NydiaSilverman2 at 22:01, 11 February 2026

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{{pp-extended|small=yes}}
{{AI-generated|date=August 2025}}
{{Short description|Political movement in British India}}
{{Dravidian politics-col}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=August 2019}}
The '''Dravidian movement''' started in [[British India]] with the formation of the [[Justice Party (India)|Justice Party]] on 20 November 1916 in [[Victoria Public Hall]] in [[Madras]] by [[C. Natesa Mudaliar]] along with [[T. M. Nair]] and [[P. Theagaraya Chetty]] as a result of a series of non-Brahmin conferences and meetings in the presidency.

Communal division between [[Brahmin]]s and non-Brahmins began in the presidency during the late-19th and early-20th century, mainly due to caste prejudices and disproportionate Brahmins representation in government jobs. The Justice Party's foundation marked the culmination of several efforts to establish an organisation to represent the non-Brahmins in [[Madras Presidency]].<ref name="FishmanGarcia2010">{{cite book|author1=Joshua Fishman|author2=Ofelia Garcia|title=Handbook of Language and Ethnic Identity:The Success-Failure Continuum in Language and Ethnic Identity Efforts (Volume 2): The Success-Failure Continuum in Language and Ethnic Identity Efforts|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OBoSDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA230|access-date=7 July 2016|year=2010|publisher=Oxford University Press, USA|isbn=978-0-19-539245-6|pages=230–}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/tamil-nadu-politics-history-dravidian-movement-brahmins-lower-caste-casteism-madras-presidency-4388452/ | title=A century of reform The Dravidian movement has left its progressive imprint on Tamil Nadu| work=Manuraj Shunmugasundaram | publisher=The Indian Express | date=22 November 2016 | access-date=8 August 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.outlookindia.com/magazine/story/the-inner-grammar-of-dissent-lives/298224 | title=The Inner Grammar Of Dissent Lives | publisher=Outlook India | work=K.S. Chalam | date=12 December 2016 | access-date=8 August 2018}}</ref>

==Background==

===Brahmin/non-Brahmin divide===
The [[Brahmin]]s in [[Madras Presidency]] enjoyed a higher position in India's [[social hierarchy]]. By the 1850s, [[Telugu Brahmins]] and [[Tamil Brahmins]] comprising only 3.2% of the population began to increase their political power by filling most of the jobs which were open to Indian men at that time.<ref name="Irschick">{{Harvnb|Irschick|1969| pp=1–26}}</ref> They dominated the administrative services and the newly created urban professions in the 19th and early 20th century.<ref>{{cite book | title=Competitive elections in developing countries| author=[[Myron Weiner]] and Ergun Ozbudun| year=1987| pages=61| publisher=American Enterprise Institute| isbn=0-8223-0766-9}}</ref> The higher literacy and English language proficiency among Brahmins were instrumental in this ascendancy. The political, social, and economical divide between Brahmins and non-Brahmins became more apparent in the beginning of the 20th century. This breach was further exaggerated by [[Annie Besant]] and her [[Indian Home Rule Movement|Home Rule for India]] movement. The following table shows the distribution of selected jobs among different caste groups in 1912 in Madras Presidency.<ref name="Irschick"/><ref>{{cite book | title=Tamil renaissance and Dravidian nationalism, 1905–1944| author=K. Nambi Arooran| year=1980| pages=37}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Caste group
! Deputy collectors
! Sub judges
! District Munsifs
! % of total <br/>male population
|-
|align=left| Brahmins
|align=center| 77
|align=center |15
|align=center |93
|align=center |3.2
|-
|align=left| non-Brahmin Hindus
|align=center |30
|align=center |3
|align=center |25
|align=center|85.6
|-
|align=left| Muslims
|align=center |15
|align=center |nil
|align=center |2
|align=center |6.6
|-
|align=left| Indian Christians
|align=center |7
|align=center |nil
|align=center |5
|align=center |2.7
|-
|align=left| Europeans and Eurasians
|align=center |11
|align=center |nil
|align=center |3
|align=center| .1
|}

