Periyar
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Erode Venkatappa Ramasamy, revered by his followers as Periyar or Thanthai Periyar, was an Indian social activist and politician who started the Self-Respect Movement and Dravidar Kazhagam. He is known as the 'Father of the Dravidian movement'. He rebelled against Brahmin dominance and gender and caste inequality in Tamil Nadu. Since 2021, the Indian state of Tamil Nadu celebrates his birth anniversary as 'Social Justice Day'.
B. R. Ambedkar with Ramasamy when they met in connection with a Buddhist conference in Rangoon, Myanmar in 1954.
A statue of Ramasamy at Vaikom town in Kottayam, Kerala
Ramasamy during the early years of Self-Respect Movement
Periyar Thidal at Vepery, where Ramasamy's body was buried.
Dravidar Kazhagam
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Dravidar Kazhagam is a social movement founded by E. V. Ramasami, also called Thanthai Periyar. Its original goals were to eradicate the ills of the existing caste system including untouchability and on a grander scale to obtain a "Dravida Nadu" from the Madras Presidency. Dravidar Kazhagam would in turn give birth to many other political parties, including Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and later the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.
