The Political Discourse of Thanthai Periyar E.V. Ramasami on the Concepts of ‘Dravidam’ and ‘Dravidar’

Abstract

The Brahmanical ideology substantiated the institution of caste in the Indian society. Different ethnic groups and rationalists started questioning the existing caste hierarchy in the latter half of the nineteenth century. They used different strategies according to their historical context to dismantle the caste structure. Mahatma Jotirao-Savitribai Phule, Babasaheb B.R. Ambedkar, Pandithar Iyothidasar and Thanthai Periyar E.V. Ramasami are few of the interesting personalities among them. The radicals were fearless in their work in the empowerment of the people, who were all suppressed in the name of caste, religion and culture. They used the words, dravidam/dravidar as an ideological tool to revive the cultural history of aboriginals and counter the Brahmanism in the society. Especially, Thanthai Periyar E.V. Ramasami and his ideological successors, who identified themselves as self-respecters, extensively used the words as an ideological tool to initiate the Cultural Revolution in the Tamil society. In this background, this paper studies the political discourse of Thanthai Periyar E.V. Ramasami on the concepts of ‘dravidam’ and ‘dravidar’.