The dominance of Brahmins was also evident in the membership of the [[Madras Legislative Council]]. During 1910–20, eight out of the nine official members (appointed by the Governor of Madras) were Brahmins. Apart from the appointed members, Brahmins also formed the majority of the members elected to the council from the district boards and municipalities. During this period the Madras Province Congress Committee (regional branch of the [[Indian National Congress]]) was also dominated by Brahmins. Of the 11 major newspapers and magazines in the presidency, two (''[[The Madras Mail]]'' and ''Madras Times'') were run by Europeans sympathetic to the crown, three were evangelical non–political periodicals, four (''[[The Hindu]]'', ''Indian Review'', ''Swadesamithran'' and ''Andhra Pathrika'') were published by Brahmins while New India, run by [[Annie Besant]] was sympathetic to the Brahmins. This dominance was denounced by the non-Brahmin leaders in the form of pamphlets and open letters written to the Madras Governor. The earliest examples of such pamphlets are the ones authored by the pseudonymous author calling himself "fair play" in 1895. By the second decade of the 20th century, the Brahmins of the presidency were themselves divided into three factions.<ref name="rajaraman2">{{Harvnb|Rajaraman|1988| loc=ch. 2 (The Genesis of the Justice Party)}}</ref> These were the [[Mylapore]] faction comprising [[Chetpet]] [[Iyer]]s and [[Vembakkam]] [[Iyengars]], the [[Egmore]] faction led by the editor of ''[[The Hindu]]'', [[Kasturi Ranga Iyengar]] and the [[Salem (India)|Salem]] nationalists led by [[C. Rajagopalachari]]. A fourth non-Brahmin faction rose to compete with them and became the Justice party.<ref name="Irschick21">{{Harvnb|Irschick|1986| pp=30–31}}</ref>

== Telugu power struggle Angle ==
Dravidian movement is a power struggle between Telugu brahmin and Telugu non-brahmins. Native Tamizhs - ''both brahmins and non-brahmins'' - have been used as proxies. Key players in Dravidian politics, have historically been Telugus.

The Vijayanagar empire used Telugu Balija generals and Telugu Niyogi Brahmins to control Tamizh regions. Native Tamil Brahmins and [[Nithyananda#:~:text=Nithyananda was born Arunachalam Rajasekaran,to the Saiva Vellala community.|Vellalars]] were also used alongside.

Tanjore and [[Tirumala Nayaka|Madurai Balija Nayak]] administrators broke free from the empire, and indedpendently ruled Tamizh regions for over 200 years - in the 16th and 17th centuries. They were then defeated by the [[Tyagaraja|Marathas]]. Nayak descendants were the last dynasty to rule, the [[Nayaks of Kandy|Sri Lankan]] kingdom of Kandy.

The Telugu Nayaks would appoint Telugu families as rulers and zamindars in Tamizh nadu. This made these families very rich and powerful - like [[PSG Group|PSG group]] of Coimbatore.

These Telugu zamindars enjoyed power in the British period too. Out of 10 Chief Ministers of the Madras Presidency, 6 were from Telugu non-brahmin families and 2 were from Telugu Brahmin families.

The infamous Keezhvenmani massacre's chief perpeterator was Gopalakrishnan Naidu, a Telugu zamindar.

E V Ramaswamy Naicker of the Dravidian movement himself was a Kannada Balija, from a rich zamindar family. Karunanidhi is also of Telugu ancestry.

Vijayakanth, the famous Tamil actor and politician was again a Telugu Balija.

Telugu Brahmins too wielded much influence.

Gopanna the Vijayanagar army general who defeated the Madurai Sultanate was a Niyogi Brahmin.

Founder of RSS, Keshav Baliram Hegdewar was a Telugu Brahmin. [[Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan|Sarvepalli]] Radhakrishnan and P V Narasimha Rao were also [[P. V. Narasimha Rao|Niyogi]] Brahmins. Subramaniam Swamy has Telugu origins.

Even the [[Adi Shankara|powerful Namboodris]] of Kerala, are said to have split off from Telugu Brahmins.

=== History and Caste Reconfiguration within the Dravidian Movement ===

The Dravidian movement, originating in the early 20th century, emerged as a rationalist, anti-caste, and anti-Brahmin socio-political initiative. Influenced by figures such as [[Iyothee Thass]], [[E. V. Ramasamy]] (Periyar), and [[Singaravelu Chettiar]], the movement critiqued the [[Vedic]]-[[Brahmin]]ical order as a form of religious and cultural domination over the indigenous Dravidian population. Its early support base included marginalized castes—particularly [[Scheduled Castes]] and [[Backward Classes]]—seeking educational access, social equality, and temple rights.

