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100 years of the Self-Respect Movement
September 9 , 2025
17 hrs 0 min
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- The year 2025 marks the centenary of the Self-Respect Movement, which began in 1925 in Tamil Nadu.
- Social reformer E.V. Ramasamy formally launched the movement through the Tamil weekly Kudi Arasu.
- It aims to eradicate the caste system, encourage rational thinking, and oppose the dominance of Brahminical traditions.
- Its objectives were outlined in two pamphlets - Namathu Kurikkol and Tiravitak Kalaka Lateiyam.
- Two prominent female leaders of the movement were Annai Meenambal and Veeramal.
- The Self-Respect Movement introduced reforms like self-respect marriages, widow remarriage, women’s right to property, and inter-caste marriages.
- Periyar promoted rationalism, women’s rights, and social equality over political independence.
- The movement empowered non-Brahmin masses and created ideological space for future Dravidian politics.
- The Justice Party, launched in 1916, laid the groundwork but remained confined to the elite until Periyar mobilised the broader population.
- The Self-Respect Movement is recognised for pushing major structural reforms in Tamil society and questioning entrenched hierarchies.
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