This world has seen a lot of legendary people who have sacrificed their lives for the development of humanity. Due to their hard work, determination, self-confidence, and their quality of protesting for human rights, they are being remembered throughout the life of this world.
They were not born as legends, but had developed their personalities and became legends. We know that many reformers emerged in India during the 18th and 19th centuries to reconstruct the society. Such a person is E.V.R. Periyar from Erode, Tamil Nadu, India. E.V.R. Periyar’s ideology played an important role in changing the local scenario of Tamil Nadu.
Who is E.V.R. Periyar?
E.V.R. Periyar was born on 17th September,1879 in Tamil Nadu to a wealthy merchant family. He devoted his life for upliftment of lower caste societies and played a leading role in rebuilding Tamil society. He was a social reformer who protested against social injustices and engaged in public welfare activities.
An incentive for Periyar:
Though the Tamil culture is a very ancient and an intelligent culture, the society had several problems including discrimination and superstitious beliefs. Not only in Tamil society, the other areas in India too faced huge problems due to discrimination.
When Periyar went to a spiritual capital of India, Varanasi, in 1904, he faced discrimination. He was not allowed to eat inside the temple because he belonged to a lower-caste society. The gatekeeper at the temple also pushed him rudely since he belonged to lower-caste. This was a turning point in Periyar’s life. This incident had a great impact on Periyar’s life and after this incident Periyar began to protest for the upliftment of marginalised people.
The Vaikom Hero:
Vaikom is a place in Kerala where the people of lower castes were not allowed inside the temple and to walk in the streets which were around the temple. In 1924, Periyar started protesting against this unnecessary law. He stayed 140 days in Vaikom and led the protest. He was arrested twice. He was imprisoned for seventy-four days, but finally achieved his goal. Periyar regained the rights of the marginalised people. So, he was proudly called as “The Vaikom Hero”.
Rationalism, his most powerful weapon:
Periyar introduced “Rationalism”. Rationalism is about thinking logically in all aspects and daily events of life. He developed rationalism as his strategy to attract the minds of the people. For example, people usually worship by pouring water and milk over the statues of gods and it is one of their oldest rituals. But Periyar said that “instead of praying by pouring milk and water on the statues, one can contribute to the society by giving that milk to the poor which will help them to overcome their starvation and sate their appetite”. Rationalism is actually not against gods or against worshipping gods but to destruct the superstitious beliefs that were being done in those days in the name of god. It also deals with thinking with infinite wisdom to contribute for the welfare of the society. But due to this movement, Periyar had received a lot of opposition from the public, especially the Hindus.
Rationalism had a drastic impact on the Tamil society. People began thinking logically and destroyed the superstitious beliefs in their surroundings. Many social activists began to stand for the people of the depressed classes. Non-brahmins were allowed to enter into the temple. The appointment of non-brahmins as priests in temples became a historic milestone. The concept of “the air we breathe is common for all of us, the land we walk is also common for all of us, the same kind of blood circulates through all the humans, all are equal” developed.
Self-respect movement:
This movement is considered as one of the most important campaigns in Periyar’s life. This movement was launched by Ramanathan in the year 1921.Later, he had requested Periyar to lead this campaign. The main propaganda of this movement is to create a casteless society, develop rationalism, deplore superstitions and create equality and unity among the people. This movement also declared empowerment of women as its primary aim. This movement had a huge impact on Tamil society. Due to the self-respect movement, the number of inter-caste marriages increased in Tamil society. This movement not only had a drastic change in the minds of the Tamils but also played a vital role in educating people in India and other parts of the globe about rationalism. In previous days, the people of lower-castes were persuaded to bow in front of people of upper-castes. Self-respect movement changed this whole scenario. This movement aimed to treat all kinds of people in this world with true respect.
Periyar as a Feminist:
Periyar played a huge role in creating awareness about women’s basic rights. He criticised child marriage and devadasi system. Periyar protested for the rights of women. Periyar raised his voice for the enslaved women. He also supported women’s right to education and their social status. As a part of the self-respect movement, Periyar emphasized on equal rights of women in property.
Conclusion:
If Periyar hadn’t emerged, Tamil society would have remained unchanged. Due to his tireless work, he is proudly called as the “Father of Modern Tamil Nadu”. The most beautiful thing in this world is a happy and prosperous society. Periyar also devoted his life for the people and brought significant changes to the society. A leader is a man who not only is a head of the group but also who manages and works hard with will power for the welfare of humanity.
Periyar is the most suitable example for this. Tamil society will always remember his precious work. The policies of Periyar were successfully encouraged and developed by the Government of Tamil Nadu. As Periyar changed the whole scenario of my locality, the birth of Periyar played an important role that changed the local scenario of Tamil Nadu.
By Vishvesh Roshan
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