Thanthai Periyar used to reiterate in his public speeches that domination of the
upper caste fanatics is the root cause of inequality in society. According to him caste
supremacy is an illusion. He used to emphasise that Dravidian ideology is based on the
principle – “Everything for Everyone”. On 09.07.1945 he delivered a speech in Erode
at an event organised by a Dravidian Students Federation elucidating his thought
My dear students, I thank you for inviting me to preside over this event and address you. Most of you seem to be 15 to 18 years old. I shall speak to suit your young age. Since the standard of education today is at a low ebb, I believe you should all be aware of the burning problems in society and their root causes. Class room learning, text books and lessons are not enough. You must learn about the world outside your classrooms.
Equality – dire need
Dravidian ideology has always been insisting on the dire need of equality without which we can never establish an absolutely egalitarian society. A group of upper caste people who is merely three per cent of our population has been the root cause of inequality. Ninty seven per cent people are denied equal treatment. Everything for everyone continues to be an unfulfilled desire. It is a dream that is yet to come true.
Brahminocracy has replaced democracy. This has paved the way for social injustice in all respects. Opportunities in employment and education are being denied to non-brahmins. Coveted posts and positions have been monopolised by brahmins under the pretext of caste supremacy. Even if the British rule ends it would be like frying pan to fire situation for us. Until castes are annihilated these Brahmin coteries would be suppressing us. When would everyone be able to get everything?
Prison walls
A prisoner has to come out of the gates through which he entered. Dashing against prison walls is of no use. We should break the Aryan chains and come out proudly as Dravidians. Aryans have been keeping us for centuries in the darkness of ignorance. Unless we strive hard, the fall of dusk and the break of dawn in our lives can never happen. A non-violent fight is essential to eradicate imbalance in society.
We are trapped by outdated codes of conduct, superstitions, pseudo-science, gender bias and dehumanisation. All these are to be smashed to set right the imbalance in society. I started self-respect movement in 1925 to ignite the spark of introspection in our people. We must realise how we have all been oppressed for centuries and treated like insensitive morons. Who can help us if we are not ready to help ourselves? Let us break all the chains that have kept us bound. The first step is to imbibe spirit of enquiry and scientific temper. As long as irrational practices continue in society a progressive outlook cannot emerge.
Discard the old
Reformation does not mean reprinting the old edition of a book; renovation of an old temple or repairing machinery. Reformation lies in discarding all the old concepts, conventions, outdated scriptures and mythologies. Nature has bestowed power of reasoning only on human beings. How many of us actually use it on all walks of life? Very few, in my opinion. Only rationalists can purge and cleanse this society. Practise thinking aloud and louder too. Ask yourself if my views are acceptable and then absorb them.
Make our women equal to men in all respects and let them brush their shoulders boldly with men. Do not treat them like doormats and show pieces. Provide women with literacy, employment, posts and positions on a par with men. Allow them to decide what is good or bad for them. Avoid treating them like commodities in a market place. Empower women. Do not enslave them. Let them have property rights, the right to marry and the right to divorce if there is incompatibility in married life. Permit them to plan their families. Throw
overboard all the codes of conduct imposed on us by Aryans.
The upper caste
communal fanatics
hardly work but the
lower caste people
work hard. Note the
difference. They
consume without
growing food. Our poor
downtrodden farmers
grow food but consume
very little. Lethargic
Aryans thrive as gluttons
but our struggling
Dravidian labourers
sweat and perish.
Great Thinkers
Edison, Marconi, Darwin, Socrates, Martin Luther King, Karl Marx and Engels were great thinkers who had forethoughts about the world to come. They contributed much to the society and helped us achieve advancement in life. The youth of this generation should be inspired by such icons. You are the custodians of tomorrow’s world. Hence, awake and arise. Do not be fatalists. Your destiny lies in your arms. Never hesitate to rebel for a noble cause.
The upper caste communal fanatics hardly work but the lower caste people work hard. Note the difference. They consume without growing food. Our poor downtrodden farmers grow food but consume very little. Lethargic Aryans thrive as gluttons but our struggling Dravidian labourers sweat and perish. Is this not an intolerable social injustice? By walking following in the foot prints of great thinkers of the past you can lay the foundation for a new prosperous and peaceful world. Give up the impact of the regressive Aryans and learn much from the progressive stalwarts of yesteryears.
Amazing Russia
I urge upon today’s youth to observe the amazing changes at present in Russia. They have resolved to demolish all the places of worship and divinity centers within the next five year period. Capitalists are being sentenced. Equality is being given top priority. The labour class is scaling great heights. The bourgeois coteries and materialists are being punished. Exploitation has almost ceased in Russia. The working class is being taken care of. An egalitarian society is found today in every Russian city. People have understood how their nation was ruined in the past by hypocritical dictators and selfish rulers. If such changes take place in our country, I am sure there will be everything for everyone.
Russia has resolved to ban prayers even in individual houses of the citizens. Publication and sales of books related to religion and theism are also prohibited. Religious signs, symbols and monuments pertaining to theist concepts are getting demolished in Russian cities. Newspapers have been ordered to avoid articles related to theism and religion. On the other hand stage plays and films promoting atheism are being funded and encouraged. Places of worship too are being converted as recreation centers, public parks and auditoriums. Russia has announced 01.05.1937 as the deadline for complete transformation. They have determined to make their nation a truly socialist and egalitarian land. When are we going to convert our country like Russia?
160 years – British Rule
Our country has been under the rule of the British for 160 long years. Have we seen any advancement in life? Untouchability and birth based discriminations are still there. We find dehumanisation everywhere. While striving to make the British quit India, we should also strive to drive away all the outdated codes, blind beliefs and regressive concepts. We do not need any religion that does not promote equality. We do not need any government that does not bother to annihilate inequality. We welcome any rule that would come forward to ensure that everyone gets everything. We would continue to raise voice against every government that ignores the dire need of equality. I invite the youth to strengthen our arms in this task.
Self-respect significance
Most of the downtrodden people get adapted to discriminations and degradations. They begin to stoop willingly and belittle themselves. In order to correct and reform such people I started self-respect movement in 1925. Without self-respect social and political freedom would be meaningless. Self-respect movement is a non-political movement. The basic aim of this movement is promotion of rational thinking. In fact rational thinking is the basis for self-respect and self-confidence. Through this we can establish a new world where everything would certainly be for everyone.
Source: ‘Kudi Arasu’ – 4.12.1932
Translated by: M.R. Manohar
