Indian Political Thought: Themes and Thinkers | Third Edition | By Pearson
by Himanshu Roy, M P. Singh
27
Periyar: Radical Liberalism
—Niraj Kumar Jha and A.P.S. Chouhan
Erode Venkatanaicker Ramasamy (1879–1973), better known as Periyar (The Great Man) has a complex legacy. He began as a nationalist, worked as a follower of Gandhi, but turned into a firebrand leader of the anti-Brahminism movement in Madras Presidency. He saw the salvation of the country in the destruction of the Congress, the Hindu religion and Brahmin domination. He declared the goal of the Dravida Kazhagam, the new avatar of the Justice Party in 1944 to be a ‘sovereign, independent Dravidian Republic’ and called upon his followers to observe Independence Day as a day of mourning representing the enslavement of the southerners’.1 Meanwhile, he saw himself as a social reformer ...
Become an O’Reilly member and get unlimited access to this title plus top books and audiobooks from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers, thousands of courses curated by job role, 150+ live events each month,
and much more.
Read now
Unlock full access