Indian social reformer (1879-1973)
Periyar Erode Venkata Ramasamy
(Tamil: பெரியார், Kannada: ಪೆರಿಯಾರ್; 17 September 1879 – 24 December 1973), also known as Ramaswami, EVR, Thanthai Periyar, or Periyar, was a Dravidian social activist and former politician from India, who founded the Self-Respect Movement and Dravidar Kazhagam.
From: Wikiquote (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Native Name:
ಈರೋಡು ವೆಂಕಟ ರಾಮಸ್ವಾಮಿ
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ఈరోడ్ వేంకట రామస్వామి
Alternative Names:
LabdeKaBaal
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DevdiyaPayale
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PundaNakkiAlwar
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KarunaDickSucker
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Periyappa
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LK Baal
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Periyar E. V. Ramasamy
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Erode Venkata Ramasamy Naicker
From Wikidata (CC0)
“For more than 40 years, I have been describing Tamil as a barbarous language (Kattumirandi Mozhi) used only by barbarians. When Brahmins and the Brahmin-dominated government wanted to make Hindi a State language, I started, to a very limited extent, advocating the promotion of Tamil language only to oppose the imposition of Hindi language.
Man treats woman as his own property and not as being capable of feelings, like himself. The way man treats women is much worse than the way landlords treat servants and the high-caste treat the low-caste. These treat them so demeaningly only in situations mutually affecting them; but men treat cruelly and as slaves, from their birth till death.
We do not need to explain how the Aryans entered and settled in the Dravidian country (tira¯vit»a na¯» t»u), and subjugated and oppressed the Dravidians. Nor do we need to explain how before the Aryans entered the Dravidian country, the Dravidian country had a civilization and arts of the highest rank.
Comrades, we are the original inhabitants and descendants of the race that ruled this land. We are second to no other race in pride, valor, intelligence, force and civilization. Yet a small group of barbaric, nomadic, non-working race of usurpers has enslaved us for thousands of years. This minority race had no weapons like swords. Yet they have reduced us to the level of beasts while they have acquired for themselves economics, politics and theology.