Source: http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.
com/2015-05-10/news/62001678_1_tamil-new-thali-dk
16
MAY 10-16, 2015
Clash of Ideologies
:: Sandhya Ravishankar
I
f Tamil Nadus recent history is
rich in progressive ideas, it is in
large part due to Periyar EV Ra-
masamy Naickers rationalist
self-respect movement. Thanks
to this social reformer, the Ta-
mil populace has grown up
with and imbibed liberal ideals
such as the struggle against
Brahmin hegemony, social jus-
tice for the depressed classes,
equality of men and women,
self-respect marriages without
thali or mangalsutra, which
was seen as a symbol of slavery
of women, anti-Hindi agita-
tions, atheism and opening the
sanctum sanctorum of temples
to all castes, to name a few.
But now Periyar country is
seeing a sudden rise is vitriol as
a clash of extremes takes place,
vying for a connect with the
youth of Tamil Nadu.
The trouble began in early
March, with a private Tamil tel-
evision channel airing a promo
regarding a recorded debate on
whether the Thali is a boon or
a bane for women. On March 7,
fringe pro-Hindu outfit Hindu
Munnani protested outside the
channels headquarters. A day
later, the Hindu Makkal Katchi
joined the protests and man-
handled a crew member of the
channel. On March 12, a low in-
tensity tiffin box bomb was
hurled at the office in Chennai
in the wee hours of the morning
allegedly by a fringe outfit
called the Hindu Youth Sena
this, despite the channel calling
off telecast of the show.
Showdown Time
By this time, the buzz of anger
within the Dravidar Kazhagam
(DK) and like-minded groups
The Dravidian Movement
& Political History
Periyar EV
Ramasamy
Naicker founded
the Dravidian
P Theagaraya movement & the
Chetty & TM Nair self-respect
found the movement
Justice Party
1917 1925
spotlight
In Periyar country,
April, Tamil New Years day,
says Veeramani. By 8 am the
Hindutva groups whole function was over.
An incensed state govern-
and rationalist ment called for a stay on allow-
atheist Dravidians ing this function to continue.
Despite it being a court holiday
go head to head on account of Tamil New Years
ahead of the day, a new bench was called
and the matter heard at the
2016 elections residence of one of two judges
of the Madras High Court, a
move which Veeramani calls
highly unusual. The advo-
cate general appeared on be-
half of the state and strongly
pushed for a stay on the event,
citing law and order issues. The
two-judge bench ordered a
stay. But by then, the thali re-
moval ceremony was over. The
beef lunch was parcelled out to
the participants and everyone
went home.
Hindutva outfits began iso-
lated protests in various parts of
the state soon after. A small
group of Shiv Sena men at-
tempted to enter Periyar Thi-
was palpable. Ninety years af- The Chennai police, fearing dal, headquarters of the DK in
ter the Dravidian self-respect clashes, refused to give permis- Chennai, to protest. A scuffle
movement was launched by sion to the DK to conduct the ensued between the two groups
Periyar, the DK and its ideology planned ceremony. The DK and police resorted to a mild
appeared to be facing a test of moved the Madras High Court lathicharge to impose order.
relevance, however slight. The the hearing went on until 9 People from the red-light
DK decided to cock a snook at pm on April 13. The Court fi- area were brought in for the
two ticklish issues by con- nally passed orders by 9.30 pm thali removal ceremony, said
ducting a thali removal func- that night the thali removal H Raja, national secretary of
tion, followed by a beef ban- ceremony and beef feast could the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
quet as a symbolic protest finally take place. and a volatile pro-Hindu voice
against the beef ban in Maha- DK members knew that ei- in the state. This statement add-
rashtra and Haryana. ther the government or the Hin- ed fuel to the fire.
