Dr. K. Veeramani
(The Excerpts from the Presidential address delivered by Dr. K. Veeramani in the interactive session at Cologne, Germany on 28th July 2017.)
The Periyar Movement goes on striving, without expecting any returns or even words of gratitude. We never worried ourselves about stone throwers, those who threw brickbats at us in our conferences. The same Periyar, who insisted on people living with Self-Respect and dignity, also happily admitted that he and his followers did not care a whit about their own dignity while serving people, since theirs was a thankless job. Periyar’s ambition was to lay roads to all the places which are not covered by roads. He was also confident that his Movement will have ample growth and would soon become global.
He asserted while addressing people at Erode that of all words found in any dictionary in the world, no one was more beautiful, more meaningful and more dynamic than the phrase ‘Self-Respect’. When Periyar was editing and printing his Tamil weekly (Kudi Arasu) he said that he least cared who followed him. When someone suggested that the weekly could be stopped for want of circulation, Periyar expressed his determination to go on printing it, even if he had to act as its editor, printer and the only reader. He would never even think of closing his shop. As a result, today the shop has come to Germany. There are its branches in the United States, England, Singapore, Kuwait, Myanmar and many others in various parts of the world.
Periyar is a super market where you can get any article you want. His merchandise is of good quality and very different from the other brands. There is nothing spurious about it.
Periyar asserts that though at present the movement is opposed to religion, superstition and religious clergy, no one should think that it was its only agenda and the Movement would become superfluous once all these are eliminated.
Far from it, as long as there are people who exploit other men’s labour, as long as there are some who are sumptuously fed and others go without food, as long as there are some who are over clothed when there are people who struggle even for a single piece of clothing, as long as the rich consider that all their riches is meant for their own luxurious living, Periyar was firm that his Movement would remain and no one can terminate it. When people asked him about socialism, Periyar replied that socialism was nothing but equal distribution of all the available resources. It was opposed to selfish hoarding.
When a man has two arms, two legs, two eyes and two ears, how will it be if only one hand, one leg, one eye and one ear are active? But do not we do the same thing, when we keep womenfolk, who form half of the human population, subjugated and hamper their movement?
Periyar’s perseverance in continuing his Movement against odds has started paying off. His wares are very much in need in the United States and many other countries. How aptly has UNESCO called him a prophet of the new age!
When the First Self-Respect Conference was held at Chinglepet, Tamil Nadu, in 1929, Periyar had issued a strange and unique advertisement addressing the untouchables and downtrodden communities, asking them to attend the conference without fail. A similar, persuasive, invitation was extended to the widows and sex workers. Have you ever heard of anyone who would issue an invitation like this? Not only that, Periyar insisted that all the invitees must sit and dine together.
Periyar knew there would be resistance for such a move, which was a right one, if one thought of reforming the society. Having this in mind, Periyar asked in his own characteristic witty style, “How is it people go in groups for defecation, but separate themselves while dinning?” (Those were the days when people answered the calls of nature in the open) Can anyone even think of framing such a question which was blunt, but true?
Periyar approached all complicated problems with utmost simplicity. When a devotee of god claimed that a stone idol in the temple could be made powerful through invocation of mantras, Periyar asked him why such invocation of mantras could not be used for upgrading the untouchables.
The concept of Self-Respect is part of social science formulated by the great social scientist Periyar. His message must be taken to all corners of the world. We have got to swim against the current today. But we will, the Movement will, and it will safely reach the shore, rescuing in the process all those who are drowning in the flood. However great a preceptor might be, he cannot take his ideology all alone to all corners. The task must be taken over by his followers. He has said how his followers must be. He said, my followers must think, reason out and analyse thoroughly before joining me. Once they join the Movement, however, they must function with military discipline.
I am a life time student of Periyar. I used to tell my friends, “I don’t require any intelligence of my own, what I have imbibed from Periyar will do for me.” I did not mind their laughing at me, but used to remind them that my thoughts were given to me by Periyar.
My own thinking might have its weakness. It may be swayed by my likes and dislikes. It is bound to be selfish. But the thoughts of Periyar imbibed by me can never be weak, they cannot be swayed by my likes or dislikes and they will not crave for gratitude.
Periyar used to assert that his followers were superior to ascetics. Normally, ascetics long for some pleasure from above, from the upper world, but Periyar’s volunteers would reject them as a pack of lies, and work without expecting any returns. Many of his followers have come to Germany at their own expense, driven by their own sense of sacrifice.
Once a couple came to my office, when we were all getting ready for our trip. They were Thangamani and Dhanalakshmi, married for twenty six years. Looking changed with emotion, they were waiting just to hand over a paper to me. When I went through the letter, I found that they had requested their entire property to the Movement in case some mishap were to prevent them from returning home from Germany.
Have you ever heard of such a Movement, having members imbued with such sense of sacrifice? The Movement has not given them any position. But it has restored them Self-Respect and dignity. That would suffice for them.
Mrs. Ulrike Niklas, Swen Wortmann, Claudia Weber have prepared many people in Germany to work for the Movement. What did they gain? They gained their faculty of reason and Self-Respect. As a result, this Conference in Germany has gained a place in the history of the Movement.
There are many families like ours to serve. And we are keen on producing many such Self-Respect families. Many new families have joined us in Germany, in the United States, and at global level. An English proverb says, “Blood is thicker than water”. There is something that is thicker even than blood – that is the bond of ideology – ideology of Self-Respect. Let Self-Respect shine forth in every family.
