116571</ref>.EVR's followers have broken temple icons, cut sacred threads and tufts from Brahmin priests, and have often portrayed Brahmins in the most derogatory manner in their meetings and magazines (see http://www.viduthalai.com and http://www.unmaionline.com - both in Tamil language).


==Periyar and pseudohistory== == Ramasami and 'Tamil Language'==
Though Ramasami was Born and brought up in Tamil Nadu (ERODE), his mother tongue was Kannada. Ramasami was from a prominent Naicker caste, a community that descended from the Telugu Nayak rulers of Tamil Nadu.



===Ramasami and ]===
Ramasami's self-respect movement espoused ] and ], and although Ramasami had Brahmin colleagues, the movement had currents of ].<ref>{{citation|title=Dalit Visions: The Anti-caste Movement and the Construction on an Indian Identity|author= Gail Omvedt|year=2006|publisher=Orient Longman|id=ISBN 8125028951|url= http://books.google.com/books?id=nvSapw8i6k8C&pg=PA95&dq=Anti-Brahmanism&ie=ISO-8859-1&output=html&sig=dvE4djhCdWEN3Siy24RioEdu-bs}}</ref> ] Brahmins (]s and ]s) were frequently held responsible by his followers for direct or indirect oppression of lower-] people; this, it has been argued, contributed to several clashes and a gradual migration of the upper castes.<ref name="Rudolph">Lloyd I. Rudolph Urban Life and Populist Radicalism: Dravidian Politics in Madras The Journal of Asian Studies, Vol. 20, No. 3 (May, 1961), pp. 283-297</ref>

Later, in regards to a DK member's attempt to assassinate Rajagopalachari, he "expressed his abhorrence of violence as a means of settling political differences".<ref>Lloyd I. Rudolph and Suzanne Hoeber Rudolph, The Modernity of Tradition: political development in India P78,University of Chicago Press 1969, ISBN 0226731375</ref> The legacy of the anti-Brahmanism of the self-respect movement was taken over by the later ] parties. Eventually, the virulent anti-Brahmanism subsided somewhat with the replacement of the DMK party by the ].<ref>C. J. Fuller,The Renewal of the Priesthood: Modernity and Traditionalism in a South Indian Temple P117, Princeton University Press 2003 ISBN 0691116571</ref>

==Ramasami and the narrative of invasion==
{{Main|Aryan Invasion Theory (history and controversies)|Self-respect movement}} {{Main|Aryan Invasion Theory (history and controversies)|Self-respect movement}}
Over the course of the 19th century, British scholars such as ] propagated falsified invasionist scenarios of ] in India as part of a systematic and well-organized ] campaign to create sectarian divisions on the basis of racial perceptions contrasting the so-called upper-caste ]s and lower-caste ]. It also provided the ] (who saw themselves as pure-blooded ] Aryans), a justification for their colonization of South Asia (since "Brahmins did it too").In colonial India this propagandistic reconstruction of an epoch lying almost three to four thousand years in the past changed created a volume of ] literature, causing the brainwashed masses in the South into an "internalized past" through an act of "semioticization the Aryan migration"<ref name="Bergunder">Bergunder M, Contested Past: Anti-Brahmanical and Hindu nationalist reconstructions of Indian prehistory,Historiographia Linguistica, Volume 31, Number 1, 2004, pp. 59-104(46)</ref>. Periyar and his followers exploited this body of literature to advance the notion of a "Pure Dravidian Race", superior in every way to the "despicable" ] ]s, philosophies that historian Michael Bergunder compares to the ideas of ] in ]<ref name="Bergunder"/> Based on invasionist scenarios of Bronze Age ] to India, in colonial India were re-worked in propagandistic and ] literature to create divisions on the basis of perceptions that contrasted the so-called upper-caste ]s and lower-caste ], creating an "internalized past" through an act of "semioticization the Aryan migration".<ref name="Bergunder">Bergunder M, Contested Past: Anti-Brahmanical and Hindu nationalist reconstructions of Indian prehistory, Historiographia Linguistica, Volume 31, Number 1, 2004, pp. 59-104(46)</ref> Periyar and his followers exploited this body of literature to advance the notion of a "Pure Dravidian Race", superior in every way to the "despicable" ] ]s, philosophies that historian Michael Bergunder compares to the ideas of ] in ]<ref name="Bergunder"/>


