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EVR better known as Periyar

Thanthai Periyar
Born:	September 17, 1879 Erode, Tamil Nadu, India
Died:	December 24, 1973 Tamil Nadu, India
Occupation:	Trader, Social Worker
Spouse:	Nagammal, Maniammai

E.V. Ramasami (Tamil: ஈ. வெ. ராமசாமி நாயக்கர்) (September 17, 1879 – December 24, 1973), also known as E.V. Ramaswami, EVR, Thanthai Periyar, or just Periyar, was an atheist, anti-Hindu, social reformer, an activist, and the founder of Dravidar Kazhagam and the Self-Respect Movement in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Image File history File links Periyar1973. ... Periyar (September 17, 1879–December 24, 1973), also known as E.V. Ramasami, EVR, Thanthai Periyar, or Periyar Ramasami, is a well-known rationalist, atheist, freedom fighter, activist, founder of Dravidar Kazhagam and founder of the Self-respect Movement in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. ... September 17 is the 260th day of the year (261st in leap years). ... 1879 (MDCCCLXXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Erode (pronounced e-road, where ஈரோடை(e-rodai) by time became as ஈரோடு(e-rode) in Tamil) is a city in the state of Tamilnadu, India. ... Tamil Nadu (தமிழ் நாடு, Land of the Tamils) is a state at the southern tip of India. ... December 24 is the 358th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (359th in leap years). ... 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday. ... Tamil Nadu (தமிழ் நாடு, Land of the Tamils) is a state at the southern tip of India. ... The term Trader can refer to: In economics, a merchant, a retail business or one who attempts to generally buy wholesale and sell later at a profit In finance, someone who buys and sells financial instruments such as stocks, bonds and derivatives - see stock trader In marketing, Trader Classified Media... A social worker is a person employed in the administration of charity, social service, welfare, and poverty agencies, advocacy, or religious outreach programs. ... Periyar may refer to Periyar River Periyar District Periyar National Park Periyar University Category: ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... September 17 is the 260th day of the year (261st in leap years). ... 1879 (MDCCCLXXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... December 24 is the 358th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (359th in leap years). ... 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday. ... For information about the band, see Atheist (band). ... Anti-Hindu leaflet launched by fundamentalist Christian churches Anti-Hindu prejudice is a negative perception against Hinduism, Hindus and Indian or Hindu culture. ... Social reform is changing government and society for the good of everyone. ... Activism, in a general sense, can be described as intentional action to bring about social or political change. ... Dravidar Kazhagam or Dravida Kazhagam (Dravidian Organization) was the first fully Dravidian party in India. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Tamil Nadu (தமிழ் நாடு, Land of the Tamils) is a state at the southern tip of India. ...

Life and beliefs

MGR with EVR

E.V. Ramaswami Naicker was from the Balija Naidu community. He is popularly known in Tamil Nadu as "Periyar", meaning 'respected one' in Tamil. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2332x1683, 134 KB) I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2332x1683, 134 KB) I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Balija is a caste found in the state of Andhra Pradesh,Tamil Nadu and Karnataka and primarily concentrated in the Southern Districts of Andhra Pradesh. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

E.V. Ramaswami was an atheist and is well known for his anti-theistic and anti-Brahmin statements. One of his popular statement is "He who created god was a fool, he who spreads his name is a scoundrel, and he who worships him is a barbarian." In 1956, he took a procession with a photo of Lord Rama, a Hindu deity, garlanded the photo with footwear near Dharmapuri and destroyed the portrait in public to prove his views. E.V. Ramaswami's most popular writing is The Ramayana: A True Reading (1959), on the Ramayana, a Hindu epic.^[1] This article is about a Hindu incarnation of God (i. ... Dharmapuri is a city and a administrative headquarters of Dharmapuri district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. ... For the television series by Ramanand Sagar, see Ramayan (TV series). ...

MGR paying respects to E.V. Ramaswami's mortal remains

Though he was born in an affluent Telugu origin family, he fought against the untouchability practiced by upper castes, specifically targeting Brahmins, the rituals of Hinduism, and the caste system. He later opposed Mahatma Gandhi and the Indian National Congress, preferring the Justice Party. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2335x1676, 185 KB) I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2335x1676, 185 KB) I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Untouchable may mean: Dalit (outcaste), formerly or derogatively, populations of India and Nepal outside the caste system Untouchable, a novel of Mulk Raj Anand The Untouchables, the Treasury agent team led by Eliot Ness featured in the self-named book, television series, and motion picture. ... A Brahmin (anglicised from the Sanskrit word IAST ; Devanagari ), also known as Vipra, Dvija, Dvijottama (best of the Dvijas), (god on Earth) is the highest caste in Indian caste system within Hindu society. ... Hinduism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... The word Caste is derived from the Portuguese word casta, meaning lineage, breed or race. ...

