During 1973, Tamil Nadu was under the rule of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the Chief Minister was Kalaignar M.Karunanidhi, the father of the present Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Thiru M.K.Stalin. Some toxic forces were involved in anti-social activities disrupting the smooth governance in the State. Thanthai Periyar condemned such mischief mongers through his public speeches on 29th May 1973 in Pondicherry and on 30th May 1973 at Villianur and Mudaliarpet in the suburbs of Pondicherry. Excerpts from his speech are as follows:
Dear cadres and my well-wishers, my speech today would revolve around the undesirable disturbances caused to the present Government in Tamil Nadu. I severely condemn the unruly elements concerned. We have after a long time an able rule that has been doing much for the welfare of people. The grievances are getting gradually redressed. Hence, protests against the government is not justified in my opinion.
Dawn after Dusk
Compare this day with the dark past. We have advanced to a great extent. Brahmin domination has almost vanished. All the ministers in the State Assembly are non-brahmins. All are Tamils. Not even one brahmin is in the ministry. Is this not a marvellous achievement for us? I would call it a Tamil Assembly. After the fall of dusk we now see the break of dawn, don’t we?
In Madras High Court out of 18 judges 16 are non-brahmins. Very soon we shall find all the 18 as non-brahmins. Is this not a sign of progress? When was there such a strength of non-brahmins in the past history of our High Court? Non-brahmins suffered for years as peons and punkah pullers for the British. All the high posts and positions were monopolised by brahmins. There is a drastic change today. We find non-brahmins in large numbers in almost all the departments. You should all be grateful to the present Government for this amazing development. I would call the opponents anti-Tamil citizens.
The ploy of the rivals
Today we find atrocious riots taking place everywhere, under the garb of politics. Dignified people are baffled by the violence all around them. Hooliganism is on the rise. Public property get set on fire by the anti-social ruffians. Democracy is under threat. What is the sign of true democracy? 49 persons obeying the majority 51 is a sign of democracy in my opinion. This government has been formed by the mandate of the majority. People who were defeated are instigating ruffians to commit atrocities. The others who expected undue favours and faced disappointments have also joined the rioters. Infact there are a few black sheep who grabbed posts and positions, betraying today the government quite ungratefully. The ploys of all these rivals are sure to fail miserably. Truth and justice would triumph ultimately.
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The miscreants trying to topple the present government should state valid reasons for their dissatisfaction. Why don’t these people come out with reasonable charges? Should they not justify their opposition? Inexplicable protests would only mean a punishable crime. Destroying public property is an unpardonable offence. Buses meant for public conveyance and comfort are being burnt in many places. There is nothing wrong in calling hooligans anti-people. I am shocked to find our people watching all the atrocities as silent spectators. Should they not prevent hooliganism by collective efforts? How could you people remain so insensitive? We are all jointly responsible, aren’t we? I am sure, this government can never be toppled by such riots and unjust protests.
Blame it on yourself
As per the Hindu religion, there are only two segments – one is “brahmins” and the other is ‘Sudhras’. Hence, all of you who are not “brahmins” are termed “Sudhras”. Some of you may ask me – “Why should we be called ‘Sudhras’? This is my answer. When you enter temples, brahmins do not stop you at any spot. You stop on your own. You willingly belittle yourself and expose yourselves as “Sudhras”. It is a self-imposed denigration. Why do you stop at a point as if you have suffered an electric shock? Why don’t you barge into the sanctum-sanctorum? That is because you think you would pollute the sanctum sanctorum by stepping on it. You stand at a distance and worship, staring at idols like an ape. You imagine causing impurity. The fault lies in you. As long as you willingly remain isolated, you would be belittled as ‘Sudhras’ and brushed aside as subservient to brahmins.
You should discard the Hindu religion that has termed you ‘Sudhras’. You should avoid temple entry and worshipping idols of non-existent gods and goddesses. Until you change, you can never become dignified. Blaming it on brahmins is of no use. I would say, you must wake up and realise your own pitiable condition.
