Periyar An Iconoclast and a Reformer

In the past this author has tried to put up articles on dalit chirstian's rape from some propaganda site. Now he chooses Periyar's life and his anti-hindu rhetoric used by DMK to suggest equality comes only through these methods.
His attempts to belittle anything hindu are becoming desparate.
Atleast it gives some purpose to Mr. Dutta's life.

#13 by masanamuthu

looks like mr dutta was happy that periyar was an iconoclast.. and smiling with glee that one of his followers attacked Rama.. he should remember that Periyar was against all kinds of gods/God.. his statue that stands everywhere says "everyone who believes in god is a barbarian". I guess that would apply to Mr.Dutta too..

LOL!! The stupid author will be jolted out of his stupor if he read this :-))

gee.. looks like my name has been thrown around by folks here..

Don't worry about harimau. He is an old Brahmin thinking about the days of glory.. and riling about "masanamuthus"..

looks like mr dutta was happy that periyar was an iconoclast.. and smiling with glee that one of his followers attacked Rama.. he should remember that Periyar was against all kinds of gods/God.. his statue that stands everywhere says "everyone who believes in god is a barbarian". I guess that would apply to Mr.Dutta too..

Ramasamy Naicker was not a hypocrite. I believe Harimau conveniently chose to forget that EVR dropped his caste from his name in a public gathering, which is documented. Periyar was considered a father figure and that lead to the title "Thanthai". It takes a lot of cheap genes to think the way you think. You can use the choicest of words hiding behind a monitor. Masanamuthus of chowk can come face to face wherever you want them to.


Harish,

Did you see the latest India Today publication?
Tamilnadu is ranked fourth and I did not see yours in the top five. The ranking is done on parameters like:
1. Healthcare
2. Education
3. FDI
4. Agriculture
Etc...

I do not agree to your view that we have missed the educated segment. Please do not club Periyar with JJ and MK.

Why do you think there has been no farmer's suicide in Tamilnadu?

Yes, Periyar's view about linguistic chauvinism was well known. He felt that these sentiments would dilute the self-respect movement's cause. He just wanted dignity for everybody.

He did not subscribe to the brand of patriotism, which the Indian leaders were propounding, as many other intellects of those days. Tagore was also one among them who did not subscribe to the concept of patriotism.

harimau,

In kerala communist party was not a state based party, those were the days of one communists, no split between russia and china.

As far I recall, the bangala congress was a split in teh congress, not really a state based party. DMK was not against caste per se, but against brahminism, teh domination of brahmins in politics.

DMK as far as I remeber was teh first state based, call it regional party, teh forerunner of telugu desam, akali, and may eb even shiva sena, if you identify all of the above as, looking after teh state, language, based interests.

The first coalition partner in teh center from south was DMK. In any case, if the greattest leader of DMK, anna version, could be a keralite, MG Ramachandran, DMK cannot be all that a narrow minded party.

Ref jayp #2

[Periyars fight against castiesm had far reaching effects, especially in south india where ambedkar was little known. His creation of dravida munneta kazakam has to credited for the eventual demise of congress in the south and thus the domination of the indian political scene by bihar and UP, the most populous states that determined the ruling party in delhi.]

Sigh.....

I guess I have to don my mantle of history professor again.

Your home state of Kerala elected India's first non-Congress government in 1957 by electing the Communists.

Bangla Congress as part of the United Front in 1967 formed the government in West Bengal, without resorting to caste-based politics.

If as you think DMK is trying to eliminate castes in Tamil Nadu, you should ask why it runs in every constituency only a candidate from the dominant caste in that area. Also, in Vaniyambadi, a Muslim-majority area, Karunanidhi ran a Muslim candidate. Jayalalitha ran a Hindu candidate and won. That ought to tell you about Karunanidhi's secular credentials.

The DMK is a racist party that ought to have been banned in 1947 for its anti-National stance during the struggle for independence. An effeminate eunuch like Jwahirullah Nehru lacked the guts to do so.

'right way' to think. We should probably be nice and lovey-dovey.

harish bhai, glad you said that. Agreed, ours is not the "right" to think. We should probably be nice and love-dovey. But we have had more of dishonesty and hypocrisy from these crooks than we can take.

None of that means we should not solve our problems. We must. Not because it weakens us against these jackals, but because we want to do the right thing for our own people.

