Abstract
E.V. Ramasamy, known by most as Periyar, was a trailblazing social reformer in South India whose Self-Respect Movement questioned caste injustice, gender inequality, and Brahmanical control. This paper explores an undervalued component of his philosophy: the idea of self-respect as a radical ethical framework for social justice. Through thoroughly reading Periyar’s writings and speeches—especially those in his Collected Works—this study argues that self-respect exceeds personal dignity to reflect a shared ethic anticipated by modern intersectional feminism. Combining rationalism, anti-caste philosophy, and gender equality in Periyar’s perspective offers a proto-intersectional approach to challenge caste, gender, and religious oppression. This essay highlights Periyar’s importance to movements for equality and his capacity to direct intersectional action now, therefore tying his self-respect with contemporary feminist theory. Using primary sources and comparative research, it shows how Periyar’s ethical challenge to accepted society structures offers a road map for eliminating systematic inequality.
Keywords: Periyar, Self-Respect Movement, intersectional feminism, social justice, rationalism, anti-caste, gender equality, and the Dravidian movement.
Erode Venkatappa Ramasamy (1879–1973) transformed Indian societal development by founding the Self-Respect Movement (1925) and Dravidar Kazhagam (1944); he aimed to oppose Brahminical rule and advocate for non-Brahmin Dravidians’ rights. Built on reason, dignity, and egalitarianism, his method sought to eradicate caste, gender, and religious hierarchy. Though Periyar has made well-documented contributions to Dravidian identity and anti-caste politics, his ideas of self-respect as a radical ethical framework have gotten scant attention in North India, especially in light of modern intersectional feminism. This paper argues that Periyar’s self-respect is a communal ethic expecting intersectional methods by addressing the connected oppressions of caste, gender, and religion, rather than only a call for human dignity. Examining Periyar’s writings, words, and actions helps one to understand his role as a predecessor of current feminist views and offers guidance for movements aiming at world social justice.
Periyar was born in Erode, Tamil Nadu, in 1879. Periyar came from a wealthy but non-Brahmin family with a Kannada-speaking Balija caste background. Early experiences with caste and gender inequality, especially on a 1904 trip to Kashi, shaped his criticism of Hindu rigidity. After seeing Brahminical exploitation and caste-based exclusion in Varanasi, Periyar shifted from religion to rationality and formed his next activities. Alleged Brahmin-centric bias drove his brief membership in the Indian National Congress (1919–1925) to be terminated; he then joined the Justice Party and started the Self-Respect Movement (Ramasamy 527). Experiences with systematic injustice inspired Periyar to seek his ideal society free of caste, gender, and religious prejudice. He became known as a defender of social equality and human dignity by organizing anti-Hindi demonstrations in 1938 and the Vaikom Satyagraha in 1924. His self-respect ideology drove these activities; he offered it as a universal moral for helping underprivileged areas.
Kimberly Crenshaw developed intersectionality theory, which states that there is no single basis of an individual identity, but it is made of the intersection and intersectionalities like gender, class, religion, nationality, and sexuality. A woman is not suppressed because of being a woman, but her caste, religion, and race play vital roles in making her predicament more complex. In Dalit women’s literature, the pain of being a woman, the pain of the discrimination on the basis of caste, and the pain of poverty intersect each other.
The self-respect movement was a social movement that empowered the lives of the marginalized. This moment began to ensure justice for the marginalized and the downtrodden. It ensured dignity and equality for everyone, opposing the caste system, Brahmin hegemony, and superstition. It propagated rationalism and scientific temper in the society. The movement advocated for women’s rights, widow remarriage, and other related issues. He was against the dowry system and child marriage, and self-respect marriages were promoted to eradicate hierarchy and division from the society. He opposed the Hindi opposition; this moment was about Tamil identity and culture.
E. V. Ramasamy Periyar successfully led the Vaikom Satyagraha for 20 months. In Travancore state (present-day Kerala) in the Kottayam district, the untouchable Dalits were not allowed to pass through the temple street. Vaikom Satyagraha began on 30th March 1924 for opening the entry for Dalits; Gandhi also joined this movement. In 1925 the Travancore state opened the street for the entry of the Dalits; this was the first Dalit rights movement of South India. Dalits got entry inside the temple in 1936 through the temple entry proclamation.
