A century of reform

The Dravidian movement has left its progressive imprint on Tamil Nadu.

Almost exactly a hundred years ago, on 20 November 1916, Sir P. Theagaraya presided over a meeting at the Victoria Memorial Hall. It was the coming together of Madras Presidency’s leading non-Brahmin traders, lawyers, doctors, landowners and politicians. That moment is considered by most historians to be the birth of the Dravidian movement, a socio-political movement which set the agenda for the next hundred years of politics in Tamil Nadu, and led the way for mobilization of marginalized peoples across the country .

The over-representation of Brahmins in the British Raj bureaucracy, as established by the census results, concentrated the simmering discontent amongst the lower castes. Those who gathered on that day in November 1916 formed the first congregation of backward classes to affirm their political power. On that day, The South Indian Liberal Federation, later known as the Justice Party, was founded to ensure political representation. 

The very first elections to Madras Presidency, under the new diarchy system, in 1920 saw the Justice Party win a comfortable majority. It was in this tenure that the Communal G.O. No 613 was passed to legislate reservations for various communities in government jobs, a first for any elected government in the country. Soon thereafter, the government amended the Government of India Act to enable the very first Indian woman legislator – Dr Muthulakshmi Reddy – to be elected to the Madras Presidency paving the way for women in politics. In order to curb caste-based discrimination under the guise of religion, Hindu temples were brought under the control of the state government through another legislation. The first Justice Party government, thus, made some of the longest strides in the empowerment of the oppressed people. 

Almost in a parallel setting, Periyar EV Ramasamy was ploughing a separate but equally determined battle against oppressive forces. He led the Vaikom struggle for lower caste Hindus to use the street adjacent to a Siva temple in the then Princely State of Travancore in 1925, an act whose success reverberated across India. The Self Respect Movement he founded was radical in its thinking and action. Periyar advocated inter-caste (or, as he called them, ‘caste-less’) marriage, women’s education, women’s property rights and widow remarriage in a language that was both fiery and candid. 

The imposition of Hindi by the Madras Presidency Government in 1937 brought the twin forces of the Justice Party and the Self Respect Movement together in opposition. By December 1938, Periyar, already a popular leader, became the President of the Justice Party. At the 16th Conference of the Justice Party, held on 21 August 1944  in Salem, it was renamed Dravidar Kazhagam to include all linguistic peoples of Southern India, assert their ethnic identity and also to launch the demand for a separate Dravida Nadu. 

While the Dravidar Kazhagam was a potent force for social change, a splinter group led by Anna C.N. Annadurai aspired to involve directly with the politics of the newly independent country. In 1949, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam was formed with the objective to convert social reforms into administrative action. Since 1967, when DMK formed government in Tamil Nadu, social reform agenda has been at the heart of the state’s governance; Self Respect Marriages abolishing caste and religious customs, were legalised by the DMK in 1967. Madras became Tamil Nadu in 1969. Women were given equal succession rights in 1989. Inter-caste communities (Samathuvapuram) were built by the State in 1998. The state legislation to tear down caste barriers within priesthood was passed in 2006. Mid-day meals, maternity benefits and women self-help groups can all be traced back to the early policy platforms of the Dravidian Movement. 

Today, in its centenary year, there is much to be thankful for. Tamil Nadu continues to be ranked among the best states in Human Development indicators. However, the next hundred years of the Dravidian Movement will witness bigger challenges in the form of caste and ‘honour’ based crimes, religious bigotry and social disparities that have shown a resurgence in recent times. The future of the Dravidian Movement lies in how its present-day successors find common cause in a society where identities have began to trump ideologies. Still, the Dravidian Movement must be celebrated for being the first backward class mobilisation in the country which has created historic social change and political empowerment.  
Manuraj Shunmugasundaram
Lawyer & Spokesperson, DMK

Link to the Article: https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/tamil-nadu-politics-history-dravidian-movement-brahmins-lower-caste-casteism-madras-presidency-4388452/