Thanks again, man.

Kaal bhai, I didn't know who the writer was until I read your post. Like the Jackal that steals food from two fighting Lions, for these fools any Hindu who fights another Hindu is an opportunity, because only then can they thrive.

hypocracy? that should be hypocrisy.

Periyar was no doubt a great man, but it is the height of hypocracy for shantanu dattas to celebrate the man. These people will do absolutely ANYTHING without the least bit of shame or guilt.

Well, I guess, any dog can celebrate a great man, so long it is known for what it is.

Look, folks, are we going to let a fellow who manufactures stories of Christian dalit women, and exists on earth merely to manufactur caste-based justification of rape, do his dirty work?

I think we are smarter than that. In Tamilnadu, two things, seemingly opposite but both true, have happened - those expressed by harish and harimau on one side and jayp on on the other.

We have had nothing short of revolution (without shantanu dattas of the world playing their patented mischief). In that revolution, brahmins have suffered and lost signficantly. And these are/were not average folks (tamilians, of all castes, seem to have an extra gene for brilliance).

But what happened in TamilNadu also changed the landscape of politics in India as a whole!

Essentially, Tamil Brahmins have carried the load for all of us. We cannot expect them to be anymore generous or sympathetic. They are going to have some tough words, for northerners, for nonbrahmins.

But the rest of us, who have in some sense, "benefitted" (and we have) have to develop greater sensitivity. The same sensitivity that we feel in understanding why baba ambedkar would abuse gandhi/and or hindus in general.

There is real pain there. It is absurd to take sides. We can appreciate both for their positives and for what they did for the rest of us.

The unwashed masses of the South (especially in TN) are very emotional and have a culture of hero-ising and idol worship (I don't mean the idols in temples). Thus, every crook who can whip up passions becomes a hero (Periyar, Jayalalitha, Karunanidhi, etc.). These folks may have done some good, but for the most part, they have caused irreparable damage to the states they ruled. By marginalizing the Brahmins (and I do not say this because I am one), they lost out on the most educated segment that moved to other states or abroad. Their populist policies (like giving away free TVs) are designed to create permanent vote banks and nothing else. If TN is still one of the most industrialized and modern states, it is purely a miracle and nothing else.

Harimau,

Periyars fight against castiesm had far reaching effects, especially in south india where ambedkar was little known. His creation of dravida munneta kazakam has to credited for the eventual demise of congress in the south and thus the domination of the indian political scene by bihar and UP, the most populous states that determined the ruling party in delhi.

Collapse of teh congress is the most significant event that has led to more meaningful policies at the centre, whcih other wise was determined by the least educated people of india, from bihar and UP. I recall the days of " aya rams and gaya rams" in central politics.

Periyar is the most significant politician in India just for the creation of regional parties which ultimately changed the political process in India.

Shantanu Dutta, you are an idiot.

E V Ramaswamy Naicker was how the man was known during his life time. His given name was Ramaswamy; he did not petition a judge to change his name to Ravanaswamy. Naicker was his caste. He never dropped that from his name either. This is the man you are extolling as the Rationalist Thinker who fought against castes! The Masanamuthus of Tamil Nadu consider him their Father (Thanthai in Tamil) and bestowed on him the title Periyar, so he is now only referred to as Thanthai Periyar. The Masanamuthus, clearly kept ignorant so that they can be fooled into voting for his followers, are never told that Ramaswamy Naicker called Tamil a barbaric language and all Tamilians barbarians. He also made fun of Kannagi, the heroine of the Tamil epic "Silappathikaram", which shows his contempt for Tamil literature. That descendant of devadasis Karunanidhi should answer Periyar's question about how Kannagi twisted her breast off and threw it at the city of Madurai and burnt it down. Karunanidhi should answer where Kannagi got her medical degree instead of asking where Rama got his engineering degree which enabled him to build the Setu (bridge) to Lanka.

Ramaswamy Naicker and his followers demanded that the British stay on in India rather than grant independence. You are comparing this man to Mahatma Gandhi who led the fight against the British and Ambedkar who headed the committee that wrote the Constitution of India. That shows the depth of your depravity.

Why don't you move to Tamil Nadu and join the Brigade of the Brain-Dead? You are eminently qualified.