C. Iyothee Thassa Pandithar, The First Pioneer of Dravidian Ideology

Abstract

The time of revival of the Hindus and the conversion of all the people into Hinduism through organizations such as the Brahma Samaj and the Arya Samaj took place in the latter half of the 19^th century. Iyothee, one of the great thinkers of modern India, renounced Hinduism when he examined his society and the reasons for experiencing his social and caste oppression. In this study, the researcher has explained in detail and clearly, with sufficient supporting evidence, the quest for the education of Iyothee, the anti-Hindu religious sentiments of Iyothee, the Dravida Mahajana Sabha and the 10 demands, the village school, and the right to proportion, the reasons for the decline of the Paraiyars, the need for social change, the disguised brahmins,  and the Dalits and the toil, and the role played by Iyothee in his society and caste oppression.