Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin unveils Periyar's portrait at Oxford University

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Thursday unveiled the portrait of EV Ramasamy (Periyar) at the University of Oxford in England.

In a post on X, CM Stalin said, "A revolution that redefined freedom! Chains fell, dignity rose! Thanthai Periyar's Self-Respect Movement shattered fundamentalisms, awakened dignity, nurtured a scientific temper, and made us a guiding light of social transformation. At #Oxford, I spoke with pride as an heir to #Periyar's legacy, honouring the revolution that turned centuries of subjugation into the eternal anthem of #SelfRespect."



'Oppression is my enemy', the rallying cry of Periyar now resonates at #Oxford," the Chief Minister said in a post on X.

E.V. 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.

Chief Minister Stalin said that borders do not bind Periyar's ideals of equality; they belong to humanity as a whole. "Before an assembly of international scholars, the movement that set ablaze caste tyranny and burned down barriers of gender in Tamil Nadu will be placed in dialogue with struggles worldwide for dignity, equality and freedom. Periyar's ideals of equality are not bounded by borders; they belong to humanity as a whole," he said.

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.