A major aspect of this ideology was the claim that the "Aryan" Brahmins started the ] immediately following the "Aryan Invasion" as a tool to exploit and oppress the "Dravidians", a debunked and largely pseudohistorical claim that was used by Periyarites to justify their villification of Brahmins, which frequently devloved into ] in general.<ref name="Bergunder"/>. Such propaganda swiftly became the bastion of Dravidian nationalist ideology, and was absorbed into numerous sectarian and ] movements. However, it was only the ] A major aspect of this narrative was the claim that the "Aryan" Brahmins started the ] immediately following the "Aryan Invasion" as a tool to exploit and oppress the "Dravidians", a claim that was used by his followers to justify their ].<ref name="Bergunder"/> However, it was only the ]
started Periyar that provided a popular catalyst for a Tamil nationalism that ostensibly had a "secular" foundation. In the 1930s and ’40s there thus developed a Dravidian mass movement, which had among its declared goals the abolition of "] oppression" through the caste system and religion and the revival of Dravidian culture and society.The ] of a "venerable flourishing Dravidian civilization" (centuries prior to actual advanced Tamil civilizations such as the ] and during a period when mainstream archaeology conforms the total absense of any society in South India more advanced than the ]), unjustly "destroyed by the Aryan Brahmins", played a significant role in the Dravidian propaganda of this period. This act of turning the ] and invasionist scenario of the Aryan Migration became a ''leitmotif'' of the argument that formed part of Periyar's ]<ref name="Bergunder"/>. A reflection of Periyar's pseudohistorical propaganda was in his declaration: started by him that provided a popular catalyst for a Tamil nationalism that ostensibly had a "secular" foundation. In the 1930s and ’40s there thus developed a Dravidian mass movement, which had among its declared goals the abolition of "] oppression" through the caste system and religion and the revival of Dravidian culture and society.The history of a flourishing Dravidian civilization (centuries prior to actual advanced Tamil civilizations such as the ]), unjustly destroyed by the Aryan Brahmins, played a significant role in the Dravidian propaganda of this period. This act of turning the invasionist scenario of the Aryan Migration became a ''leitmotiv'' of the argument that formed part of Periyar's ].<ref name="Bergunder"/> A reflection of this effort was in Ramasami's declaration:


{{cquote|We do not need to explain how the Aryans entered and settled in the Dravidian {{cquote|We do not need to explain how the Aryans entered and settled in the Dravidian
country (tira¯vit»a na¯» t»u), and subjugated and oppressed the Dravidians. Nor do we need to explain how before the Aryans entered the Dravidian country, the Dravidian country had a civilization and arts of the highest rank …}}<ref name="Bergunder"/> country (tira¯vit»a na¯» t»u), and subjugated and oppressed the Dravidians. Nor do we need to explain how before the Aryans entered the Dravidian country, the Dravidian country had a civilization and arts of the highest rank …}}<ref name="Bergunder"/>


Such claims rendered the Self-respect movement to swiftly degenerate into mass-hysteria, with Tamil poets such as Bharati Dasan, who became the mouthpiece of the Periyarites. He wrote poems that were similar in tone and polemic to ] propaganda films in Nazi Germany (such as ]) that were contemporary to that period. To him, Brahmins were "common ]" who came as common beggars to plunder the Dravidian land. A sample of his incendiary and racislist poetry goes: Tamil poets such as Bharati Dasan, who became the mouthpiece of the Periyarites, and wrote poems that were explicitly anti-Brahmin in content:


{{cquote|In order through false promises, through strife, // to rule fraudulently, they {{cquote|In order through false promises, through strife, // to rule fraudulently, they
fraudulently, they (Brahmins) came at»i.}}<ref name="Bergunder"/> fraudulently, they (Brahmins) came at»i.}}<ref name="Bergunder"/>


