Periyar And Social Justice

Abstract

The movement social renaissance began in the Madras Presidency form the beginning of 20^th Century movement played a major role in this. Periyar E.V Ramasamy was instrumental in overcoming the social inequalities in Tamil Nadu, especially in the Hindu religion. He fought hard for the freedom of oppressed and back ward people. Through anti varunasirama - non-brahmin Concepts, - self respect movement - temple entry movement- Anti caste and Movement and women’s education.

The concept of social justice was unknown in this country, there appeared in the horizon of Tamil Nadu a missionary, a born crusader against social inequalities and injustice and a known and confirmed heretic, who thundered that a caste-based hierarchical system is a social anachronism and dinosaur of a by-gone Vedic age that deserves to perish. The social revolutionary who so thundered and raised his voice against social injustice is none other than E.V. Ramasami, the Father Figure of Tamil Nadu and popularly known to the entire TamilNadu and the neighboring southern states and reverentially addressed as "Thanthai Periyar". Periyar started the self-respect movement to remove social inequalities prevalent in the Hindu society and strived hard to usher in an egalitarian casteless society where there was equality of status to all the citizens. The disproportionately large number of posts held by Brahmins in Government and their dominance in Government sphere gave rise to the formation of the Justice Party and the implementation of the communal G.O. giving representation to all communities in Government service proportionate to their numbers in the population.¹ Periyar, who tried in vain to make the Congress accept the principle of communal representation in Government service, left the congress organization and gave full support to the justice party for the implementation of the communal representation in Government service. The self-respect movement strove for equality of status and persuaded Justice Party for the communal G.O. for conferring equality of opportunities.² These were the two fronts organized by Periyar to originate the battle for social justice in Tamil Nadu.