Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], September 17 : Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay paid floral tributes on the 147th birth anniversary of social reformer Thanthai Periyar EV Ramasamy in Chennai.
Marking the occasion, Chief Minister Vijay administered the Social Justice Day pledge to officials and citizens, reaffirming the state's commitment to equality and social reform.
Administering the pledge, CM Vijay said, "I will follow as my way of life the loving principle of 'All beings are equal by birth ', and the virtuous principle of 'All places are one, all people are my kin'! My actions will be with a personality that has rationalism and a rational outlook!"
Emphasising the core values of the Dravidian movement, he further stated, "I will dedicate myself to the principles of Equality, Brotherhood, and Socialism! I will always cherish love for humanity and humanism. On this day, I pledge to build a society founded on social justice!"
EV Ramasamy (Periyar) launched the Self-Respect Movement in 1925 to challenge Brahminical hegemony and uplift non-Brahmin communities in Tamil Nadu. By advocating for rationalism, gender equality, and anti-caste reforms through its journal Kudi Arasu, the movement fostered a new sense of Dravidian identity and directly paved the way for the rise of the Dravidian Movement.
The year 1925 is pivotal in the history of the Self-Respect Movement for two reasons: the May launch of the Tamil weekly Kudi Arasu (The Republic) and Periyar's November departure from the Indian National Congress (INC).
Although his exit from the Congress is commonly seen as the movement's formal beginning, Kudi Arasu had already introduced a new dynamic into the Madras Presidency months earlier.
The publication demonstrated a strong zeal for social reform that extended beyond advocating for the political gains of communal representation.
After leaving the Congress, Periyar used the paper to adopt an unrestrained approach in criticising both the INC and Brahminism--a term he used for the horrors of Hindu caste orthodoxy.