Periyar & Modernity

G Aloysius: Periyar & Modernity

Social Degradation (SamoogaIzhivu) of the mass of People With the Colonially abetted valorization, consolidation, subsequent nationalist legitimization and the gradual dovetailing within the emerging state structures, of selectively retrieved Brahminical way and view of life, the arrogance, aggression and aggrandizement of the various newly consolidated Brahminical groups in the social-public and political life of the country became pervasive, engulfing and was experienced as almost insufferable.6 ….

Self-respect is a Visceral Concept Periyar’s own and specific response to the engulfing social degradation he experienced and observed as being imposed on the Tamil society by the colonially valorized Brahminism was formulated as lack of and calling for a struggle towards, ‘self-respect’…..

“Our people still have not understood themselves properly and they do not care about their own self-respect. They should become conscious of the fact that the Aryan and we are different….. As long as our people remain slaves to the Aryan religion, our society will not achieve self-respect; they will not gain freedom either. In social sphere, we should first be freed from the Aryan domination. Because we became slaves to the Aryan, we have been branded as Sudhrar”. Kudi Arasu, 28-07-1940