His personal life

Ramaswami was the son of a merchant Venkata, who was a devout Hindu of the Vaishnavite 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 Vaishnavite gurus who gave discourses in his house enjoying his father's hospitality. Ramaswami was married to Nagammal. His only daughter died young After being reprimanded by his father, Ramaswami left his house for Kasi.^[2] Vaishnavites are followers of Vaishnavism in which Vishnu or His avatars are worshipped as the supreme God. ... Vaishnavites are followers of Vaishnavism in which Vishnu or His avatars are worshipped as the supreme God. ... Benares (also known as Banaras, Kashi, Kasi and Varanasi (वाराणसी)) is a Hindu holy city on the banks of the river Ganga or Ganges in the modern north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. ...

Much later in life, Ramaswami, in his seventies, married his personal assistant, Maniyamma, a woman in her twenties. The marriage to a woman several decades younger than himself by a man who earlier had denounced the marriage institution and likened it to female slavery and claimed to champion the cause of women caused an uproar among political party cadres and resulted in the split in his party.

Pilgrimage to Kaasi

He 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.^[3] He saw the discrimination against non-Brahmins. He had pictured Kasi as a place where all Hindus would be treated equally. This humiliation 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.^[4] 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". VārāṇasÄ«   (HindÄ«: वाराणसी, UrdÅ«: وارانسی, IPA: ), also known as Benares, Banaras, or Benaras (HindÄ«: बनारस, UrdÅ«: بنارس, ; IPA: ), or Kashi or Kasi (काशी کاشی ), is a famous Hindu holy city situated on the banks of the river Ganges (Ganga) in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. ... Varanasi (Hindi: वाराणसी , pronunciation / /), also known as Benares, Banaras, or Benaras (Hindi: बनारस , pronunciation / /), or Kashi or Kasi (Hindi: काशी ), is a famous Hindu holy city situated on the banks of the river Ganges (Ganga) in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. ... 1904 (MCMIV) was a leap year starting on a Friday (see link for calendar). ... A Brahmin (anglicised from the Sanskrit word IAST ; Devanagari ), also known as Vipra, Dvija, Dvijottama (best of the Dvijas), (god on Earth) is the highest caste in Indian caste system within Hindu society. ... Benares (also known as Banaras, Kashi, Kasi and Varanasi (वाराणसी)) is a Hindu holy city on the banks of the river Ganga or Ganges in the modern north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. ...

Freedom Fighter

E.V. Ramaswami fought for India's freedom till 1930^[5] and after that he fought against India's freedom. However his critics dispute this and say his role was magnified.^[6][7] On 15-8-1947, when India became free from the British, he grieved by wearing black.

Rationalism

Ramaswami was a believer till the age of 28 and managed (dharmakartha) a temple. He became an atheist and followed western philosopher Nietzsche and claimed that God is dead. His anti-Brahmin 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. Friedrich Nietzsche, 1882 Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (October 15, 1844 - August 25, 1900) was a highly influential German philosopher. ...

Ramaswami's rationalism was focussed on deriding the ritualistic practices by the priests, who were all Brahmins, in Sanskrit. His empty rhetoric always steered clear of Christians and Muslims. The Sanskrit language ( , for short ) is an old Indo-Aryan language from the Indian Subcontinent, the classical literary language of the Hindus of India[1], a liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, and one of the 23 official languages of India. ...

Justice Party: 1939-1944

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, which is the euphemism for anti-Brahmin rhetoric. He targeted Rajaji, the Congress leader and a Brahmin. Justice Party was the political wing of Then Nala Urimai Sangam (literal translation: The South Indian Welfare Association). ...

Leader of Dravidar Kazhagam

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 Aryans, who were the Brahmins again. He avoided parliamentary democracy and started social reforms on his own. His followers who wanted politics split with him after his marriage to a very young woman 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. ^[8] Dravidar Kazhagam or Dravida Kazhagam (Dravidian Organization) was the first fully Dravidian party in India. ... Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) is a regional political party in the Tamil Nadu state of India, but also has presence in near by southern Indian states, Pondicherry, Kerala and Karnataka. ...

