Profile and Life History of E.V. Ramasamy

Activist, Politician and Social Reformist

Birth

Erode Venkata Ramasamy was born on 17 September 1879 to Venkatappa Nayakar and Chinnathyee Muthammal in Erode of Madras Presidency .

Periyar Marriage

He was married to Nagammai at the age of 19. They  had a girl baby that died in 5 months of her birth. Later, his wife Nagammai died in the year 1933. Later, he married Maniammai and proceeded his social activities till his death.

Kasi visit Exploitation as the base for Self-respect movement

In the year 1904, Periyar went to Kasi, where he noticed unethical works like dead bodies and begging. Later, he went to eat free meals offered to the guests, where Periyar was ignored, since non-brahmins were not allowed at that site. With no option for his hunger, he was compelled to wear the sacred thread to enter the Brahmin eateries. But, still he was stopped by the gatekeeper and was pushed by him. The gatekeeper claimed that Periyar was a non-Brahmin as he had the moustache. This intolerable incident of Brahmanic exploitation changed Periyar to atheist.

Periyar Congress Affairs

In the year 1919, Periyar joined the Indian National Congress party. He was imprisoned for picketing toddy shops in Erode in the year 1921. Later in 1922, he was elected as the President of Madras Presidency Congress Committee that held at the Tirupur session. When he reached Vaikom along with his wife Nagamma in 1924, he was arrested for his participation in the Vaikom Satyagraha movement. For this brave action,

he received the title “Vaikom Veeran” from his followers who took part in this Satyagraha movement.

He advocated for government job and education in the year 1925. These attempts made by him were defeated due to partiality and inequality. Hence, he left the Congress Party and ended his support for Congress.

Life career of Periyar

• He deleted his caste title “Naicker” from his name at the First provincial Self Respect Conference of Chengalpattu during 1929.
• After this, he established the Self-Respect Movement as an Independent institution in the year 1929 and concentrated to strengthen the same.
•  In late 1929’s that is from December 1929 to January 1930, he toured Malaya to spread the self-respect philosophy among the Tamil Malaysians.
• When C.Rajagopalachari became the Chief Minister of the Madras Presidency, he brought in Hindi as a compulsory study language in the schools under the Madras Presidency in 1937.
• As the result, Anti-Hindi agitations arouse among the non-Hindi citizens.
• Then Periyar with Sir. A.T Ramasamy of Tamil nationalists( Justice Party) set up the anti-Hindi protests, that led to arrests of protesters during the year 1938.
• In the year 1944, Periyar as the leader of the Justice Party changed the name of the party as Dravidar Kazhagam or “Dravidian Association”.
• During the year 1949, C.N Annadurai chief lieutenant (later Chief Minister of TamilNadu) separated from this Party and started a new association called “Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam(DMK)” which was one of the milestones of TN politics.
• In the late 1956, he made an attempt to burn the pictures of God Rama at the Marina, where he was arrested and sent to prison.
• His last meeting was held on 19 December 1973 at T.Nagar, where he made a call for the social equality and way to gain self-respect in life.

Death

On 24^th December 1973, Periyar made his last breathe and died at the age of 94.