Leaders across Tamil Nadu, including Speaker JCD Prabakar and Udhayanidhi Stalin, paid floral tributes to Dravidian icon Periyar E V Ramasamy on his 147th birth anniversary, which is celebrated in the state as Social Justice Day.
Political leaders and dignitaries across Tamil Nadu paid floral tributes to Dravidian icon and social reformer Thanthai Periyar E V Ramasamy on his 147th birth anniversary on Thursday, commemorating his lifelong crusade for rationalism, self-respect, and social justice. In Chennai, leaders gathered at Mount Road (Anna Salai) to offer floral tributes at the statue of the revered reformer.
Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker JCD Prabakar, along with Leader of Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin, state ministers Aadhav Arjuna, Maria Wilson, and Raj Mohan, paid homage to Periyar. Former Minister and DMK leader Geetha Jeevan also paid floral tribute to Ramasamy, popularly known as Thanthai Periyar, in Thoothukudi. Geetha Jeevan garlanded Periyar’s statue and offered flowers as part of the birth anniversary observance.
DMK Marks Social Justice Day
A day ago, Tamil Nadu former Chief Minister and DMK President M K Stalin, in a post on X, urged party cadres to enthusiastically observe September 17 as Social Justice Day, marking the birth anniversary of Periyar E V Ramasamy, and the day the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam was founded. “I request that DMK comrades enthusiastically observe tomorrow, September 17, as the birth anniversary of Father Periyar and the day the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam was founded. Tomorrow, along with garlanding the statue of Father Periyar to pay respects, as announced by the headquarters, the pledge for Social Justice Day must be taken in all DMK offices. In commemoration of the start of the DMK’s 78th year, I request that the party flags be renewed and hoisted,” he said.
Periyar’s Legacy and the Self-Respect Movement
In honour of Periyar’s vast contributions, widely recognised as the ‘Father of the Dravidian Movement’ and the ‘Father of Modern Tamil Nadu’, his birth anniversary on September 17 is celebrated annually in the state as Social Justice Day.
E V Ramasamy (Periyar) launched the Self-Respect Movement in 1925 to challenge Brahminical hegemony and uplift non-Brahmin communities in Tamil Nadu. By advocating for rationalism, gender equality, and anti-caste reforms through its journal Kudi Arasu, the movement fostered a new sense of Dravidian identity and directly paved the way for the rise of the Dravidian Movement.
The year 1925 is pivotal in the history of the Self-Respect Movement for two reasons: the May launch of the Tamil weekly Kudi Arasu (The Republic) and Periyar’s November departure from the Indian National Congress (INC). Although his exit from the Congress is commonly seen as the movement’s formal beginning, Kudi Arasu had already introduced a new dynamic into the Madras Presidency months earlier. The publication demonstrated a strong zeal for social reform that extended beyond advocating for the political gains of communal representation. After leaving the Congress, Periyar used the paper to adopt an unrestrained approach in criticising both the INC and Brahminism–a term he used for the horrors of Hindu caste orthodoxy. (ANI)
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