The Self-Respect Movement Founded in 1925, aimed to advance women’s, non-brahmin, and other persecuted groups’ equality and dignity. Periyar’s self-respect went beyond simple pride to a radical ethical point of view, challenging hierarchical social institutions. “Self-respect is the foundation of a society in which everyone has equal rights and chances,” he said in his weekly magazine Kudi Arasu (Ramasamy 54). This ethic challenged Brahminical authority, which Periyar saw as preserving caste and gender inequity through religious texts and practices. Periyar’s self-respect was communal, motivating groups to reject internalised inferiority and demand structural change. Promoting women’s equality and rationalism, he supported self-respecting weddings free of Brahminical ceremonies. These partnerships reflected his greater objective of social reform—a rejection of caste-based patriarchal customs. Emphasising reason as a vehicle for self-respect, Periyar urged people to challenge religious beliefs and superstitions endorsing injustice (Kalidass, 2020). Periyar uses intersectionality. Though Kimberlé Crenshaw’s idea of intersectionality did not emerge until the late twentieth century, Periyar’s approach foretells it by addressing caste-, gender-, and religious-related inequalities. His anti-caste campaigning reflected his support of women’s rights, which included opposition to child marriage and remarriage of widows. “The liberation of women is impossible without the dismantling of caste,” Periyar said, “since both are founded in Brahmanical patriarchy” (Ramasamy 102). This all-encompassing strategy includes a knowledge of various interlocking injustices and intersectional feminism claims. Periyar’s criticism of Hinduism as a weapon for Brahminical control covered gender as well. Famously, he said, “If God is the root cause of our degradation, destroy God.” Periyar imagined a society rejecting religious literature, especially the Manusmriti and Bhagavad Gita, which he regarded as supporting caste and gender hierarchies; reason and self-respect took center stage above dogmatic traditions (Kalidass, 2020). As seen by the Vaikom Satyagraha, his struggle for Dalit rights reveals his will to oppose caste-based injustice, together with religious and gender persecution. Intersectional feminists and Periyar. The self-respect ethic of Periyar reflects the effort of current intersectional feminism to solve the interactions of race, gender, class, and other identities. His idea of group empowerment aligns with feminist calls for solidarity among impoverished populations. Parallel with his scientific criticism of superstition, feminist challenges of patriarchal rules endorsing gender-based violence and discrimination follow. Periyar’s focus on Dravidian identity often resulted in exclusionary speech, therefore excluding non-Tamil people. He was less appealing to religious non-Brahmins because of his fervent atheism, which occasionally overshadowed his broader social justice goals. Notwithstanding these challenges, Periyar’s point of view stresses the need to eradicate linked repressive institutions and offers a strong basis for intersectional movement.
A perfect illustration of Periyar’s transversal ethic is his self-respecting marriages. These couples questioned caste and gender roles by excluding Brahmin priests and Vedic rites. Apart from feminist ideas of autonomy and agency, they promoted mutual consent and equality (Jeyaraman 80). Reflecting the ongoing relevance of Periyar’s views, self-respect marriages remain a kind of protest against caste-based and patriarchal norms in contemporary Tamil Nadu. The Dravidar Kazhagam and its successors struggle for social justice. Hence, Periyar’s concept still shapes Tamil Nadu’s socio-political environment (Natarajan, 1989). Emphasizing his continuing influence, Tamil Nadu honors his birth anniversary as “Social Justice Day.” Globally, Periyar’s self-respect ethic offers direction for intersectional movements tackling linked injustices, including Black feminism and indigenous rights campaigning. His focus on social dignity and reason builds a worldwide platform to address structural inequalities. Historically, Periyar’s idea of self-respect is a fundamental ethical basis for social justice. Combining anti-caste, anti-religious, and feminist ideas, Periyar’s point of view foresaw modern intersectional feminism, addressing the linked injustices of caste, gender, and religion. Although his method had flaws, modern movements benefit greatly from his emphasis on rationalism and communal empowerment. This paper exhorts academics and activists to fight world injustice and inequality by applying Periyar’s self-respect as a proto-intersectional ethic.
Works Cited
Jeyaraman, Bala. Periyar: The Political Biography of E.V. Ramasamy. Rupa Publications, 2013.
Kalidass, R. “E.V. Ramasamy Is a Social Rebuilder.” International Journal of Scientific & Technology Research, vol. 9, no. 1, Jan. 2020, pp. 123–130, www.researchgate.net/publication/339216784_EV_Ramasamy_Is_A_Social_Rebuilder.
Natarajan, P. “Periyar E. V. Ramasamy and the Justice Party.” Social Science Digest, vol. 3, July 1985, pp. 89–95.
Ramasamy, E.V. Collected Works of Periyar. E.V.R. The Periyar Self-Respect Propaganda Institution, 7th ed., 2016.