THANTHAI PERIYAR: REBEL, CRITIC, AND PROMOTER OF SELF-RESPECT
Abstract
The person, life, and teachings of E. V. Ramaswamy, popularly known as Periyar, were of great significance in changing the thought and life pattern of the people in South India. He was a revolutionary who aimed at the transformation of social structures for which he founded the Self-Respect Movement. He could motivate the downtrodden masses by instilling in them value humanity. He opposed the caste system and the brahminic religion which are at the root of various inhuman practices. In order to eradicate superstitions propagated in the name of gods and religions, Periyar took the path of atheism; he denied god to uphold the humanistic principles. He was a rationalist social philosopher and a critic of existing social discriminations. He critiqued the policies and practices of Gandhi and the Congress party. Despite the atheistic perspective, Periyar’s thought is of perennial relevant in the given socio-cultural context of India.
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