Birthday celebrations
We have seen fanatics celebrating the birthdays of gods and goddesses who never existed. They used to say that gods are not subject to birth or death but they also tell us their birth stars and allocate various auspicious date and time of their birth. Does it make any sense? These crazy people indulge in various festivals to celebrate the birth of these gods and goddesses. Later, birthdays of saints and sages were also celebrated with religious fervour – Alwars and Nayanmars for example. All these activities of fake belief were intended to make our people gullible and superstitious.
In the recent past, birthdays of eminent stalwarts were celebrated as a great relief. My birthday, and the birthday of Gandhi, Kamaraj and Anna are being celebrated as a welcome change. These celebrations are also meant to propagate their principles and policies. I permit the celebration of my birthday because my principles and my thought get spread under that pretext. As my well-wishers you people donate in cash and kind as tokens of your love, regard and respect for me. I accept them as birthday gifts to reciprocate your love towards me. I allow my cadres to celebrate my birthday because they propagate the objectives of my movements. I honour their sentiments in return.
We are not politicians
I want you well-wishers to understand us much more clearly. We are not among the crowd of politicians longing for posts and positions. We do not care for electoral benefits. Infact, none of us would ever contest elections. Our vision and mission are public welfare and progress. Seeking votes and winning elections are not our tasks. We have made it our staunch policy not to be desirous of any post or coveted position. Ours is a people’s movement.
We do not exist as sycophants flattering any particular political party. We shall always extend our support to good rulers and we shall also turn against them if we find maladministration and misuse of powers. We act at all times in a disinterested manner without prejudice. We are ready to patronise anyone who is on the same wave length of our thought and ideology. Our aim is to eradicate social evils and strive for the upliftment of downtrodden people in society. We are selfless public servants. Our objective is uprooting toxic shrubs and thereby purging and cleansing our society. We strive to form a casteless world and remove the stigma of “Sudhras”. We shall fight for ever to curb all sorts of birth based disparities. I urge upon you all to understand who we really are.
We are silencers
Yes, we have silenced arrogant brahmins to a great extent. Today they dare not ridicule us as they once did in the past. For the past 2000 years none has done what we have done so far. Infact some worse elements had come and vanished. Long ago there were separate places for non-brahmins in hotels, schools and public places. Non-brahmins had separate water containers too. Our struggles eradicated them all. Brahmin domination has been almost crushed but the painful truth is that the stigma of “Sudhras” still remains on non-brahmins. When would this get erased?
Religion, god and temples
Life would go on as usual even if religions, gods and temples do not exist. They are not at all indispensable. Unless you people discard them, social transformation cannot take place even for another hundred years. Our speech and shriek cannot bring about the desired change. Discarding religion, god and temples would not affect us under any circumstance.
Let us be inspired by Russia. Religion, god and temples do not exist there. Little children would ask us – “God? Who?” – because Russians enjoy an egalitarian society. They do not have two classes like “haves” and “have-nots”. People lead a dignified life there because there are no discriminations. No one is considered superior or inferior to anyone in Russia. The advancement of Russians was caused by this widespread rationalist attitude. Almost all the world countries have progressed through learning, intellect and unfathomable knowledge but we are still existing like barbarians. Our minds operate on the lowest level of intellect. It is high time we woke up and vitalised ourselves.
Resist humiliation
Fanatic brahmins had been ridiculing “Sudhras” as illegitimate entities but none dared to resist the humiliation. My only regret today is that I have not been able to erase that stigma, but all hope is not lost. Our movement would continue its fight. There would be no ‘Sudhras’ in the world to come if you people ignite the fire of rebellion from the sparks of my speech.
Strengthen the arms of the present Government of Tamil Nadu and reap the harvest of future benefits. Lead a life of self-respect and dignity. Stay away from communal fanaticism and irrationalism. Do not belittle yourselves willingly. Think deeply over all that I have said so far and absorb my thought if it seems acceptable. Think freely and arrive at conclusions.
Source: ‘Viduthalai’ – 12th June 1973
Translated by : M.R. Manohar