==Ramasami's influence==
==Legacy==
Influence of Ramasami's philosophies are evident in the political decisions and social impact of Tamilnadu. The political decision related to reservation, Hindi dominance agitation, woman liberation are attributed to his impact. ] in Tamilnadu is given a great relevance to Periyar. Cine Actors ], ], ] being believers of Ramasami's principle exhibited their anti-superstition propaganda onscreen.
* He declared Indian independence as a day of slavery and declared it as a day of mourning. He fought for the separation of Tamil areas of India and Sri Lanka and for the human rights of the oppressed Tamil diaspora. He backed colonial rule and attempted to forge an alliance with both ] and ].
* EVR's comment on Tamil as a "language of barbarians" haunted him later in life. He was a strong proponent of embracing English as the global language and dropping Tamil from academics. To this day, his followers choose to ignore discussions on this topic.
* Early in his political life, EVR had derided ] and an anachronism and a tool for Aryan aggrandisement. At a later point, he embraced it as the true guide and insisted it was a common guide for all religions. When prominent Muslims spoke out and commented that a man-made work, Tirukkural can never equal God-given verses (]), EVR and his rationalist thought observed silence.
* In recent years, ] and ] movements such as ] have adopted Periyarite rhetoric into their propaganda. Other ], ] and ] groups such as ] and ] have combined Periyarite rhetoric with ] ] to portray ]s as "Black-descended" and pitted against the "White" Brahmins


A Tamil movie "Periyar" was taken depicting his biographical life, the lead role played by ]
== Periyar - The Movie ==
] and ] starred in a movie on E.V. Ramaswamy in a government-sponsored movie.



== Notable followers ==

* ]
==References==
* ]
<div class="references-small"><references /></div>
* ], leader of ] after E.V. Ramaswamy.

* ], ] Tamil poet.
==Bibliography==
* ], engineer and hydroglogist.
* ]. ''E. V. Ramaswami - Periyar: A study of the influence of a personality in contemporary South India''. ISBN 91-24-27645-6.
* ]
* ]. "E.V. Ramasami's Reading of the Ramayana" in Paula Richman, ed., ''Many Ramayanas: The Diversity of a Narrative Tradition in South Asia''.
* ]
* ]. “E V Ramasamy Naickarin Marupakkam”
* ]
* ]


==External links== ==External links==
* , official website of Thanthai Periyar. * , official website of E. V. Ramasami.
* , a timeline of Periyar's work. * , a timeline of Ramasami's work.
* *
* *
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* by W. B. Vasantha Kandasamy, ] and K. Kandasamy. * by W. B. Vasantha Kandasamy, ] and K. Kandasamy.


{{DEFAULTSORT:Periyar, Ramasami}}
== References ==
]
<div class="references-small"><references /></div>
]

]
==Bibliography==
]
* ]. ''E. V. Ramaswami - Periyar: A study of the influence of a personality in contemporary South India''. ISBN 91-24-27645-6.
]
* ]. "E.V. Ramasami's Reading of the Ramayana" in Paula Richman, ed., ''Many Ramayanas: The Diversity of a Narrative Tradition in South Asia''.

]
]
]
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Revision as of 00:10, 30 June 2007

Periyar
File:Periyar1973.jpgThanthi Periyar
BornSeptember 17, 1879
Erode, Tamil Nadu, India
DiedDecember 24, 1973
Tamil Nadu, India
Occupation(s)Trader, Social Worker
Spouse(s)Nagammal, Maniammai

Template:Otheruses2

Periyar E. V. Ramaswamy (Template:Lang-ta) (September 17, 1879 – December 24, 1973),also known as Ramaswami, EVR, Thanthai Periyar, or Periyar, was an Indian social reformer, who founded the Self-Respect Movement and Dravidar Kazhagam.

Biography

Ramaswami was from a prominent Naicker caste, a community that descended from the Telugu Nayak rulers of Tamil Nadu. Hence he is sometimes called E. V. Ramaswami Naicker. "Ramaswami" was his given name and "Periyar" means 'respected one' or an 'elder' in Tamil.He is refered as Periyar and a University was named after him by the Tamil Nadu Government.His mother tongue was Kannada.

Ramasami was an atheist, noted for his antitheistic statement, "He who created god was a fool, he who spreads his name is a scoundrel, and he who worships him is a barbarian," attacking Hinduism in particular. In 1956, he took a procession of Rama's picture garlanded with slippers near Dharmapuri and destroyed the portrait in public, drawing widespread protests from offended Hindus. His most popular writing is The Ramayana: A True Reading (1959), on the Hindu Ramayana epic.

