The function to confer K.Veeramani Award for Social Justice 2016 was held at the University of Cologne in the afternoon on 29th July 2017. Dr. Soma Ilangovan, President, Periyar International, USA presented the Award to Hon’ble Michael Selvanayagam, Deputy Mayor, London Borough of Croydon, England. Dr. Lakshman Tamil, Dallas, Texas, USA welcomed. Dr. K. Veeramani felicitated the Awardee and delivered lecture on ‘Social Justice’.
Welcome address by Dr. Lakshman Tamil :
Social justice is an important, part and parcel of self-respect philosophy. Ifthe society is a self-respecting society, only then there will be social justice. What is Self-Respect? It is a philosophy advocated by Periyar. It is a philosophy where all men and women are created equal. It is a philosophy where people are not discriminated on any basis, say race, gender, religion, caste, sexual orientation, or sexual identity. Absolutely there is no place for violence in this philosophy– zero tolerance for any form of violence. If you are a self-respectful person, you will treat everyone around you with self-respect. If your self-respect is ever denied, you will fight tooth and nail to get back your dignity; your self-respect. It is a philosophy that extends beyond individuals. If an institution is a self-respecting institution, it will be inclusive, it will not exclude anybody. If a country is a self-respecting country, it will not unleash aggression on other countries or any of its own people. So, self-respect philosophy is an inclusive philosophy and where there is no place for violence. It proposes an egalitarian society.
Periyar International includes many Tamils in the organization but it is not a Tamil organization. There is no Indian chapter of Periyar International yet. We will be forming an Indian chapter in the future. We have an American chapter, and we have a German chapter. This will substantially prove that this is not an Indian organization, it transcends all nations. Someone asked a question whether Periyar International supports Tamil Eelam. The truth is that we support human rights and we raise our voice wherever human rights are violated. We never affiliate ourselves with any political group or any organization that espouses violence. We are extremely transparent and abhor violence.
Periyar transformed a downtrodden society into a self-respecting society. Many of the people involved with Periyar Movement may at times seems emotional and show great reverence to Periyar, and this is because their lives were personally touched by Periyar; he transformed their downtrodden life into a life with dignity.
In the same way, when we show reverence to Dr. Dr.K.Veeramani, President of Dravidar Kazhagam or when we institute the Social Justice Award in his name, it is not sycophancy or a form of cult following. It is an expression of gratitude to a disciple of Periyar for devoting his life to the spreading of the mission of Periyar.
Dr.K.Veeramani, President of Dravidar Kazhagam, is an advocate by profession. He is such a talented man; he could have advanced very high in his career and could have earned millions of dollars.Instead, he sacrificed his life by devoting to public cause, becoming a torch bearer of Periyar. This Award is an expression of our gratitude towards him. The Award is on Social Justice. Dr. Dr.K.Veeramani, has contributed immensely to Social Justice following the footsteps of Periyar. So, this Award is aptly named after him. Initially, he was reluctant to accept naming of the Award after him, and it needed quite a bit of convincing to make him agree to it.
Today we have gathered here to confer the 18th K. Veeramani Award for Social Justice on Mr. Michael Selvanayagam.
Acceptance Address by Hon’ble Michael Selvanayagam
It is astute to have named the award as K. Veeramani Social Justice Award. The luminaries like Honorable V.P.Singh, Chandrajit Yadav, Kalaignar Karunanidhi and all have been bestowed with the award. Social Justice reflects the hall mark of our civilization itself. A man who cannot respect a woman is not a man at all! Education to all and empowerment of the left behind is the courage to improve the society itself! What has been achieved in Tamil Nadu and followed in other parts speak volumes to the social Justice struggle and the achievements realised so far. We still have to go a long way. With the ever present omnipresent and omnipotent social media the improvements will leap forward. No one can stop it!
Long Live Periyar! Long Live Dr. Veeramani!
Long Live Social Justice!
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K.VEERAMANI AWARD FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE
K.VEERAMANI AWARD FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE has been instituted by the non-resident Indian (NRI) followers of Periyar E.V. Ramasamy, the great social revolutionary of India, living all over the world, to honor his disciple Dr. K. Veeramani the President of Dravidar Kazhagam. This Award is instituted in Dr.K.Veeramani’s name to recognize his contribution in creating a mass awareness in India on social equality and respect for human dignity, and the battles he has been waging against oppressions that deny the human dignity and equality.
This international award is conferred every year to an individual who has or an institution that has contributed immensely to the cause of social justice. The Award recognizes a single event or a lifetime contribution that is responsible for the emancipation of a section of the society from the oppressions of social injustice.
This global oriented Award does not discriminate anyone on the basis of nationality, citizenship, national origin, caste, religion, language, gender, sexual orientation, handicap, economic status, family background, political views, political affiliation or any other social, political, or economical divisions or classifications.
