Self-esteem movement

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The self-esteem movement ( English : Self-Respect Movement , Tamil : சுயமரியாதை இயக்கம் Cuyamariyātai Iyakkam [ sujəmarɨjaːd̪ɛi̯ ijʌkːʌm ] or தன்மான இயக்கம் Taṉmāṉa Iyakkam [ t̪anmaːnə ijʌkːʌm ]) or self-respect League (English: Self-Respect League ) was an existing 1926-1944 social reform organization in present-day Indian state of Tamil Nadu . It was led by EV Ramasami (Periyar) and is part of the Dravidian movement . The self-respect movement turned against the caste system and the postulated social superiority of the Brahmins . Her aim was to give Tamil non-Brahmans a sense of "self-respect" based on their Dravidian identity. In 1944 the self-esteem movement merged with the Justice Party to form the Dravidar Kazhagam organization .

founding

EV Ramasami

The self-respect movement was founded in 1926 by S. Ramanathan (1896–1970). Ramanathan was a young non-Brahmin lawyer and at the time still a member of the Indian National Congress , which stood for Indian independence under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi . Ramanathan was chairman of the All India Spinners' Association founded by Gandhi , which promoted the production of khadi (hand-spun cotton) as an alternative to the imported goods introduced by the British colonial rulers. Like many other non-Brahmin Congress politicians in Tamil Nadu, Ramanathan was disappointed by the dominance of the Brahmins in the Congress Party and by the positions of Gandhi, who defended the Orthodox caste system. Therefore, in 1926, he founded the self-respect movement as a social reform organization. He wore the chairmanship of EV Ramasami (alias Periyar, 1879-1973), who at the time was the most influential non-Brahmin congressional politician in Tamil Nadu, but had also become estranged from the party. Most of the other founding members of the self-respect movement were also recruited from the Congress Party.

The self-respect movement was initially not very active before EV Ramasami, like S. Ramanathan, left the Congress party in 1927. From then on, Ramasami concentrated on the self-esteem movement and made it the vehicle of his social reform agenda. The self-respect movement quickly grew into an organization with a large number of members. By 1928 it had around sixty branches in all Tamil-speaking districts of Madras Province and around 4,000 members. By 1933 the number rose to 117 branches with over 10,000 members. The self-esteem movement was not involved in party politics, but acted with public campaigns and propaganda activities. A number of magazines served as a mouthpiece: EV Ramasami had already published the magazine Kudi Arasu (“people's rule”) since 1924 and, from 1935, the Viduthalai (“freedom”), both in Tamil. In order to reach the English-speaking educated classes, S. Ramanathan founded the English-language magazine Revolt in 1928 .

Ideological consolidation under EV Ramasami

The ideology of the self-respect movement was essentially determined by its chairman EV Ramasami. Ramasami opposed the postulated social dominance of the Brahmins , who, according to the normative Varna model, hold the highest position in the caste system. He therefore called for the abolition of the caste system on which, from his point of view, Brahmanic dominance was based. He also rejected Hinduism as the basis of the caste system and criticized Hindu mythology such as the epic Ramayana . Instead of the rituals carried out by Brahmin priests, he tried to introduce non-religious ceremonies such as the so-called " self-respect marriages" . Ramasami linked his anti-Brahmanism with the prevailing discourses about Aryans and Dravids at the time : starting from the thesis that the caste system was founded when the Aryans who immigrated from outside to India had subjugated the native Dravids and declared them to be low-casted, Ramasami considered them Brahmins as Aryans and the non-Brahmins as Dravids. He rejected the Sanskrit language as Aryan as well as all cultural influences from "Aryan" northern India.

In 1929 the first provincial "self-respecting conference" took place in Chingleput , at which it was decided, among other things, that all members of the self-respecting movement would discard their surnames, which indicated belonging to a caste, as a sign of rejection of the caste system. In addition, a resolution was passed in which non-Brahmans were asked not to visit temples where Brahmin priests were active. This led to bitter backlash on the part of the Brahmins, but also among orthodox non-Brahmans, who accused the self-respect movement of atheism . Nonetheless, the self-respect movement continued its anti-religious propaganda in the early 1930s and extended it to other religions such as Christianity . At the same time she increasingly turned to class struggle positions and began to propagate communism based on the Soviet model.