File:P34ee3R.jpg
MGR paying respects to Periyar's mortal remains

His early life

Ramasami was born as the son of a merchant Venkata, who was a devout Hindu of the Vaishnavite school of thought. His mother was Chinna Thayammal alias Muthammal; he had one elder brother named Krishnaswamy and two sisters named Kannamma and Ponnuthoy. He studied for 5 years and joined his father's trade at the age of 12. He used to listen to Tamil Vaishnavite gurus who gave discourses in his house enjoying his father's hospitality. He was married to Nagammal a girl of just 13 in 1898. Their first child was a baby girl who died in infancy, after which he had no more children. After being reprimanded by his father, he left his house for Kashi.

Pilgrimage to Kashi

Ramasami went on a pilgrimage to Varanasi to worship in the famous Siva temple Kashi Vishwanath in 1904. He wanted to enter a Free-lunch place but finding that it was meant only for Brahmins he disguised himself as a one. But it was discovered that he was not a Brahmin and he was removed from the place. Later he learnt that the Free-lunch place was built with the donation of a Dravidian merchant. He saw the discrimination against non-Brahmins. He had pictured Kashi as a place where all Hindus would be treated equally.

Timeline of Ramaswami's political struggle and ideology

Ramasami as member of Congress Party 1919 - 1925

Ramasami was a member of the Congress Party from 1919 onwards. He gave up many of his lucrative positions and properties at that time. However, he split from Congress because the Congress refused to support his demand for entry into temples for all castes. This was because the Congress party was dominated by orthodox Brahmins(who were at that time considered to be people of a higher caste in the society) in Tamilnadu at that time.

The fact that Brahmins dominated the Congress Party from 1920's is shown by the fact that when the Congress Party formed the ministry in 1937 the chief minister was Rajagopalachari, the Revenue Minister was Tanguturi Prakasam and the labor minister was V V Giri. All of them were Brahmins and had a long political life marked with major successes. Though it could be argued that most of them were chosen by each of their merits and not merely by their caste.

Vaikom struggle - 1924-1925

Ramasami was involved in securing rights to entry into temples and access to temple roads for people of all castes in Vaikom in Kerala which was part of the princely state Travancore during 1924.Periyar who was the President of the Madras Presidency (Tamil Nadu) Congress Committee at that time to lead the agitation after many other leaders had been arrested .Periyar agreed and came to Vaikom in April 1924 and he was arrested but he was unrelenting and refused to leave to Vaikom and the satyagraha gained strength and Mahatma Gandhi, on an invitation from Rajaji, went to Vaikom and began talks with the Queen of Travancore where it was agreed that the police pickets would be removed and that the State police would do nothing to prevent the lower castes using the roads. Periyar refused to participate in the negotiations but he had to agree, reluctantly, to Gandhi's idea that the demand for all Hindus entering the temple be put off at least for the time being He played a role along with other great statesmen and national leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, C. Rajagopalachari, and Acharya Vinoba Bhave. Madras Presidency(Tamil Nadu) Congress passed a resolution umanimously praising Periyar's significant contribution to the Vaikom Satyagarha and hailing him as Vaikom Veerar(Vaikom Hero) in 1925 in the Kanchipuram Session .

Self-Respect Movement - 1925-39

Ramasami and his followers campaigned constantly to influence and pressurise the government to take measures to remove social inequality even while other nationalist leaders focussed on the struggle for political independence.

Anti-Hindi Movement - 1937-1940

Hindi imposition in Tamil Nadu started in 1937 when the Congress Government of the Madras Presidency under (C Rajagopalachari) made Hindi a compulsory subject in schools. Tamils opposed Hindi imposition immediately and the Justice Party under Sir A. D. Panneerselvam and Ramasami organized anti-Hindi imposition protests in 1938 and were arrested and jailed by the Rajagopalachari government. More than 1200 people, including women and children, were imprisoned in 1938, of which two, Thalamuthu and Natarasan, lost their lives. In 1939 the Rajagopalachari government quit and it was withdrawn in 1940 by the British governor.