No one has any right to curb dutva groups would head right Between April 20 and April
freedom of speech and expres- back to the court the next day 21, three Brahmin priests had
sion, says K Veeramani, presi- and try to get a stay on the func- been attacked in Chennai by a
dent of the DK. We are not a tion. They decided to hold the lesser known arm of the DK.
fascist country. That is why we function much earlier. We The Dravidar Viduthalai Ka-
decided to conduct this, he started the thali removal cer- zhagam cut the sacred thread of
said. emony at 6.45 am on the 14th of these priests as they were walk-
Statue of Periyar at
Periyar Thidal, Chennai
First file signed by
CN Annadurai as CM
DMK wins a
majority in of Tamil Nadu was
Self-respect Madras that of Hindu
marriages Periyar Periyar Marriage (Madras
legislative
held without takes over renames Justice Amendment) Act,
assembly,
thali as president Party as Dravida 1967, introducing
CN Annadurai
(mangalsutra) of Justice Dravidar Munnetra Section 7A, permitting
becomes chief
and without a Party Kazhagam (DK), Kazhagam Suyamariyathai
minister
Brahmin withdraws (DMK) formed (self-respect) and
priest party from to contest Seerthiruttha
electoral elections (reformist) marriages
politics
1929 1938 1944 1949 1967 1967
 spotlight 17
MAY 10-16, 2015

A thali removal function presided over
by DK president K Veeramani (left)
ing along the road. One of them, an
80-year-old priest, sustained inju-
ries to his hand as well.
This has once again kicked off a
storm within the BJP in the state,
with BJP state president Tamilisai
Soundararajan condemning the in-
cident saying, Those who disturb
peace should be punished severely
by law. These are cowardly acts that
deserve strong condemnation.
Union minister of state for road
transport & highways and shipping,
Pon Radhakrishnan too chipped in
with a high-decibel retort. Instead
of taking on ideology with ideology,
these cowardly elements have cho-
sen to attack an old helpless man. If
such incidents continue, the reper-
cussions will be severe, he warned.
British to rule Madras Presidency
from London and attacked Hindus.
Periyar was anti-national, a stooge
of the British, he says.
This definitely is going to happen
more going forward, says Gnani
Sankaran, a political analyst based
in Chennai. These two opposing
ideologies are bound to clash and
we will see more such incidents, as
the battle for Tamil Nadu culminates
in elections in 2016.
The BJPs rhetoric too is similar
there appears to be a conscious
move to deconstruct the aura of
Periyar. This is the land of Nayan-
mars and Alwars, says H Raja. EVR
[Periyar] and [CN] Annadurai are
incidental. The Aryan-Dravidian
theory was propagated by British
Biography of Periyar:
The Father of
Dravidian Movement
Real name: EV Ramasamy Naicker
Born: September 17, 1879
Birthplace: Erode, Tamil Nadu
Married 13-year-old Nagammai in 1898
Renounces family life and went to Kashi (Varanasi)
1904 where he experiences ill-treatment at the
hands of Brahmins as he was of another caste
Going against social norms, Periyar gets his sister, who
1918 was widowed at nine years of age, remarried
Resigns as municipal chairman of
Erode; beginning of lasting friendship with
1919 Congress leader C Rajagopalachari
Joins Indian National Congress in 1919
1922 Becomes Tamil Nadu Congress Committee
president
1924 Speaks publicly for the first time on ending
Brahmin hegemony at a public meeting in Salem
Quits Congress party and founds self-respect
1925 movement a.k.a. Dravidian movement
Meets Mahatma Gandhi and strongly
1927 advocates abolishment of caste system
At the first self-respect conference, Periyar
introduces the concept of self-respect
1929 marriage, widow remarriage and
inter-caste marriages
1931 Heads to Europe and addresses labourers there
on rationalism and socialism
I participated in a similar event in the
Anti-Hindi agitations begin as Hindi was sought
1936 to be imposed throughout India
Periyar is invited to form government as leader of
pelled anyone to take part in any event
1940 Justice Party; he demands separate Dravida
Nadu for the Dravidian race and declines
political power
in fact waned over time. Political
hawks say for the first time voters to-
day have little connect with Periyar
and are more god-fearing and capital-
ist in nature than the Dravidian lead-
ers would like them to be. Caste poli-
tics played by Dravidian leaders from
the DMK and the AIADMK have gone
against the grain of the movement
launched by Periyar in the mid-1920s.
Day by day the Dravidian move-
ment has exposed itself in many
ways, says Lakshmanan. They are
getting beaten from all corners
whether it is the case of womens
issues or caste or social justice.
The Dravidian movement is a
clear debacle. There is a des-
peration on their part to renew
their movement to show that it is
alive. It is purely a futile exercise.
They do not have any sincerity in
terms of ideology. There is a complete
vacuum in the state which the BJP is
trying to fill with rhetoric of this
sort.
