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Dravida Nadu is a name of a proposed sovereign state demanded by the Justice Party led by the founder of the self-respect movement, E.V. Ramasamy Periyar, and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) led by C. N. Annadurai for the speakers of the Dravidian languages in South India.
Initially, the demand of Dravida Nadu proponents was limited to Tamil-speaking regions, but it was later expanded to include other Indian states with a majority of Dravidian-speakers (Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and Karnataka).[1] Some of the proponents also included parts of Ceylon (Sri Lanka),[2] Orissa and Maharashtra.[3] Other names for the proposed sovereign state included "South India", "Deccan Federation" and "Dakshinapath".[4][5]
The movement for Dravida Nadu was at its height from the 1940s to 1960s, but due to fears of Tamil hegemony, it failed to find any support outside Tamil Nadu. The States Reorganisation Act 1956, which created linguistic States, weakened the demand further.[6][7] In 1960, the DMK leaders decided to withdraw their demand for a Dravida Nadu from the party programme at a meeting held in the absence of Annadurai. In 1963, the Government of India led by Jawaharlal Nehru, declared secessionism as an illegal act. As a consequence, Annadurai abandoned the "claim" for Dravida Nadu – now geographically limited to modern Tamil Nadu – completely in 1963.
- ^ Taylor, Richard Warren (1982). Religion and Society: The First Twenty-five Years, 1953–1978. Christian Literature Society (for the Christian Institute for the Study of Religion and Society, Bangalore). p. 242. OCLC 9007066.
- ^ Welch, Claude Emerson (1967). Political Modernization: A Reader in Comparative Political Change. Wadsworth Pub. Co. p. 173. OCLC 941238.
- ^ James H. Mills, Satadru Sen, ed. (2004). Confronting the Body: The Politics of Physicality in Colonial and Post-Colonial India. Anthem Press. p. 145. ISBN 978-1-84331-032-7.
- ^ Afzal, M. Rafique (1979). The Case for Pakistan. Islamabad: National Commission on Historical and Cultural Research. xxv. OCLC 8165052.
- ^ Tirtha, Ranjit (1980). Society and Development in Contemporary India: Geographical Perspectives. Harlo. p. 161. ISBN 0-8187-0040-8. OCLC 6930110.
- ^ Thapar, Romesh (1978). Change and Conflict in India. Macmillan. p. 75. ISBN 0-8364-0222-7.
- ^ Rao, C Rajeswara (1973). Defeat Separatist Conspiracy in Andhra. Communist Party of India. p. 28. OCLC 814926.