The succeeded leaders of Periyar Movement
(The following are the excerpts of the speech delivered by V. Kumaresan, Treasurer, Dravidar Kazhagam, Tamil Nadu at the Third Annual Conference of The Atheist Society of India, Telangana, held on 24th July 2024 in Warangal, Telangana State)
Periyar movement is popularly identified as an atheist movement. No doubt the cadres of the movement are atheists. They don’t believe in god. Infact they oppose god. Denying and opposing god is not blind like faith and belief in god. The Black shirt cadres of Periyar movement do not believe in god because of their rational views. Periyar movement is not only an atheist movement but also a rationalist movement.
We should now see what is meant by revealing one self as an atheist.
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Most people of course understand but some people think that ‘no belief in god’ is atheism. The so called god is not one and the same throughout the world. It differs both in form and the way it is worshipped. This itself will blast out the belief in god. If god is the supreme power that designed all living and non-living creatures, the design of god must be common to everyone.
It is not that god has created humans, but the reverse is the truth. It is in fact, the humans who created god. Because of it, the design of god and the way of worshipping differ among various humans. It is as per their views and needs.
What are the fundamentals of Periyarism on atheism?
Periyar’s ideology is that all humans are equal. There cannot be any disparity and discrimination by birth of any individual. But people are discriminated by birth for many centuries. Discrimination by birth is contrary to law of nature. A person cannot be accountable for his / her birth. The consequence of birth is not in the hands of the individual born. Humans must be treated equally.
Why is it not so?
People are discriminated, divided and denied in the name of their birth. These are called 3 Ds.
Discrimination
Division
Denial
Discriminated people are divided into four categories viz. Varnas; it is nothing but castes. By this discrimination a few become privileged more comparatively. They are divided into fourfold caste system viz. Varnashrama. The division is not two fold like upper and lower but of four hierarchies, viz. Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaisya and Sudras. Brahmin is entrusted with duty of pronouncing mantras and performing poojas. Because of the deliberately chosen duty, Brahmins claimed supremacy over other hierarchies and sustained it for many centuries. The next lower hierarchy is Kshatriyas; the soldiers and the ruling King are said to have been entrusted with the duty of safeguarding the kingdom and fighting whenever alien invaders attacked. The governing of the territory is vested with them. They had to seek the advice of the Brahmins without any violation of scriptural dictum. The third category is Vaishyas who are traders and farmers, allowed to own properties. The next lower caste is Sudras, who render their manual labour by remaining subservient to all the above 3 hierarchies.
Outside these social boundaries of four fold divisions of people, there is the lowest strata called Panchamas. The evil imposition on Panchamas is three fold.
Untouchability
Unseeability
Unapproachability
Untouchability meant that, if the four categories of high caste people physically touch the Panchamas, those upper caste people would be ‘polluted’ and they have to take bath to get rid of the ‘pollution’.
Unseeability warns that the Panchamas should not come into the sight of the upper castes. This is a restriction imposed on Panchamas in the vicinity of elevated hierarchies.
Unapproachability is the restriction to access the common pathway used by the upper hierarchies. The Panchamas would not be allowed to approach the path way at all.
More than the birth based four hierarchies, the evil system of three inhuman oppressions of Varnashrama (a)dharma are said to be the pride of Vedic religion. The worst form of the system is that all these divisions are applicable only to men; not to women. The half of the human population – women are placed below the hierarchy of Panchamas. The advocacy and adherence of this system revolves around two dictum:
One, the birth of individuals in a particular hierarchy is decided by the deeds of the person in his / her previous birth. Similarly the adherence or violation of this so called dharma will decide the hierarchy of the person in the ‘next birth’.
Second, this cunning design to keep off the major section of the population, especially the toiling population, is actually man made, to the overall privilege of the dominance over the rest by the upper most sect. If it is allowed as man-made, suppressed people would revolt at one point of time. The exploiting sect made the system as the dictum of ‘god’. If it is god made, no one would dare enough to fight against it, but simply abide by it. Besides, the wonderful part of the dictum is that the scriptures designed by the sect is fully flawed that, even makes the god powerless, sub servient to brahmins.
Lord Krishna says in ‘Gita’ while preaching to Arjuna on the battled field that Chaturvarnam Maya Srishtam, that means, I only created the fourfold division of people in the society. It has to be adhered to. The worst part of the advice is revealed by – “Though I (god) created the Varnashrama- dharma, I have power only to impose it; on any count I am not empowered to abolish it.”