Justice Party - 1939-1944

Before World War II, the Justice Party ruled Madras Province for a long period from 1920 to 1937 with many leaders List of Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu. As Gandhi revitalized the Congress Party with the common man message, People voted Congress Party into power from 1937 to 1967. As the Justice Party lost its power and began looking for someone popular with the masses, Ramasami was an obvious choice. And the popular slogan social was "social justice",as a euphemism for anti-Brahmin rhetoric. He targeted Rajagopalachari, the Congress leader and a Brahmin. However, largely due to the popularity of Mahatma Gandhi, the Congress party remained in power till 1967.

Dravidar Kazhagam 1944 - till death

Ramaswami changed the name of the Justice Party to Dravidar Kazhagam (Party of the Dravidians). He pitched himself against the so-called "Aryans", who included Brahmins among other sects. He avoided parliamentary democracy and started his campaigns on his own. Some of his followers split with him after him due to growing differences of opinion within the party and started the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, popularly known as the DMK. The DMK was first led by C.N. Annadurai and after him by M. Karunanidhi.

Ramasami and his dramatic anti-Brahman protests put new life into the party. The Dravidian Federation, and launched a Tamil "cultural offensive," including theatrical productions of a "reinterpreted" Ramayana-a version transposing hero and villain, in which the Sri Lankan demon king Ravana becomes a heroic "Dravidian of 'excellent character,' and the Aryan prince Rama a conniving, "despicable character" . This and later political uses of drama capitalized on the strong literary focus among Tamils. Despite such attempts at mass propaganda, however, the party's membership continued to be drawn from the elite.

Later, the Justice Party became secessionist in nature, campaigning for an independent Dravidshan state. Once the regional autonomy was achieved through the formation of Madras (now Tamil Nadu) State and non-Brahman claims were translated into an extensive policy of reservations, Brahmans were incorporated as members into the Tamil society. Brahmans are accommodated as ideologues and legitimizers of the regional legacy of the Dravidian movement.

Split of DMK from Dravidar Kazhagam - 1949

The DMK was considered to be split from Dravidar kazhagam, by C. N. Annadurai. The main reason for this was that he did not want to be involved in the Government and wanted to do only public service. The second reason was he married Maniammai a woman who was 40 years younger than him.

The more practical and political C. N. Annadurai and his followers chose this opportunity to break away and get involved in the new democratic system. Despite the fact that Ramasami chose not to support DMK during any election, the DMK came to power on its own following the economic turmoils of late 1960s and the promise of cheap rice which was the staple food of Tamil Nadu.

Ramasami and Kula Kalvi Thittam/Hereditary Education Policy - 1952-1954

Rajagopalachari introduced a new education policy based on family vocation which its opponents dubbed Kula Kalvi Thittam (Hereditary Education Policy). As per this policy schools will work in the morning and students had to compulsorily learn the family vocation in the afternoon. A carpenter's son would learn carpentry, a priest's son chanting hymns and a barber's son hair cutting and shaving after school in the afternoon. Ramasami felt that the scheme was a clever device against Dalits and Other Backward Classes as their first generation was getting educated only then. Ramasami demanded its withdrawal and launched protests against the Kula Kalvi Thittam (Hereditary Education Policy) which he felt was caste-based and was aimed at maintaining caste hegemony. Rajagopalachari quit in 1954 and Kamaraj scrapped it after becoming chief minister.

Ramasami supports Kamarajar of Congress Party - 1954-1963

Ramasami wrote two articles in his magazine Viduthalai (Freedom) in 1954 supporting Kamarasar and Congress Party which he had vehemently opposed. He did not support the DMK party which was formed by C. N. Annadurai his protege.

These articles appeared under the headline 'Kamarasar Atharipu Ean?,' (Why supporting Kamarasar?) in Viduthalai on May 15, 1954 and June 1, 1954.

The reason for his support seems to be the fact that Kamarasar was a bachelor without issues and therefore has no ulterior selfish motives. Further he was a pure Tamilian and not of Brahminical descent. Kamarasar maintained a balanced view of all castes and was palatable to all walks of people.

Ramasami consistently supported Kamarasar for all the years Kamarajar lead the Congress Party.

The final years - 1963-1973

Both Congress Party in Tamilnadu and DMK formed an alliance to contest the 1973 election against the AIADMK which they won. The party Dravidar Kazhagam became a fringe party as its ideals were considered too extreme by the majority of the people of Tamilnadu.

