Thanthai periyar biography of mahatma

Periyar full name

Erode Venkatappa Ramasamy 17 September — 24 December , commonly known as Periyar , [ a ] was an Indian social activist and politician. He was the organizer of the Self-Respect Movement and Dravidar Kazhagam and is considered the architect of Dravidian politics , as well as a leading figure of left-wing politics in India. Periyar joined the Indian National Congress in and participated in the Vaikom Satyagraha , during which he was imprisoned twice.

He resigned from the Congress in , believing that they only served the interests of Brahmins. In , he became the head of the Justice Party , [ b ] which he transformed into a social organisation named Dravidar Kazhagam in The party later split with one group led by C. Periyar promoted the principles of rationalism , self-respect , women's rights and eradication of caste.

He opposed the exploitation and marginalisation of the non-Brahmin Dravidian people of South India and the imposition of what he considered Indo-Aryan India. His supporters hail him as a champion of social equality whereas critics consider him as a separatist. Erode Venkata Ramasamy was born on 17 September to a Kannada [ 1 ] Balija merchant family [ 2 ] [ 3 ] [ 4 ] in Erode , then a part of the Coimbatore district of the Madras Presidency.

He had one elder brother named Krishnaswamy and two sisters named Kannamma and Ponnuthoy.