https://indianpedia.org/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Dravidar_KazhagamDravidar Kazhagam - Revision history2026-07-31T15:35:14ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.45.4https://indianpedia.org/index.php?title=Dravidar_Kazhagam&diff=304057&oldid=prev2409:4072:6413:699B:0:0:B4:48AC at 05:43, 19 February 20222022-02-19T05:43:52Z<p></p>
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{{Infobox political party<br />
| name = Dravidar Kazhagam<br />
| colorcode = black<br />
| leader = [[K. Veeramani]]<br />
| founder = [[Periyar E. V. Ramasamy]]<br />
| founded = {{start date|1944|08|27|df=y}}<br />
| predecessor = [[Justice Party (India)|Justice Party]]<br />
| successor = [[Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam|DMK]] And [[All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam|AIADMK]]<br />
| headquarters = [[Chennai]]<br />
| newspaper = [[Viduthalai (Tamil daily)|Viduthalai]]<br />
| ideology = [[Humanism]]<br>[[Social justice]]<br>[[Feminism]]<br>[[Rationalism]]<br>Anti-[[Casteism]]<br />
| flag = Flag DK.png<br />
| website = http://www.dravidarkazhagam.org<br />
| country = India<br />
}}<br />
[[File:PeriyarEVRStamp.jpg |thumb|Periyar E V Ramaswamy, the founder of Dravidar Kazhagam]]<br />
{{Dravidian politics-col}}<br />
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'''Dravidar Kazhagam''' is a social movement founded by [[Periyar E. V. Ramasamy]], 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]]" (Dravidian nation) 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]].<br />
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== History ==<br />
Founded by [[Periyar E. V. Ramasamy]], the roots of the Dravidar Kazhagam lie in the [[Self-Respect Movement]] and [[Justice Party (India)|Justice Party]]. Periyar formed the Self-Respect Movement in 1925, breaking in the process from the [[Indian National Congress]] party, of which he had been a member until then. The Justice Party, formed in 1917, also claimed to promote similar interests. The two entities merged in 1938 under Periyar's leadership. The name was changed to Dravidar Kazhagam in 1944.<br />
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==Ideology==<br />
Being completely opposed to Brahminical social, political and ritual dominance of southern India, the primary purpose of the Dravida Kazhagam was to secure the complete independence of a [[Dravida Nadu|Dravidian Republic]] (Dravida Nadu). The party at its inception retained similar values to the Justice Party which had the views of a traditional type of [[Beam balance|balance]] signifying the idea of [[social equality|equality]].<ref name="Saraswathi-1">Saraswathi, S. (2004) ''Towards Self-Respect''. Institute of South Indian Studies, pp. 93 & 94</ref> Also being heavily influenced by Periyar's Self-Respect Movement it also adopted many of its goals and objectives. A few of these similarities was to eliminate the caste, class and creed divide amongst people to foster a balanced society, working towards the elimination of inequality and ensuring that men and women have equal opportunities towards all aspects of life and pushing for the eradication of superstitious beliefs based on religion.<ref>{{cite thesis|type=M.A.|last=Visswanathan|first=Ellappa S.|date=1973|title=The political career of E.V. Ramasami Naicker : a study in the politics of Tamilnad, 1920-1949|publisher=Australian National University, Canberra|url=https://openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/handle/1885/112063?mode=full|access-date=2020-06-05}}</ref><br />
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==Conflict years==<br />
As the party gained prominence, many in the party wanted to contest in the elections including [[C. N. Annadurai]]. However, Periyar argued that politics will force ideology to the background. With a straining relationship in the organization and Periyar marrying [[Annai E. V. R. Maniammai|Maniyammai]], who was more than 40 years younger than him, some members of the party broke up and formed the [[Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam]].<ref>{{cite news| title=The September which split Dravidians: Periyar weds Maniyammai, DMK is born |url=https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/september-which-split-dravidians-periyar-weds-maniyammai-dmk-born-49850 | website=The News Minute}}</ref> Periyar marrying a girl of younger age caused strains within organization and outside it.<ref>{{cite news | title=A stalwart of the Dravidian movement |url=https://www.thehindu.com/books/A-stalwart-of-the-Dravidian-movement/article16371222.ece#! | website=The Hindu | date=20 April 2020}}</ref> The organization was headed by Maniammai and later by [[K.Veeramani]] after her demise.<br />