The leader of AIADMK MG Ramachandran was openly pro-Hindu and visited many temples even though he was once a major part of the DMK. He had openly admitted that he is a God fearing person.

The leader of DMK Karunanidhi, the current chief minister of Tamilnadu, has toned down his opposition to Hinduism in recent times.

Ramasami's ideas on modern Tamil alphabet

Ramasami instituted Tamil alphabet reforms and his reasons are as follows:

In writings and publications of 70 or 80 years ago, the vowel 'ee' (i:), indicated today as ' ¼ ', was a cursive and looped representation of the short form, ' ¬ ' (i). In stone inscriptions of 400 or 500 years ago, many Tamil letters are found in other shapes. The older and the more divine a language and its letters are said to be, they, in truth, need reform.

Just as some compound characters have separate signs to indicate their length as in ' æè ' , ' îæ ' (ka: , ke:), why should not other compound characters like ' æ¨ ' , ' æ© ' , ' Æ ' , ' Ô ' (ki, ki:,ku, ku:) (indicated integrally as of now), also have separate signs? This indeed requires consideration.

Changing the shape of letters, creating new symbols and adding new letters and similarly, dropping those that are redundant, are quite essential.The glory and excellence of a language and its script depend on how easily they can be understood or learnt and on nothing else.

Ramasami and the 'Upper Castes'

The self-respect movement was accompanied by growing anger towards the perceived historical oppression inflicted upon 'true' Dravidians by upper castes.

Ramasami and 'Tamil Language'

Though Ramasami was Born and brought up in Tamil Nadu (ERODE), his mother tongue was Kannada. Ramasami was from a prominent Naicker caste, a community that descended from the Telugu Nayak rulers of Tamil Nadu.


Ramasami and anti-Brahmanism

Ramasami's self-respect movement espoused rationalism and atheism, and although Ramasami had Brahmin colleagues, the movement had currents of anti-Brahminism. Tamil Brahmins (Iyers and Iyengars) were frequently held responsible by his followers for direct or indirect oppression of lower-caste people; this, it has been argued, contributed to several clashes and a gradual migration of the upper castes.

Later, in regards to a DK member's attempt to assassinate Rajagopalachari, he "expressed his abhorrence of violence as a means of settling political differences". The legacy of the anti-Brahmanism of the self-respect movement was taken over by the later Dravidan parties. Eventually, the virulent anti-Brahmanism subsided somewhat with the replacement of the DMK party by the AIADMK.

Ramasami and the narrative of invasion

Main articles: Aryan Invasion Theory (history and controversies) and Self-respect movement

Based on invasionist scenarios of Bronze Age Indo-Aryan migration to India, in colonial India were re-worked in propagandistic and pseudohistorical literature to create divisions on the basis of perceptions that contrasted the so-called upper-caste Aryans and lower-caste Dravidians, creating an "internalized past" through an act of "semioticization the Aryan migration". Periyar and his followers exploited this body of literature to advance the notion of a "Pure Dravidian Race", superior in every way to the "despicable" Aryan Brahmins, philosophies that historian Michael Bergunder compares to the ideas of Herrenvolk in Nazi Germany

A major aspect of this narrative was the claim that the "Aryan" Brahmins started the Indian Caste System immediately following the "Aryan Invasion" as a tool to exploit and oppress the "Dravidians", a claim that was used by his followers to justify their anti-Brahminism. However, it was only the Self-Respect Movement started by him that provided a popular catalyst for a Tamil nationalism that ostensibly had a "secular" foundation. In the 1930s and ’40s there thus developed a Dravidian mass movement, which had among its declared goals the abolition of "Brahmanical oppression" through the caste system and religion and the revival of Dravidian culture and society.The history of a flourishing Dravidian civilization (centuries prior to actual advanced Tamil civilizations such as the Chola Empire), unjustly destroyed by the Aryan Brahmins, played a significant role in the Dravidian propaganda of this period. This act of turning the invasionist scenario of the Aryan Migration became a leitmotiv of the argument that formed part of Periyar's anti-Brahmanism. A reflection of this effort was in Ramasami's declaration:

We do not need to explain how the Aryans entered and settled in the Dravidian country (tira¯vit»a na¯» t»u), and subjugated and oppressed the Dravidians. Nor do we need to explain how before the Aryans entered the Dravidian country, the Dravidian country had a civilization and arts of the highest rank …

Tamil poets such as Bharati Dasan, who became the mouthpiece of the Periyarites, and wrote poems that were explicitly anti-Brahmin in content:

In order through false promises, through strife, // to rule fraudulently, they fraudulently, they (Brahmins) came at»i.

