Newspapers laid the foundation for popularising the ideology of Dravidar Kazhagam: Veeramani

G. Viswanathan, chancellor of VIT University, Vellore, spoke about the importance of Periyar in the society. Dravidian parties should not let go of the rationalist ideals of Periyar and political ideals of Perarignar Anna, says the educationist

Dravidar Kazhagam president K. Veeramani on Friday said that the party was known by its ideology among the common people who would refer to Dravidar Kazhagam ‘as a party that says there is no God’ and this foundation was laid by newspapers.

At a function to release ‘The Modern Rationalist Annual Number 2022’ at the Periyar Thidal where the book was presented to Sergey Azarov, Consul General, Russian Federation, Mr. Veeramani said, “Sir PT Thyagarayar had published a weekly newspaper called ‘Non-Brahmin’ but not a single copy is available. Dr. Nair had been publishing a newspaper called ‘Antiseptic’. If you want to refer to ‘Justice’ newspaper, you need to go to Connemara library or come to Periyar Thidal. Periyar had started a newspaper named ‘Revolt’ in 1928 (and other newspapers like The Modern Rationalist, Kudiyarasu, Viduthalai) and despite not knowing English, he was editor for three years after the other editor left the newspaper. When Periyar was told that there were many spelling mistakes, Periyar said that he was running the paper for ideological reasons and the readers who know English will correct the mistakes and read it.”

Mr. Veeramani said that only 7% knew how to read and write at the time but efforts of Periyar (and Dravidian movement) ensured that 7% became 60%. 

Mr. Azarov also spoke about the importance of Dravidian movement in Tamil Nadu. “Dravidian movement has been a strong vehicle for establishing social justice. Periyar visited USSR way back in 1932. He travelled around the country for 3 months — from South to Moscow and Leningrad. He also visited most symbolic places in the country like Red Square, Bolshevik Theatre. In Moscow, he met a number of leaders including Mikhail Kalinin who was the formal head of the Soviet Union at the time,” he recalled and added that it was important to strengthen Russia-India friendship during these turbulent times. 

G. Viswanathan, chancellor, VIT University, Vellore, said that an example of how important Periyar was to the society was when a Judge from Bihar told him that Periyar was the difference between North and South. Mr. Viswanathan said that while the north was significant politically, the south grew economically as it prioritised education. All States must grow together if India has to grow. “This is a federal country; India cannot grow unless all states grow together,” he said.

Mr. Viswanathan added, “States that have better indices in education often do well in economy as well. There is an attempt to remove English from India in northern states and there are attempts to do it in Tamil Nadu as well where we have an advantage. I wonder how our economy would grow if superstition and imposition of Hindi are encouraged. Dravidian parties and organisations should strive to protect its values. Merely having ‘Dravida’ in the name isn’t enough. Sometimes during the elections, Dravidian parties have to compromise a bit. But they should not let go of the rationalist ideals of Periyar and political ideals of Perarignar Anna.”

Former Editor of Frontline, Vijayasankar Ramachandran, spoke about the dangers of Hindu right wing movement in India.