In 1937 the self-esteem movement organized mass protests against the decision of the Congress-led government of Madras to introduce the North Indian language Hindi as a compulsory subject in the provincial schools. While the Congress Party propagated Hindi as an all-Indian lingua franca , supporters of the self-respect movement saw Hindi as an Aryan language and its introduction as a Brahmin-North Indian conspiracy against Tamil. E. V. Ramasami was a driving force behind the protests and was sentenced to prison. In connection with the anti-Hindi protests, the self-esteem movement began to take Tamil nationalist positions. In 1938 EV Ramasami raised the demand for an independent Dravid state: Analogous to the founding of Pakistan , which was demanded by the Muslim League at that time , the Dravids should get their own state Dravida Nadu ("Dravidian Land").

Relationship with the Justice Party and merger with Dravidar Kazhagam

At the same time as the self-esteem movement existed the Justice Party , a political party that also represented a decidedly anti-Rahman program and propagated the Dravidian identity of non-Brahmans. The Justice Party was less radical in its ideology than the self-respect movement. In addition, it was mainly worn by members of non-Brahmin elite castes, while the self-respect movement also found supporters among the lower social classes. Nevertheless, there were personal overlaps between the self-respect movement and the Justice Party. E. V. Ramasami himself had turned to the Justice Party in 1935. This led to S. Ramanathan, who disapproved of Ramasami's support for the Justice Party, resigning from the self-respect movement.

After the Justice Party, which had been the government of Madras province since 1930, suffered a crushing defeat by the Congress Party in the 1937 elections to the provincial parliament, it hoped to benefit from the widespread popularity of the self-respect movement. In 1938, E. V. Ramasami, who was in custody for his involvement in the anti-Hindi protests, was elected chairman of the Justice Party. Ramasami then formed the Justice Party according to his ideas and enforced that the self-respect movement and the Justice Party united in 1944 to form the Dravidar Kazhagam organization (DK, "Union of Dravids").

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ E. Sat Visswanathan: The Political Career of EV Ramasami Naicker. A Study in the Politics of Tamilnadu, 1920-1949. Ravi & Vasanth, Madras 1983, pp. 71-72.
  2. ↑ Visswanathan 1983, pp. 91-92.
  3. ^ Eugene F. Irschick: Politics and Social Conflict in South India. The Non-Brahman Movement and Tamil Separatism, 1916-1929. Berkley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1969, pp. 334-335.
  4. ↑ Anita Diehl: EV Ramaswami Naicker-Periyar. A Study of the Influence of a Personality in Contemporary South India. Lund: Scandinavian University Books, 1977, pp. 61-66.
  5. ↑ Diehl 1977, pp. 41-50.
  6. ↑ Diehl 1977, pp. 70-73.
  7. ↑ Visswanathan 1983, pp. 93-95.
  8. ↑ Visswanathan 1983, pp. 98-107.
  9. ↑ Visswanathan 1983, pp 149-154.
  10. ^ Marguerite Ross Barnett: The Politics of Cultural Nationalism in South India. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1976, p. 53.
  11. ↑ Visswanathan 1983: pp. 78-82.
  12. ↑ Visswanathan 1983, p. 175.
  13. ↑ Jakob Rösel: The shape and emergence of Tamil nationalism. Duncker and Humblot, Berlin 1997, pp. 55-57.
  14. ^ Robert L. Hardgrave: The Dravidian Movement. In: Essays in the Political Sociology of South India. Usha Publ., New Delhi 1979, pp. 1-80, here pp. 27-28.

literature

  • Marguerite Ross Barnett: The Politics of Cultural Nationalism in South India. Princeton University Press, Princeton (New Jersey) 1976.
  • Anita Diehl: EV Ramaswami Naicker-Periyar. A Study of the Influence of a Personality in Contemporary South India. Scandinavian University Books, Lund 1977.
  • Robert L. Hardgrave Jr .: The Dravidian Movement. In: Essays in the Political Sociology of South India. Usha Publications, New Delhi 1979. pp. 1-80.
  • Eugene F. Irschick: Politics and Social Conflict in South India. The Non-Brahman Movement and Tamil Separatism, 1916-1929. University of California Press, Berkley / Los Angeles 1969.
  • Jakob Rösel: The Shape and Origin of Tamil Nationalism . Duncker and Humblot, Berlin 1997.
  • E. Sa. Visswanathan: The Political Career of EV Ramasami Naicker. A Study in the Politics of Tamilnadu, 1920-1949 . Ravi & Vasanth, Madras 1983.