Anti-Hindi Movement

Hindi imposition in Tamil Nadu started in 1937 when the Congress Government of the Madras Presidency under Rajaji introduced Hindi in the school curriculum. Tamils opposed Hindi 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 Rajaji 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 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 1940 by the British governor. Tamil Nadu (தமிழ் நாடு, Land of the Tamils) is a state at the southern tip of India. ... Year 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Rajaji Chakravarthi Rajagopalachari (December 1878 - December 25, 1972), known as or Rajaji or C.R., was an Indian lawyer, writer, statesman and a Hindu spiritualist. ... Hindi (Devanagari: हिन्दी or हिंदी; IPA: ), an Indo-European language spoken mainly in northern and central India, is one of the official languages of the Union government of India [1][2]. It is part of a dialect continuum of the Indic family, bounded on the northwest and west by Punjabi, Sindhi, Urdu... Languages Tamil Religions Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, Jainism Related ethnic groups Dravidian people Brahui people Kannadigas Malayalis Tamils Telugus Tuluvas Gonds The Tamil people are an ethnic group from the Indian subcontinent with a recorded history going back more than two millennia. ... Hindi (Devanagari: हिन्दी or हिंदी; IPA: ), an Indo-European language spoken mainly in northern and central India, is one of the official languages of the Union government of India [1][2]. It is part of a dialect continuum of the Indic family, bounded on the northwest and west by Punjabi, Sindhi, Urdu... Rajaji Chakravarthi Rajagopalachari (December 1878 - December 25, 1972), known as or Rajaji or C.R., was an Indian lawyer, writer, statesman and a Hindu spiritualist. ... Year 1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full year calendar). ... 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1940 calendar). ...

EVR and Kula Kalvi Thittam/Hereditary Education Policy

Rajaji 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.^[9] EVR felt that the scheme was a clever device against Dalits and Other Backward Classes as their first generation was getting educated only then.^[10] EVR 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. Rajaji quit in 1954 and Kamaraj scrapped it after becoming chief minister.^[11][12] Hereditary Education Policy or Kula Kalvi Thittam is a education policy introduced by Rajaji as Chief Minister of Madras State in 1952. ... Carpenters in an Indian village. ... A carpenter is a skilled craftsman who performs carpentry -- a wide range of woodworking that includes constructing buildings, furniture, and other large objects out of wood. ... . ... See also hymn - a program to decrypt iTunes music files. ... A boy visiting a barber A barber (from the Latin barba, beard) is someone whose occupation is to cut any type of hair, give shaves, and trim beards. ... Hereditary Education Policy or Kula Kalvi Thittam is a education policy introduced by Rajaji as Chief Minister of Madras State in 1952. ... K. Kamaraj (July 15, 1903–1975) was an Indian politician widely known as a kingmaker in Indian politics. ...

EVR's ideas on Modern Tamil Alphabet

He instituted Tamil alphabet reforms and his reasons are as follows:^[13] This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... A Specimen of typeset fonts and languages, by William Caslon, letter founder; from the 1728 Cyclopaedia. ...

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.

Criticism

• 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 Ambedkar and Jinnah.
• Periyar created an anti-Brahmin movement in India. Tamil Brahmins (Iyers and Iyengars) were frequently held responsible by followers of Periyar for direct or indirect oppression of lower-caste 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.^[14]. 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".^[15]The canard of "Brahmin oppression" rationalized conspiracy theories and pointed to Brahmins as enemies against whom the radical movements pitted themselves.^[14] The legacy of the anti-Brahmanism of the self-respect movement was taken over by the later Dravidan parties. Growing anti-Brahmanism in Chennai provided a rationale for polarization of the lower castes in the DMK movement.^[16] Eventually, the virulent anti-Brahmanism subsided somewhat with the replacement of the DMK party by the AIADMK^[17]
• 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).
• Gandhi 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.
• 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 Tirukkural 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 (Qur'an), EVR and his rationalist thought observed silence.

Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (April 14, 1891 or 1892 - December 6, 1956) was the most prominent Indian Untouchable leader of the 20th century. ... Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah of Pakistan Mohammad Ali Jinnah (referred to in Pakistan as Quaid-e-Azam, or Great Leader, which is a legally defined title) (December 25, 1876 - September 11, 1948) was an Indian Muslim nationalist, who led the movement demanding a separate homeland for Muslims in... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Languages Tamil Religions Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, Jainism Related ethnic groups Dravidian people Brahui people Kannadigas Malayalis Tamils Telugus Tuluvas Gonds The Tamil people are an ethnic group from the Indian subcontinent with a recorded history going back more than two millennia. ... Iyer, Aiyer, Ayer, Ayyar, Ayyer, Giyer (Tamil : ஐயர்) are last names used by a section of Tamil Brahmins (a priestly Hindu class / caste from India). ... Iyengar (or Aiyangar) is the name of a community of Tamil Brahmins of South India whose members subscribe to the Visishtadvaita philosophy codified by Ramanuja. ... The Indian caste system is the traditional system of social division in the Indian Subcontinent, in which social classes are defined by a number of endogamous groups often termed as jātis. ... A conspiracy theory is a theory that defies common historical or current understanding of events, under the claim that those events are the result of manipulations by two or more individuals or various secretive powers or conspiracies. ... Dravidian may refer to: Dravidian languages, including the Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Kannada languages spoken especially in southern India and northern Sri Lanka. ... “Madras” redirects here. ... All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) is a regional political party in India. ... Tiruvalluvar statue at Kanyakumari Tirukural (திருக்குறள் in Tamil) is an important work of Tamil literature by Tiruvalluvar written in the form of couplets expounding various aspects of life. ... The Qurān [1] (Arabic: ‎, literally the recitation; also called ‎ The Noble Qurān; also transliterated as Quran, Koran, and Al-Quran) is the central religious text of Islam. ...

Periyar - The Movie

Sathyaraj and Khushboo starred in a movie on E.V. Ramaswamy in a government-sponsored movie. Sathyaraj Sathyaraj (Tamil : சத்யராஜ்) (born October 3, 1954) is a lead actor in the Tamil film industry (Kollywood). ... Kushboo (born 19 September 1970 in Bombay, India ) is a Tamil film actress. ...

Notable followers

• Bharatidasan
• Sathyaraj
• K.Veeramani, leader of Dravidar Kazhagam after E.V. Ramaswamy.
• Kavignar Inkulab, rationalist Tamil poet.
• Poondi Kumaraswamy, engineer and hydroglogist.
• Periyar Thasan
• S.Vallatharasu
• M. Karunanidhi
• C.N. Annadurai

Bharathidasan (April 29, 1891 - April 1, 1964; also spelt Bharatidasan) was a twentieth century Tamil poet and rationalist whose literary works handled mostly socio-political issues. ... Sathyaraj Sathyaraj (Tamil : சத்யராஜ்) (born October 3, 1954) is a lead actor in the Tamil film industry (Kollywood). ... Dr.K.Veeramani K. Veeramani, is the leader of Dravidar Kazhagam, an Indian organization centered in Tamil Nadu, opposed to the caste system and dedicated to the welfare of non-Brahmins. ... Dravidar Kazhagam or Dravida Kazhagam (Dravidian Organization) was the first fully Dravidian party in India. ... Kavignar Inkulab is a Tamil poet, whose poems espousing rationality have been critically acclaimed. ... In epistemology and in its broadest sense, rationalism is any view appealing to reason as a source of knowledge or justification (Lacey, 286). ... Ponnambalam Kumaraswamy ( often referred to as Poondi Kumaraswamy) was a leading hydrologist of India with much of his work having practical significance. ... M. Karunanidhi (Tamil: மு.கருணாநிதி) or Karunanidhi Muthuvel generally referred to as M.K (Tamil: மு.க) and Dr. Kalaignar (கலைஞர்), is the present Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. ...

External links

• Periyar, official website of Thanthai Periyar.
• Periyar's Movement, a timeline of Periyar's work.
• Periyar - One Hundred Tamils of 20th Century
• PERIYAR - Rationalist/Social Reformer
• The Revolutionary Sayings of Periyar
• Rationalist International
• `The economic interest... that was the contradiction' by K. Sivathamby.
• Fuzzy and Neutrosophic Analysis of Periyar's Views on Untouchability by W. B. Vasantha Kandasamy, Florentin Smarandache and K. Kandasamy.

This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

References

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.