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==Later years==<br />
Periyar's protests were largely symbolic and did not call for the destruction of private property or physically harming anyone. It based its interests on anti-[[Hindi language|Hindi]] and anti-Brahmin agitations and never became a full-fledged political party.<br />
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== Dravidar Kazhagam Flag ==<br />
[[File:Flag DK.png|thumb|The Dravida Kazhagam Flag]]<br />
The flag of Dravidar Kazhagam can trace its origins back to 1937. During that year, Hindi was made into a compulsory subject in South India. In reaction to this, E.V. Ramaswamy organised anti-Hindi protests in which a plain black flag was flown.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hardgrave|first=Robert|title=The Dravidian Movement|publisher=Popular Prakashan|year=1965|location=Bombay|pages=31}}</ref> From these protests, Periyar gained a large amount of popularity and went onto be elected as the president of the Justice Party a year later. When the Justice Party was rebranded as the Dravida Kazhagam in 1944, the party adopted its official flag. The design features red circle with a black background with the color black representing "the deprivations and the indignities that the Dravidians had to face under the strict Hindu religion" while Red represented "the tireless efforts taken to eliminate the ignorance and blind faith among the people and to free them from any kind of mental and materialistic exploitation".<ref>{{Cite book|last=Saraswathi|first=Srinivasan|title=Minorities in Madras State|publisher=Impex India|year=1974|location=Delhi|pages=87}}</ref><br />
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==Activities==<br />
The party often adopted a hard line approach and was often involved in mass attempts to change the system outright. One such incident involved bringing [[Adi Dravida]]s into the inner [[sanctum sanctorum]] of temples and threatening [[Brahmin]] priests to recite hymns in [[Tamil language|Tamil]] instead of [[Sanskrit]]. During [[Independence Day (India)|Indian independence]] in 1947, the party did not accept the same as Periyar viewed Independence as the transfer of power from [[British raj|British]] to the [[Brahmin]]-[[Bania (caste)|Bania]] combine who occupied all important positions. With a firm belief that caste-based reservations are the only way to empower the under-represented, they supported [[Reservation in India|reservations]] in education and employment right from 1919. Periyar was instrumental in introducing reservation in Tamil Nadu from 1921 even before independence {{citation needed|date=July 2020}}.<br />
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==Legacy==<br />
The organization laid the foundation for further [[Tamils|Tamil people]] involvement into politics. It enthused a new Tamil spirit that later on led to the formation of many parties that would eventually challenge the [[Indian National Congress]] stranglehold. Though it failed to achieve its grandiose idea of an independent Dravidian nation, it fostered a spirit of unity amongst the Dravidians, especially in opposing [[Hindi language]] in the seventies.<br />
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Dravida Kazhagam strongly rooted for the implementation of [[Mandal Commission]] report, which was later adopted by the [[Vishwanath Pratap Singh|V.P. Singh]] led government in 1990.<ref name="Gopalakrishnan">Gopalakrishnan, ''Periyar: Father of the Tamil race'', p. 52.</ref> It has also involved itself in the [[Srilankan Tamils]] issue and has been vocal in the support of [[LTTE]].<br />
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==References==<br />
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== External links ==<br />
* [http://www.dravidarkazhagam.org Dravidar Kazhagam] - official homepage of Dravidar Kazhagam<br />
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{{Dravidian politics-hor}}<br />
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[[Category:Political parties in Tamil Nadu]]<br />
[[Category:Dravidian movement]]<br />
[[Category:1938 establishments in India]]</div>2409:4072:6413:699B:0:0:B4:48AC