Ramasami's influence

Influence of Ramasami's philosophies are evident in the political decisions and social impact of Tamilnadu. The political decision related to reservation, Hindi dominance agitation, woman liberation are attributed to his impact. Atheism in Tamilnadu is given a great relevance to Periyar. Cine Actors Vivek, MR. Radha, Sathyaraj being believers of Ramasami's principle exhibited their anti-superstition propaganda onscreen.

A Tamil movie "Periyar" was taken depicting his biographical life, the lead role played by Sathyaraj


References

  1. Thomas Pantham, Vrajendra Raj Mehta, Vrajendra Raj Mehta, (2006). Political Ideas in Modern India: thematic explorations. Sage Publications. ISBN 0761934200.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. N.D. Arora/S.S. Awasthy. Political Theory and Political Thought. ISBN 8124111642.
  3. Shankar Raghuraman, Paranjoy Guha Thakurta (2004). A Time of Coalitions: Divided We Stand. Sage Publications. ISBN 0761932372.
  4. http://www.tnuniv.ac.in/periyar/About.htm
  5. http://www.tn.gov.in/pressrelease/archives/pr2004/pr170904/pr170904.htm
  6. "Periyar E.V. Ramasami". buddhiwadi.org.
  7. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0006E12N4/
  8. http://www.periyar.org/html/ap_bios_eng1.asp
  9. http://www.periyar.org/html/ap_bios_eng1.asp
  10. http://snphilosophers2005.tripod.com/louis.pdf
  11. http://www.media-watch.org/articles/0499/65.html
  12. http://pib.nic.in/feature/feyr98/fe0798/PIBF0707983.html
  13. http://www.atheist-community.org/library/articles/read.php?id=710
  14. http://snphilosophers2005.tripod.com/louis.pdf
  15. http://www.gallup.unm.edu/~smarandache/Periyar.pdf
  16. Sara Dickey,"The politics of adulation in South India", Journal of Asian Studies Vol 52 No 2 (1993) pages 340-372
  17. http://www.democracy-asia.org/Suhas_Palshikar_Caste_&_Region.pdf
  18. http://sify.com/news/politics/fullstory.php?id=13569138
  19. http://www.tamilnation.org/hundredtamils/periyar.htm
  20. http://www.gallup.unm.edu/~smarandache/Periyar.pdf
  21. http://www.periyar.org/html/dk_movement_eng.asp
  22. http://www.uni-giessen.de/~gk1415/revolutionary.htm#9
  23. Gail Omvedt (2006), Dalit Visions: The Anti-caste Movement and the Construction on an Indian Identity, Orient Longman, ISBN 8125028951
  24. Lloyd I. Rudolph Urban Life and Populist Radicalism: Dravidian Politics in Madras The Journal of Asian Studies, Vol. 20, No. 3 (May, 1961), pp. 283-297
  25. Lloyd I. Rudolph and Suzanne Hoeber Rudolph, The Modernity of Tradition: political development in India P78,University of Chicago Press 1969, ISBN 0226731375
  26. C. J. Fuller,The Renewal of the Priesthood: Modernity and Traditionalism in a South Indian Temple P117, Princeton University Press 2003 ISBN 0691116571
  27. ^ Bergunder M, Contested Past: Anti-Brahmanical and Hindu nationalist reconstructions of Indian prehistory, Historiographia Linguistica, Volume 31, Number 1, 2004, pp. 59-104(46)

Bibliography

  • Diehl, Anita. E. V. Ramaswami - Periyar: A study of the influence of a personality in contemporary South India. ISBN 91-24-27645-6.
  • Richman, Paula. "E.V. Ramasami's Reading of the Ramayana" in Paula Richman, ed., Many Ramayanas: The Diversity of a Narrative Tradition in South Asia.
  • M.Venkatesan. “E V Ramasamy Naickarin Marupakkam”

External links

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