Dravidian Movement :

Made By :

Name : Shruti Jha

Roll no. : 21518041

Semester : VI
Year : 3rd
Introduction :
 The activities of the Christian missionaries to win
converts among lower castes and the various
socio-religious reform movement .
 The Hindus further contributed to the growth of
awareness among the lower caste against Cast
system.
 This led to the emergence of various backward
class movements in early 20 th century.
 The British Government also lent support to these
movements in order to weaken the freedom
struggle.
 Some of the important backward class movement
in early 20th Century were:
 Dravidian Movement
 SNDP Movement
 Origin of Dravidian Movement :
 Spread of Christianity and the Western education.
 The low caste in the Madras presidency developed a
resentment against the caste system & Politicians
(congress) .
 A/C to them the domination of Brahmins in
professional and political life had to be first
overthrown.
 By 1914 this conflict lead emergence of Non –
Brahmin Urban middle class.
 Non-Brahmin Manifesto published in 1916 was
followed by the formation of South Indian
Association in 1917.
 After the Montague Chelmsford Reforms ‘South-
Indian Association’ was converted into Justice Party
. Self-Respect Movement :
However the Justice Party was a party of urban educated professional
middle class elite in nature and therefore failed to build a mass base.
Soon after, the self-respect movement was founded in 1925 by E.V.
Ramaswami (Thanthai Periyar)

Dravidian Ideology :
The self-respect movement was based on the Dravidian ideology to save the
upper class Hindus.
Based on Aryan - Dravidian theory
The self-respect movement aimed at removing the control of Brahmin from
the social and political level .
Sought to wean the people away from the Puranic ritualistic Hinduism
necessitating the presence of Brahmin priest.
 ROLE OF INDIVIDUALS :

Ayothee Dasa Pandithar :

 Ayothee Dasa Pandithar (1845 -1914), became popular among
the depressed people. (represented Dalits).
 Important work : (Volumes I & II in 1999 and Volume III in
2003) by their editor G. Aloysious in three volumes.
 He has come to associate the Dalit consciousness and revival of
Buddhism earlier to Ambedkar in south India.
 He challenges the existing view that the Justice Party of the
South Indian non-Brahmins
 movement in popularizing the themes of anti-Brahmanism,
atheism, critique of Hinduism and caste system
 M. Singaravelu (1860-1946), celebrated as the first communist
of South India, started his political career along with Ayothee
Dasa Pandithar.
 He participated in the Round Table Conferences along with B.R.
Ambedkar.

Ayothee Dasa Pandithar

. Dravida Kazhaham (DK) :
The Brahmin as the symbol of all exploitation.
This movement was successful in appealing to the mass.
Finally the self-respect movement and Justice Party were merged in 1944 to
from Dravida Kazhaham headed by Periyar.
It adopted a militant mass agitation strategy and advocated an egalitarian
ideology condemning the caste system.
Thanthai Periyar

Dravida Munnetra Kazhaham (DMK) :

In 1949, due to difference between the Periyar and C. N. Annadurai who
led the younger section in the Dravida Kazhaham.
lead to the formation of Dravida Munnetra Kazhaham.
The majority of the rank and file of DK joined the DMK
Initial Support Base : lower middle class, students, lower castes (Nadars,
Marwars & Adi Dravidians) & unemployed youth, etc.
DMK to propagate its ideology by Cinema.
. Transformation :
A consequences of the DMK was the decline in the domination of Brahmins
in Tamil Nadu, a new sense of release and freedom among the lower castes.
later on as DMK tried to capture power,
the demand for creation of a separate Dravidian Nadu and acquired a
character of one of the mainstream political parties with a rational support base

SNDP Ideology :
The new ideology was based on the principle of self-respect, honour and
worth of individual.
It was an ideology of protest against the Brahminical values system of
hierarchy and pollution.
S.N. Guru established a parallel source of legitimacy by establishing new
institutions like temple priest, monk and monasteries.
SNDP MOVEMENT : ROLE OF INDIVIDUALS :

