Secular Movements of Modern India

Dravidian Movements
 Nature of Backward Class Movements
• The activities of the Christian missionaries to win
converts among lower castes and the various socio-
religious reform movement among the Hindus further
contributed to the growth of awareness among the
lower caste against Brahmin’s domination and the
oppressive nature of the caste system.
• This led to the emergence of various backward class
movements in early 20th century.
• The British Government also lent support to these
movements in order to weaken the freedom struggle.
• Some of the important backward class movement
which grew in early 20th century were:
• 1. Dravidian Movement
• 2. SNDP Movement
 Circumstances for the creation of
Dravidian Movement
• With the spread of Christianity and the western
education, the non Brahmin in the Madras
presidency region developed a new awareness as a
result of which resentment started growing among
them against the domination by Brahmin and
other higher castes in profession as well as in
politics, especially the Congress Party.
• They believed that, if they had to make successful
careers, the domination of Brahmins in
professional and political life had to be first
overthrown.
Cont…
• By 1914 this conflict between the emerging non-
Brahmin urban middle class and the establishment of
mostly Brahmin middle class and upper class took a
sharp turn.
• The non-Brahmin caste uniting themselves and the
Non-Brahmin Manifesto published in 1916 was
followed by the formation of South Indian
Association in 1917.
• After the Montague Chelmsford Reforms ‘South-
Indian Association’ was converted into Justice Party
to counter the political influence of the Congress.
 Arrival of Periyar
• However the Justice Party was a party of
urban educated professional middle class
elite in nature and therefore failed to build a
mass base.
• Soon after, the self-respect movement was
founded in 1925 by E.V. Ramaswami,
popularly known as Thanthai Periyar.
 Dravidian Ideology

• The self-respect movement was based on the

Dravidian ideology to save the non-Brahmin
from the tyranny of Brahmin who were
considered Aryans.
• The self-respect movement aimed at removing
the control of Brahmin from the social and
political level and sought to wean the people
away from the puranic ritualistic Hinduism
necessitating the presence of Brahmin priest.
 Creation of Dravida Kazhaham
• It considered the Brahmin as the symbol of all
exploitation.
• This movement was successful in appealing to the
masses and acquired a mass following.
• Finally the self-respect movement and Justice Party
were merged in 1944 to from Dravida Kazhaham
headed by Periyar.
• It adopted a militant mass agitational strategy and
advocated an egalitarian ideology condemning the
caste system.
Formation of Dravida Munnetra Kazhaham
• Later on in 1949, due to difference between the
Periyar and C. N. Annadurai who led the younger
section in the Dravida Kazhaham, there was a split
leading to the formation of Dravida Munnetra
Kazhaham.
• The majority of the rank and file of D.K. joined the
DMK. Initially the support base of DMK consisted of
the lower middle class, students, lower castes like
Nadars, Marwars and Adi Dravidians and unemployed
youth, etc.
• Cinema was one of the effective media which was
used by DMK to propagate its ideology and win a
mass base.
 Transformation
• A consequences of the DMK was the decline
in the domination of Brahmins in Tamil Nadu,
a new sense of release and freedom among
the lower castes.
• However, later on as DMK tried to capture
power, it gradually abandoned its reformist
zeal and even the demand for creation of a
separate Dravidian Nadu and acquired a
character of one of the mainstream political
parties with a rational support base.
Dravidian Movement
Role of Ayothee Dasa Pandithar
 Ayothee Dasa Pandithar
Dalit Consciousness in South India
• The basic components of Dalit consciousness that
emerged during the late 19th and early 20th century in
South India.
• The features of Dalit consciousness that was represented
by the Dalit thinker, Ayothee Dasa Pandithar (1845 -1914),
became popular among the depressed people.
• His writings were discovered and published very recently
(Volumes I & II in 1999 and Volume III in 2003) by their
editor G. Aloysious in three volumes.
• Interestingly, Ayothee Dasa Pandithar lived in an age just
immediately prior to Ambedkar and it seems that he has
come to associate the Dalit consciousness and revival of
Buddhism earlier to Ambedkar in south India.
Cont…
• Knowledge about Ayothee Dasa Pandithar challenges the
existing view that the Justice Party of the South Indian non-
Brahmins is the pioneer movement in popularizing the themes
of anti-Brahmanism, atheism, critique of Hinduism and caste
system.
• Ayothee Dasa’s construction of Dalit consciousness in Tamil
context at the wake of 20th century is pertinent to understand
the appearance of Marxist ideology in Tamil region because M.
Singaravelu (1860-1946), celebrated as the first communist of
South India, started his political career along with Ayothee Dasa
Pandithar, too participated in the Buddhist revival in South India
and entered into certain debates with Ayothee Dasa to get
evolved into a communist after the demise of the latter.
• He participated in the Round Table Conferences along with B.R.
Ambedkar.
Shri Narayana Dharma Paripalanam

