Despite Periyar’s success in bringing about social justice, lot more needs to be done: K. Veeramani
K. Veeramani, leader of the Dravidar Kazhagam, reflects on the legacy of Periyar in advancing social justice and equality in India. He argues that despite progress, systemic issues like NEET and EWS quotas continue to marginalize oppressed classes.
Why it matters
It highlights the ongoing political debate in India regarding caste-based reservation policies and educational equity.
Founder of Dravidian Movement, Periyar tasted significant success in bringing about social justice for the betterment of the socially-oppressed classes, especially to uplift the women. But, still a lot more has to be done against NEET and reservation for economically weaker section that denied education to the oppressed classes and snatched their rights, said Dravidar Kazhagam leader, K. Veeramani.
He was addressing a public meeting to mark the 80th anniversary of Dravida Kazhagam meeting of 1946 held in Madurai during which the conference pandal was set on fire and DK cadres were assaulted by people who hated the ideologies of the movement.
“That day, Periyar prevented the huge crowd at the public meeting from retaliating stating that those fighting for ideology should learn to tolerate such attacks. Today, Periyar stands victorious in having cleaned up several repressive ideas of Manu Smrithi and Sanatana Dharma,” he said.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in