Periyar

For other uses, see Periyar (disambiguation).

Periyar
Portrait of Periyar on a postage stamp
President of Dravidar Kazhagam
In office
27 August 1944 – 24 December 1973
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byAnnai E. V. R. Maniammai
Head of the Justice Party
In office
1939 – 27 August 1944
Inaugural HolderC. Natesa Mudaliar
Preceded byRamakrishna Ranga Rao of Bobbili
Succeeded byP. T. Rajan
Personal details
Born(1879-09-17)17 September 1879
Erode, Coimbatore District, Madras Presidency, British India
Died24 December 1973(1973-12-24) (aged 94)
Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India
Resting placePeriyar Ninaividam
Political partyDravidar Kazhagam (from 1944)
Other political
affiliations
Spouses
  • ​
    ​
    (m. 1899; died 1933)​
  • ​
    ​
    (m. 1948)​
Occupation
  • Activist
  • politician
  • social reformer
Nicknames
  • E.V.R.
  • Vaikom Veerar
  • Venthaadi Venthan
In this Indian name, the toponymic surname is Erode. It is not a family name, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Ramasamy.
In this Indian name, the name Venkatappa is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Ramasamy.

Erode Venkatappa Ramasamy (17 September 1879 – 24 December 1973), revered by his followers as Periyar[a] or Thanthai[b] Periyar, was an Indian social activist and politician who started the Self-Respect Movement and Dravidar Kazhagam. He is known as the 'Father of the Dravidian movement'.[1] He rebelled against Brahmin dominance and gender and caste inequality in Tamil Nadu.[2][3][4] Since 2021, the Indian state of Tamil Nadu celebrates his birth anniversary as 'Social Justice Day'.[5]

Ramasamy joined the Indian National Congress in 1919. In 1924, Ramasamy participated in non-violent agitation (satyagraha) involving Mahatma Gandhi in Vaikom, Travancore.[6] He resigned from the Congress in 1925 when he felt that the party was only serving the interests of Brahmins. He questioned what he felt was the subjugation of non-Brahmin Dravidians as Brahmins enjoyed gifts and donations from non-Brahmins but opposed and discriminated against non-Brahmins in cultural and religious matters.[7] He declared his stance to be "no god, no religion, no Gandhi, no Congress, and no Brahmins".[8]

He founded Self-Respect Movement in 1926.[8] From 1929 to 1932 Ramasamy made a tour of British Malaya, Europe, and Soviet Union which influenced him.[9] In 1939, Ramasamy became the head of the Justice Party,[c] and in 1944, he changed its name to Dravidar Kazhagam. The party later split with one group led by C. N. Annadurai forming the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in 1949.[10] While continuing the Self-Respect Movement, he advocated for an independent Dravida Nadu (land of the Dravidians).[11]

Ramasamy promoted the principles of rationalism, self-respect, women's rights and eradication of caste. He opposed the exploitation and marginalisation of the non-Brahmin Dravidian people of South India and the imposition of what he considered Indo-Aryan India.


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  1. ^ "Statue wars: Who was Periyar and why does he trigger sentiment in Tamil Nadu?". The Economic Times. 7 March 2018. Archived from the original on 28 March 2019. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
  2. ^ Mehta, Vrajendra Raj; Thomas Pantham (2006). Political Ideas in Modern India: thematic explorations. Sage Publications: Thousand Oaks. p. 48. ISBN 978-0-7619-3420-2. Archived from the original on 18 September 2023. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  3. ^ Arora, N.D.; S.S. Awasthy (2007). Political Theory and Political Thought. Har-Anand Publications: New Delhi. p. 425. ISBN 978-81-241-1164-2. Archived from the original on 18 September 2023. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  4. ^ Thakurta, Paranjoy Guha; Shankar Raghuraman (2004). A Time of Coalitions: Divided We Stand. Sage Publications. New Delhi. p. 230. ISBN 0-7619-3237-2.
  5. ^ "TN govt will celebrate Periyar's birth anniversary as social justice day, says CM Stalin". The Indian Express. 6 September 2021. Archived from the original on 8 September 2021. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
  6. ^ Athiyaman, Pazha (24 December 2019). "Periyar, the hero of Vaikom". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 9 August 2021. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  7. ^ Kandasamy, W.B. Vansantha; Florentin Smarandache; K. Kandasamy (2005). Fuzzy and Neutrosophic Analysis of E.V. Ramasamy's Views on Untouchability. HEXIS: Phoenix. p. 106. ISBN 978-1-931233-00-2.
  8. ^ a b Deshpande, A. (2011). The Grammar of Caste: Economic Discrimination in Contemporary India. OUP India. p. 44. ISBN 978-0-19-908846-1. Archived from the original on 18 September 2023. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  9. ^ "As Tamil Nadu celebrated Periyar's birthday on September 17, we recall the impact of his foreign trips". G Olivannan. The Times of India. 20 September 2016. Archived from the original on 29 October 2020. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  10. ^ Pandian, J., (1987). Caste, Nationalism, and Ethnicity. Popular Prakashan Private Ltd.: Bombay. pp. 62, 64. ISBN 0861321367.
  11. ^ Chatterjee, Debi [1981] (2004) Up Against Caste: Comparative study of Ambedkar and Periyar. Rawat Publications: Chennai. pp. 40–42. ISBN 978-81-7033-860-4