SNDP Movement
 Shri Narayana Dharma Paripalana
(SNDP) Movement
• The untouchable Ezhavas or Iravas of Kerala
clustered around the religious leader Shri
Narayana Guru (1855-1928), who formed the
Sri Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam
(SNDPY) in 1902-3.
• It organized some temple entry rights
movements.
Shri Narayana Guru
 Historical Background
• This movement was based on the approach of
reinterpreting Hindu religion in search of self-
determination.
• The Sri Narayana Dharam Paripalana Movement
was the movement for the propagation of Sri
Narayana Guru Swamy's philosophy among the
Izhavas (toddy tappars) of Kerala.
• Until 1935 the Izhavas belonged to the
Scheduled Caste category.
• They were considered to be unapproachable by
the other castes.
Cont…
• Izhavas that formed about 26% of the Kerala's total
population suffered from many religious, political and
economic disabilities.
• Around the turn of the century a charismatic leader Sri
Narayan Guru Swamy gave them a new religion of one
God and one caste which transformed their life styles and
outlook.
• He established a set of religious institutions parallel to
that of the variety of Brahmanical Hinduism.
• This helped Izhavas both to gain self-respect and to adopt
a protest ideology to challenge the religious, economic,
educational and political supremacy the upper castes.
 Causes for the Movement

• This movement was lunched among the Izhavas of

Keral by their leader Narayan Guru.
• Traditionally, Izhavas were an untouchable castes of
Toddy Trappers e.g. they had to stay away thirty four
feet from the Namboodhari Brahmins.
• They suffered from many other disabilities both social
and ritual.
• They were denied access to Hindu temples or to the
bathing tank of Hindus.
• Their women were not allowed to cover their breast
or to wear any footwear, nor could they build good
house.
Cont…
• In the later part of the 19th century with the
spread of modern humanistic and secular
ideas and also the spread of egalitarian -ideas
through Christianity, Izhavas came to view
their situation as one of the deprivation and
exploitation.
• Under the charismatic leadership of Sri
Narayan Guru they rejected Brahminical
domination and development a new
interpretation of Hinduism.
• Next according to MSA Rao, they adopted the
strategy of withdrawal and self organisation.
 Ideology
• The new ideology was based on the principle
of self-respect, honour and worth of
individual.
• It was an ideology of protest against the
Brahminical values system of hierarchy and
pollution.
• S.N. Guru established a parallel source of
legitimacy by establishing new institutions
like temple priest, monk and monasteries.
 Achievements
• Later T.V. Madhavan led the Vaikum Temple
Road Entry Movement in 1927, under the
patronage of Mahatma Gandhi.
• After the two years of sustained Satyagraha the
Izhavas were granted the right to use the road
which ran near the Vaikum Temple which was
woned by upper caste.
• This was a historic victory against orthodox ideas
of pollution.
• Thus, the leaders of the movement were able to
achieve for their followers all the basic rights in
the field of religion, education, employment and
politics.
Cont…
• The SNDP movement represented one of the most
successful attempts of the untouchable castes to alter
the traditional balance of power besides improving
their own positions.
• It also demonstrated that it was possible to remain
within the fold of Hinduism and yet escape from the
stigma of untouchability.
• The new awareness arose among Izhavas tribes.
• The movement motivated them to take to modern
education which in the long run enabled them to aces
to the modern occupation and professions which
carried high rewards in terms of prestige and wealth.
• Thus Izhavas as a community successfully raised their
status in society by the contribution of SNDP
movement.