How cunningly the omnipotent ‘god’ is depicted as one who is devoid of power. What is the implication of Varnashrama dharma? The divisions do not end in itself. It leads to the further evil of denying certain basic needs and rights to a person.
In the said hierarchical system, the Sudras, Panchamas and Women were denied education. Education was meant only for upper caste males.
In those days, education meant study of scriptures, ithihas, and Vedas. In case, the denied people tried to study, they used to be punished. Even if a denied person remains within the close audio circle of pronouncing Vedas, molten lead was to be poured into the ears of such listeners. What an inhuman practice prevailed then in the past!
How can an omnipotent ‘god’ exist as mute spectator on the in human treatments meted out in its name. Anything that remains as hurdle even if it is the so called ‘god’, has to be opposed; the belief to be opposed.
In this unequal, hierarchical society Periyar was born. From boyhood stage, he had started to observe the social surrounding and on his own volition, some sort of commitment he acquired to fight against human inequality. The family of Periyar was very orthodox and his parents were pious. Periyar secluded from them in all their deeds, protesting and questioning any disorder he had noticed. Slowly his thinking got transformed into ideology. Periyar did things which his mind reasoned as optimal and right.
His niece (sister’ daughter) was married off at the age of 7 to a boy of 10 years, by the family members. Within a few months after the marriage, due to ill health the boy died. The niece cried before Periyar and asked whether she had asked for marriage; and why she was ruined like this. Periyar decided to conduct remarriage of the girl. He waited upto her attainment of puberty. He cleverly conducted the marriage without keeping the family members informed, of course, without their knowledge. After knowing about the widow remarriage, the family members protested vehemently stating that Periyar had put the family in an ‘awkward’ condition in the eyes of society. Periyar did not bother about it.
Before preaching to others about reformative practices, Periyar performed it bravely in his own circle. This bravery with commitment of carrying forward what is right, unmindful of failure or success – this unique style made E.V. Ramasamy hailed as Periyar. Yes; the title ‘Periyar’, that means ‘great noble person’ was conferred on him at the Self-Respect Women Conference held in Chennai in 1938.
Periyar took more public responsibilities in his home town, Erode. He wanted to carry on the task on a wider scale for which he had to join some organisation. This was facilitated and Periyar joined Indian National Congress in 1919. He made the Congress party very vibrant in Tamil Nadu involving all sorts of people which did not prevail earlier. He ascended to hold the responsibilities as the Secretary and the President of Tamil Nadu Congress Committee in a brief period of time. Despite holding prime position in the party, Periyar was unable to get passed a resolution for the communal representation so that the denied would get their right and equality would come forth among all. He thought remaining any longer in the Congress party, that was dominated by Brahmin leaders, would not be of any help in serving the cause of non-brahmins.
Periyar came out the Congress party and founded his own Self-Respect League in 1926. He propagated his ideal of human equality. Self-Respect, despite being an in born trait in every individual, many people did not realise it in full means and prolonged their life at the cost of Self-Respect. Periyar started propaganda by focussing on Self-Respect realisation by everyone as the agenda of the organisation.
When Periyar joined the Congress party, South Indian Liberal Federation, popularly known as the Justice Party was 3 year old. It was otherwise called non-Brahmin movement. Ideologically the Justice Party was close to Periyar, but Periyar had to remain in the Congress party till November 1925.
After coming out from the Congress party, the Justice party invited Periyar to join. But Periyar did not join the party. He was close to it but gave only his organisational support. The Justice party ruled the then Madras Presidency since the end from 1920 to 1937. After losing the election, the Justice Party was immensely in need of Periyar’s leadership and made him the President.
In 1944, Periyar merged the Self-Respect Movement and the Justice Party and named it the Dravidar Kazhagam, that still endures after Periyar with the succeeding leadership of Annai E.V.R. Maniammaiar and presently Asiriyar Dr. K. Veeramani.
The Centenary of the Self-Respect Movement (1924 – 2025) is being celebrated. Many of the resolutions passed and propagated by it later became Acts for implementation. Many revolutionary deeds were possible without an iota of violence.
The movement is in hectic functioning to translate the ideals of Periyar into reality. It spreads Periyar’s ideals far and wide. Periyar Mission is Globalised today. No rest till human equality is ensured.Thank you.