It is perhaps a reflection
of this situation that the
crafty politician, DMK
chief M Karunanidhi,
treads with care on the is-
sue of thali removal. In a
statement at the time hitting
out at pro-Hindu groups that at-
tacked DK men, Karunanidhi point-
edly said that wearing a thali or not
was an individuals preference. When
past, DK president K Veeramani asked
me to remove thalis. But I openly re-
sisted the idea. Also, I have never com-
of the Dravidar Kazhagam, he added
for good measure.
Some experts feel

A Storm Brews
The self-respect movement and ra-
tionalists are diametrically and ide-
ologically opposed to organisations
like the RSS [Rashtriya Swayamse-
vak Sangh], explains Veeramani of
the DK. They are provoking people
in the state for no reason. Not just
the DK, all like-minded organisa-
tions will oppose them, he adds.
Sources within the BJP though say
that this is not merely a clash of ide-
ology after all the presence of pro-
Hindu groups like the RSS and Hin-
du Munnani in the state is very
small and their activity can only be
seen in pockets in Kanyakumari
and some western districts. The
strategy is a much larger one, based
on the perception of the youth of
the state, they say. The key to this
strategy is to question the core of
Dravidianism itself and to attack
the rationalism and atheism of the
leader of the Dravidian movement,
Periyar himself.
Periyar has spread lies and ca-
nards, says H Raja of the BJP. Lord
Macaulay used him. Periyar was
against Indians getting freedom. In
a Salem conference in 1944, Periyar
said Gandhi has gone insane by ask-
ing for freedom. He wanted the
Bishop Caldwell. Todays youth
knows the truth, he says.
The BJP has a very clear cut strat-
egy, says C Lakshmanan, assistant
professor at Madras Institute of De-
velopment Studies. [If ] one person
will go aggressive, the other person
will soft pedal. They will try to ap-
propriate Periyar if possible. But
this is all to remain in the limelight,
create a controversy so as to remain
a talking point.
The urgent need to destroy or at
least wound the Dravidian ideology
in some fashion is likely due to the
fact that Dravidianism, rationalism
and the self-respect movement have
1944 Name of Justice Party is changed to
Dravidar Kazhagam
that Karunanidhi is
being practical. Ta-
mil Nadus issues are
1947 When India attains Independence, Periyar
calls it a Mourning Day, says the country
not along ideologi-
c al lines, says
went from British rule to Brahmin
and Baniya rule Manushyaputhiran,
1948 When Gandhi is assassinated, Periyar condemns it
author and political watcher. People
are facing economic issues and
and demands India to be renamed as battling alcoholism. The DK has
1949 Gandhi Nadu (Gandhi nation) taken up these issues of thali
and beef ban. The DMK has not
Marries for the second time to Maniammai, a taken it up. They are a main-
woman much younger to him
1953 Starts a movement to destroy superstition
stream political party and they
will not get into this. There will be
and blind idol worship no such ideological clashes, he says.
Today, however, the state is at a
Forces Rajaji to resign as the CM who wanted to juncture where Periyar is being ques-
1953 introduce a system of education based on the tioned and his ideology challenged.
parents profession; Kamaraj takes over as CM Periyar was anti-Dalit, his ideology
needs to be buried, says H Raja of the
1955 Burns pictures of Lord Rama as symbolic of
protest against Aryan domination
BJP. I will definitely endeavour to fin-
ish off Dravidian ideology, he says.
1957 Burn a copy of Indian Constitution to show Periyarists too refuse to back down.
protest against casteism Tamil soil is always Periyars soil,
says Veeramani of the DK. They [Hin-
1969 Agitation to allow all castes to enter into the
sanctum sanctorum of temples
dutva groups] will never be able to
grow here. Personal vituperation will
be the fertiliser by which we will grow
UNESCO citation on Periyar: Periyar the
1970 prophet of new age; the Socrates of south east Asia;
father of the social reform movement and arch
better in the state, he says.
As 2016 approaches, Tamil Nadu is
enemy of ignorance, superstitions, meaningless likely to be the battleground yet
customs and base manners again for conflicting, contradictory
1973 Periyar breathed his last
ideologies. 
(The writer is a freelance journalist
Source: Dravidar Kazhagam based in Chennai)