Periyar

Periyar
Portrait of Periyar on a postage stamp
President of Dravidar Kazhagam
In office 27 August 1944 – 24 December 1973
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Annai E. V. R. Maniammai
Head of the Justice Party
In office 1939 – 27 August 1944
Inaugural Holder	C. Natesa Mudaliar
Preceded by	Ramakrishna Ranga Rao of Bobbili
Succeeded by	P. T. Rajan
Personal details
Born	(1879-09-17)17 September 1879 Erode, Coimbatore District, Madras Presidency, British India
Died	24 December 1973(1973-12-24) (aged 94) Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India
Resting place	Periyar Ninaividam
Political party	Dravidar Kazhagam (from 1944)
Other political affiliations	Indian National Congress (1919–1925) Justice Party (1925–1944)
Spouses	Annai E. V. R. Nagammai ​ ​ (m. 1899; died 1933)​ Annai E. V. R. Maniammai ​ ​ (m. 1948)​
Occupation	Activist politician social reformer
Nicknames	E.V.R. Vaikom Veerar Venthaadi Venthan

Erode Venkatappa Ramasamy (17 September 1879 – 24 December 1973), 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 1919 and participated in the Vaikom Satyagraha, during which he was imprisoned twice. He resigned from the Congress in 1925, believing that they only served the interests of Brahmins. From 1929 to 1932, he toured British Malaya, Europe and the Soviet Union which later influenced his Self-Respect Movement in favor of caste equality. In 1939, he became the head of the Justice Party,^[b] which he transformed into a social organisation named Dravidar Kazhagam in 1944. The party later split with one group led by C. N. Annadurai forming the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in 1949. While continuing the Self-Respect Movement, he advocated for a sovereign Dravida Nadu (land of the Dravidians)

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. Since 2021, the Indian state of Tamil Nadu celebrates his birth anniversary as 'Social Justice Day'. His supporters hail him as a champion of social equality whereas critics consider him as a separatist.
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