Elangkathir Elamaran
9th Grade,
New Jersey, USA
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A selfless social justice hero, who fought relentlessly for civil rights for his people. A simple man, who battled against the abuse of higher castes and the eradication of the caste system. Who is this man, you ask? Well, this man is none other than our very own Periyar.
A Star-Studded History
Periyar’s influence is absolutely undeniable. He helped expand justice in various forms of social oppression, including casteism, women’s rights, and more. He actively pushed the eradication of caste by requesting people to remove caste identities from their names. He supported rights for everyone, no matter their caste or other social restrictions, thus improving the lives of countless people in Tamil Nadu.
Adding on to this, Periyar aided in preserving Tamil language in Tamil Nadu and fought against the supremacy of Hindi in the State. During the early 20th century, the Indian government tried teaching Hindi in schools throughout Tamil Nadu, which would eventually result in the fading of the ancient Tamil language, since future generations will speak Hindi instead of Tamil. He was strongly against this. He battled to keep Hindi out of Tamil Nadu and continue to teach Tamil to young generations. Eventually, he won this battle. In the present day, learning the entire Hindi language is not mandatory in schools, and Tamil is still thriving.
If that was not enough, Periyar also fiercely waged for women’s rights. He received a lot of backlash for this, but he kept advancing with his plans and created a better environment for women in Tamil Nadu. He advocated for women’s equality in marriage, education, property rights, and more. He knew that without women having equal rights with men, society would be very much backward and dystopian. Posthumously, Periyar’s hard work gave women more respect in society and gave them equal rights.
Periyar opposed the Kula Kalvi Thittam, also known as the Modified Scheme of Elementary Education. In this scheme, children had to learn at school in the morning, and compulsorily learn their family’s occupation in the afternoon and evening. This scheme was highly controversial. Back then, in the 1950s, a family’s occupation was determined by their caste. So, this scheme promoted casteism and continued to segregate society. After noticing the scheme’s true motive, he openly spoke against this. He pushed for the scheme to be removed from schools. Eventually, the scheme was removed from schools, following uproar from the public. Without Periyar taking a stand for the good, this wouldn’t have been possible.
Connection to other
Revolutionary Heroes
Periyar’s phenomenal ideologies have even reached the other side of the world! It is likely that Periyar’s movement inspired Dr. MLK to start his own movement in America. Dr. MLK once declared, “India is the land where the techniques of nonviolent social change were developed. My people have used them in Montgomery, Alabama and elsewhere throughout the American South”.
Speaking of Dr. MLK, we can see countless similarities between Dr. Martin Luther King and Periyar. Both the leaders spoke against injustice against their own people and delivered multiple speeches across their respective nations. They also started movements based on empowering the suppressed; Dr.MLK started the Civil Rights Movement, and Periyar started the Self Respect Movement.
Both warriors also opposed segregation that caused turmoil among their people. Periyar fought against the caste system, which divided Indians based on caste. Similarly, Dr.MLK fought against Jim Crow laws, which segregated White Americans and Black Americans.
Periyar’s Famous Quotes
Here are two of my favorite quotes from Periyar:
1) Wisdom lies in thinking. The spearhead of thinking is rationalism
What this quote means is that the key to wisdom is rationalism.
If you do not know what rationalism is, rationalism is the belief that opinions and actions should be based on thinking and evidence, instead of religious and superstitious fabrications. Periyar’s quote is 100 per cent true; if people cannot think properly and if they rely on superstitions and religion to make their decisions, they will not be intelligent, and wise.
My own version of this Periyar’s quote:
Rationalism leads to thinking, thinking leads to wisdom, and wisdom leads to success.
2) “I am a plain person. I have merely spoken out my mind. I do not say you should believe all that I have said. Accept only such ideas that can be accepted, with the help of your reason, after a sound inquiry. Reject the rest.”
I love this quote because it shows that Periyar is not trying to simply force his teaching onto other people; he is giving it to them, and is letting THEM decide if they want to believe it or not. That way, the rationalism movement will only have logical and sensible thinkers.
Spreading Periyar’s Philosophy
The influence of Periyar in Tamil Nadu is indescribable. His philosophies and movements sparked the idea of self-respect in millions of Tamils, which led them to start using rationalism in their daily decisions. Periyar’s ideologies are so revolutionary that they not only spread across India, but also traveled around the world.
Now, in the current day, Periyar’s ideologies are still alive, but there is a new obstacle affecting its spread; social media. Social media enables people to spread false news and lies, thus promoting their own narrative. Such people are trying to falsely disprove Periyar’s teaching. This is when the common question comes up; how can we counter these false news narratives and continue carrying the truth of Periyar? As an effect, my purpose is to present innovative solutions to protect and spread Periyar thought.
Periyar’s legacy
The first method that I shall suggest is to conduct many programmes targeting the youth. The youth of today are the adults of the future. They will be the people who are going to run the world in 20-30 years. By teaching children about the positivity and rationalism of Periyar, they will be able to grow up with those ideologies and then implement them in their adult lives in future. Adding to this, children are budding minds, so the ideas that they learn early on in their lives will greatly impact them later on in life.
An extremely effective way of executing this idea is creating cartoons/TV shows aimed towards young children that focus on Periyar. Children usually copy what they see on TV, so they will be able to learn rationalist values early on in life. Parents and schools can also teach children about self-respect/rationalism. Children are the future of our world, so it is best to instill positive ideas early on in their childhood so they will be able to carry them out throughout their lives.
Another method of spreading Periyar’s thought in modern society is the utilization of social media. Nowadays, social media could drastically morph someone’s way of thinking. It also spreads information in an extremely easy and effective way. So, it is key to connect to multiple platforms if we want to keep up with modern standards of spreading ideas.
We can make social media profiles and spread Periyar’s ideologies through posts. We can ALSO add a simple quote of Periyar in our PERSONAL profiles (such as our personal bios). This way, tens of thousands of “the common person” can effectively keep Periyar’s legacy alive with minimal effort.
It is key for ORDINARY PEOPLE to spread Periyar’s movement instead of solely political leaders/celebrities. This type of Non-Violent method was used by Dr. MLK and Frederick Douglass. We must inspire our children and utilize social media to maintain Periyar’s legacy.
Closing Remarks
I feel blessed to have the opportunity to learn about the influence of Periyar at such a young age. It feels great to learn about all the amazing things Periyar did for the State of my origin, Tamil Nadu.
The good news is, many other kids like me will be able to learn about Periyar and continue his legacy for generations forward! A new monument “Periyar World” is to be built in Siruganur, Tamil Nadu, which is close to my parent’s hometown of Trichy. This educational complex includes a wax museum, research center, library, and more. Periyar will also have a statue commemorated to, in Periyar World. The statue will be 95 feet high and will also have a 55 feet pedestal, which brings its total height to 150 feet. Once built, it will be the tallest statue in all of Tamil Nadu!
I am extremely proud of the construction of this statue and educational complex, as it shows that Periyar’s legacy is not forgotten. Nearly 50 years after his life time, his teachings are still playing a vital role in Tamil Nadu, and the minds of millions of people globalwide. My fellow peers will also get an opportunity to get educated on Periyar through this site.
All in all, Periyar is a great man who deserves to be remembered for generations to come. A remnant of his legacy should remain in everyone’s minds, for as long as humankind exists.
To sum it up, here is a glorifying quote by Arignar Anna: “The mighty service of Periyar is not a mere biography of an individual; it is an Era, an Epoch, and a turning point.”
