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www.GOALias.blogspot.com152Politics in India since IndependenceE.V.RamasamiNaicker(1879-1973):Known asPeriyar (therespected);strongsupporter of atheism; famousfor his anti-caste struggleand rediscovery of Dravididentity; initially a worker ofthe Congress party; startedthe self-respect movement(1925); led the anti-Brahminmovement; worked for theJustice party and later foundedDravid Kazhagam; opposedto Hindi and domination ofnorth India; propounded thethesis that north Indians andBrahmins are Aryans.Dravidian movement‘Vadakku Vaazhkirathu; Therkku Thaeikirathu’[The north thrives even as the south decays].This popular slogan sums up the dominantsentiments of one of India’s most effectiveregional movements, the Dravidian movement,at one point of time. This was one of the firstregional movements in Indian politics. Thoughsome sections of this movement had ambitionsof creating a Dravid nation, the movement didnot take to arms. It used democratic meanslike public debates and the electoral platformto achieve its ends. This strategy paid off asthe movement acquired political power inthe State and also became influential at thenational level.The Dravidian movement led to the formation ofDravida Kazhagam [DK] under the leadershipof Tamil social reformer E.V. Ramasami‘Periyar’. The organisation strongly opposedthe Brahmins’ dominance and affirmedregional pride against the political, economicand cultural domination of the North. Initially,the Dravidian movement spoke in terms ofthe whole of south India; however lack of support from other States limited themovement to Tamil Nadu.The DK split and the political legacy of themovement was transferred to DravidaMunnetra Kazhagam(DMK). The DMK madeits entry into politicswith a three prongedagitation in 1953-54.First, it demanded therestoration of the originalname of Kallakudi railwaystation which had beenrenamed Dalmiapuram,after an industrial housefrom the North. This demandbrought out its opposition tothe North Indian economicand cultural symbols. Thesecond agitation was forAnti-Hindi agitation in Tamil Nadu, 1965Credit: The Hindu