Shri Narayana Dharma Paripalanam :

 Shri Narayana Guru formed the Sri Narayana Dharma Paripalana
Yogam (SNDPY) in1902-03.
 Group based on untouchable Ezhavas or Iravas of Kerala to
organized some temple entry rights movt.
 This movement was based on the reinterpreting Hindu religion in
search of self-determination.
 Until 1935 the Izhavas belonged to the Scheduled Caste category,
about 26% of the Kerala's total population .
 He established a set of religious institutions parallel to that of the
variety of Brahmanical Hinduism.
 This helped Izhavas both to gain self-respect and to adopt a
protest ideology to challenge the religious, economic, educational
and political supremacy the upper castes

Shri Narayana
Guru (1855-1928)
 Iravas of Kerala :
.
 This movement was lunched among the Izhavas of Keral by
their leader Narayan Guru.
 Izhavas were an untouchable castes of Toddy Trappers
 They suffered from many other disabilities both social and
ritual.
 They were denied access to Hindu temples or to the bathing
tank of Hindus.
 Their women were not allowed to cover their breast or to wear
any footwear, nor could they build good house.
 Under the charismatic leadership of Sri Narayan Guru they
rejected Brahminical domination and development a new
interpretation of Hinduism.
 According to MSA Rao, they adopted the strategy of
withdrawal and self organisation
 Achievements :
.
 T.V. Madhavan led the Vaikum Temple Road Entry Movement
in 1927, under the patronage of Mahatma Gandhi.
 After the two years of sustained Satyagraha the Izhavas were
granted the right to use the road which ran near the Vaikum
Temple which was woned by upper caste.
 The SNDP movement represented one of the most successful
attempts of the untouchable castes .
 It also demonstrated that it was possible to remain within the
fold of Hinduism and yet escape from the stigma of
untouchability.
 The movement motivated them to take to modern education
(with modern occupation & profession)
 Thus Izhavas as a community successfully raised their status in
society by the contribution of SNDP movement
 Conculsion :
.
 The Dravidian Movement was a series of events which was a socio-
cultural-religious movement led by different leaders of their time.
 Demanding democratic representation for non-brahman castes in the fields
of education, administration and legislation the three leaders name Dr. C.
N. Mudaliar, T. M. Nair & P. Theagaraya Chetty founded Justice Party in
November 20, 1916.
 In 1920, the Justice Party won a remarkable victory in the elections to run
diarchic government in the Madras Presidency.
 the Marxist Communist were also infected with the Brahmanical Disease
and started working with Congress, he split with the fake comrades in
1936
 Self-respect movement to higher level and at its peak. In 1944, he
established the Dravidar Kazhagam, which had as its prime objective the
establishment of a non-brahman, Dravidian State. Periyar’s movement
spread all over Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala also. Many
movements was done by Periyar in his entire life.
 Biblography :
.
 Braj Ranjan Mani, Debrahmanising History: Dominance and
Resistance in Indian Society, Manohar Publishers, New Delhi, 2005.
 T. K. Oommen, Social Movement I: Issues of Identity, Oxford University
Press, New Delhi, 2010.
 R. Kannan, Anna: The Life & time of C. N. Annadurai, Penguin Random
House India, Haryana, 2010.
 Ramchandra Guha :, Makers of Modern India, Penguin Books Ltd., New
Delhi, 2012.
 S. V. Rajadurai, V. Geetha, The Periyar Century: Themes in Caste,
Gender & Religion, Bharathidasan University, Silver Jubilee Publication,
Palkalaiperur, Thiruchirappalli, 2007.
 Bipin Chandra :, History Of Modern India, Orient BlackSwan Private
Limited, New Delhi, 2009.
 R. Kannan, MGR: A Life, Penguin Random House India, Haryana, 2010.
THANK YOU