The formation of the '''Justice Party''' in 1916 marked the political foundation of the movement, followed by the launch of the '''Self-Respect Movement''' in 1925 and later the '''Dravidar Kazhagam (DK)'''. These organizations promoted atheism, Tamil linguistic pride, and the abolition of caste and religion.<ref name="Viswanathan">Viswanathan, Gauri. "Secularism in the Framework of Heterodoxy." In ''Outside the Fold: Conversion, Modernity, and Belief''. Princeton University Press, 1998.</ref>

By the mid-20th century, however, as the movement transitioned into electoral politics via the '''Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)''' and its offshoots, dominant non-Brahmin '''landlord castes''' such as the [[Balija Naidu]] ,Reddy, Nair ,Mudaliyar ,Vellalar, communities increasingly came to control its leadership and material networks. While these castes had historically positioned themselves against Brahminical dominance, they retained significant socio-economic privilege and often reproduced caste hierarchies in their own image.

This led to a transformation in the movement’s social justice framework. Scholars describe it as a shift toward '''graded inequality'''—where anti-Brahmin rhetoric was retained but hierarchical privilege was preserved by newly dominant castes. As electoral pragmatism took priority, radical anti-caste ideals were moderated in favor of '''caste-based patronage politics'''. Dalit and most [[Other Backward Classes|MBC]] communities remained underrepresented in leadership and state power structures.

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Transition of Power within the Dravidian Movement
! Period !! Dominant Ideology !! Key Leaders !! Dominant Castes in Control !! Political Outcome
|-
| 1916–1944 || Anti-Brahminism, Rationalism, Anti-Hinduism || [[Periyar]], [[Iyothee Thass]] || Broad non-Brahmin base including Dalits || Justice Party, DK formation
|-
| 1944–1967 || Anti-casteism, Tamil nationalism, Atheism || [[Periyar]], [[C. N. Annadurai]] || Vellalars, Mudaliars, Naidus rise || Birth of DMK; electoral transition
|-
| 1967–present || Welfare populism, Soft Dravidianism || [[M. Karunanidhi]], [[M. G. Ramachandran]], [[M. K. Stalin]] || Dominant intermediary castes retain power || Consolidation of DMK/AIADMK rule
|}

Though the Dravidian movement began as a radical project for caste annihilation, its institutionalization led to the entrenchment of new elites. Critics argue that the movement, while discursively anti-Brahmin, ultimately enabled the rise of a new caste elite under the guise of '''Dravidian secularism and social justice'''.

==References==
{{reflist}}

===Works cited===
*{{cite book |title=Political and Social Conflict in South India; The non-Brahmin movement and Tamil Separatism, 1916–1929 |last=Irschick |first=Eugene F. |year=1969 |oclc=249254802 |publisher=University of California Press |url=https://archive.org/stream/PoliticsAndSocialConflictInSouthIndia/Politics-And-Social-Conflict-In-South-India_djvu.txt}}
*{{cite book |title=Tamil revivalism in the 1930s |last=Irschick |first=Eugene F. |year=1986 |oclc=15015416 |publisher=Cre-A |url=http://history.berkeley.edu/faculty/Irschick/Tamil.pdf |location=Madras |access-date=4 March 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100610180818/http://history.berkeley.edu/faculty/Irschick/Tamil.pdf |archive-date=10 June 2010 |url-status=dead}}
*{{cite book |last=Rajaraman |first=P. |title=The Justice Party: a historical perspective, 1916–37 |publisher=Poompozhil Publishers |year=1988 |url=http://dspace.vidyanidhi.org.in:8080/dspace/handle/2009/4745 |oclc=20453430 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721181607/http://dspace.vidyanidhi.org.in:8080/dspace/handle/2009/4745 |archive-date=21 July 2011}}

[[Category:Dravidian movement| ]]
[[Category:Anti-caste movements]]
[[Category:Politics of the Madras Presidency]]

Dravidian movement - Revision history

NydiaSilverman2 at 22:01, 11 February 2026