Iyothee Thassar & Tamil Buddhist Movement

G Aloysius
Iyothee Thassar & Tamil Buddhist Movement

This is a sociological study of a socio-religious movement among the Tamils during the colonial period. It investigates and brings to light for the first time, the forgotten movement of Buddhist reconstruction - the life and writings of Pandit Iyothee Thassar, the organization and activities of Sakya/South Indian Buddhist association and the birth and growth of the ideology of ant-Brahminism, Dravidianism and rationalism in the northern districts of Tamil Nadu, Bangalore, Kolar Gold Fields and Hubli of Karnataka as well as Burma, Ceylon, South Africa etc., wherever the Tamils had migrated as labourers during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Using primary sources - the movement's own massive literary output - journals, tracts - generally not available in archives and libraries, and in-depth interviews in the field, the study examines the various aspects of the reconstructed Tamil religion - its symbols, rituals, belief system and social practice.