THE ECONOMIC WEEKLY September 26, 1964 Book Review The Dravida Movement

R Jayaraman

"History of DMK - 1916-1962" by T M Parthasarathy, Madras, 1963. Written in Tamil. Published by Pari Nilayam, 59 Broadway, Madras-1; pp 640, price Rs 4.

N recent years sociologists and to assert the rights of non-Brahmans call for the promotion of the interests I social anthropologists have start­ against the dominant position of the of 'Dravidians' did not end with the ed conducting enquiries into Indian Brahmans, the DMK has not been ex­ Justice Party, and that responsibility political institutions. Many of these plicitly anti-Brahmanical in its aims was taken over by the Dravida Kaza­ sociological studies, based on inten­ and programmes. Stated briefly then gam. The DK, founded in 1942 by sive fieldwork experience in specific the history of the movement may be E V Ramasami Naicker (Who is popu­ areas in India, focus attention on the outlined in three phases largely cor­ larly known as Periyar or 'the Elder') importance of social factors in the responding to the development of the aimed at the organisation of 'Dravi­ political processes of the country. three organisations. dians' towards the goal of 'self respect' These studies show, in particular, the Justice Party (suyamariyathai). The establishment of role of caste affiliations in the politics the DK in itself should be considered of the country. However, there is no The call for the promotion of the as the culmination of the suyamariya­ single comprehensive sociological work interests of 'Dravidians' was given that movement which was set in mo­ on the contemporary history of India. first by the Thenindeya Nala Urumai tion right from the hayday of the This is a great lacuna in our studies Sangam (South Indian Welfare Society Justice Party. Periyar, the founder- on modern India which needs to be or Party) which was founded in 1916. leader of the DK, advocated that the urgently filled. The move for establishing such a so­ non-Brahmans, i e, persons other than ciety was initiated by Sir P Thyaga- the Brahmans, in Tamilnad should No study on contemporary Indian rayar. At the time of its establishment oppose anybody calling them non- problems will be complete without any the Society consisted of such eminent Brahmans but should consider them­ reference to the various socio-political non-Brahman leaders as Dr T M Nair, selves as belonging to the 'Dravidian movements which arose in the early Dr C Natesa Mudaliar, Raja of Panagal race'. Periyar also propagated the years of this century as a protest and Sir A Ramasami Mudaliar. The positive identity of non-Brahmans as against the domination of certain sec­ Society started running three daily members of a 'Dravidian nation' en­ tions of population in different parts newspapers, one in English called titled to sovereign independence from of India. The Dravida Kazagam (DK) Justice, another in Tamil called Dra- the Indian union. This ideology found and the Dravida Munnetra Kazagam vidan and the third one in Telegu expression in slogans such as 'thamezar (DMK) movement in Tamilnad are one called Andera Prakashani. This Society nadu thamezarukke' (Tamilnad belongs such development in peninsular India. was later on popularly called the to only Tamilians) and 'Dravida nadu 'Justice Party' after the title of its Genesis of D M K Dravidarukke' (the land of the Dravi­ English newspaper. The Justice Party dians belongs only to Dravidians). Today the DK and DMK play an contested the 'election' in 1920 and The hold of E V Ramasami Naicker important part in the social and poli­ formed the first-ever Indian 'cabinet' on the movement did not last long. tical life of the people of Tamilnad. in Madras in 1921. The Justice Party His influence was considerably curtail­ In recent years these two organisations had put up candidates again during ed by the establishment of the DMK. have come to attract nation-wide atten­ the 1923 election and it formed the tion as a result of their militant and second cabinet in the following year. D K and DMK: The Differences separatist activities. To understand the But in the elections held in 1926 the The DMK was formed in 1949 by present position of the DK and DMK Justice Party could not secure a majo­ some of the ambitious followers of movement in the country it is very rity of seats in the State Legislature Periyar under the leadership of C N necessary to trace its history. There and lost the control of the State to Annadurai (who is popularly known as are not very many authentic histori­ the Swarajya Party. The Justice Party Aringar Anna or Learned Elder Bro­ cal accounts on the DK and DMK never completely recovered from the ther), when Periyar—at that time a movements in Tamilnad. The few that defeat of 1926, though it lingered on man of 72—married a girl of 28 years. are available do not give a complete as a party till 1936. The general elec­ Though the followers of Anna had picture of the movement. Therefore, tions in 1936 gave the last blow to differences with Periyar on the mar­ T M Parthasarathy's comprehensive the Justice Party, for no member be­ riage question, the differences were book is very welcome. longing to the party was elected to more deep-rooted. The DMK as an the State Legislature. The image of The DK and DMK movement has organisation differed from DK in its the Justice Party as the organisation its genesis in the Brahman—non- principles and objectives. In the first of rich landlords and Western-edu­ Brahman conflict. The Brahman—non- place, DK under the control of a single cated upper-caste non-Brahman intel­ Brahman conflict in Tamilnad has been person, the Periyar, was not a well- lectuals of Tamilnad and Telegu coun­ associated with three organisations, knit organisation. The DMK. on the try contributed, to a certain extent, first the Justice Party, then the DK other hand, from its inception believed to its downfall. and now the DMK. It should be kept in facing the problems it confronted in mind that although the first two The Justice Party became a defunct as a single organisation. In the second organisations were specifically created organisation by 1940. However, the place, Periyar at no time gave any 1555 September 26, 1964 THE ECONOMIC WEEKLY serious thought to the question of a regional language for studies on re­ of places Parthasarathy reproduces making DK a political party interested gionalism and nationalism in contem­ verbatim the speeches of the party in capturing a place for itself in the porary India. The book under review leaders without showing their rele­ political institutions of the country. contains a wealth of material on the vance in tracing the development of The DMK, on the other hand, has social history of Tamilnad which could the movement. However, being a party been taking an active part in the be utilised by social historians and man is not always a limitation. Par­ political field and it has been putting sociologists. There are, however, a few thasarathy, being a party man of very up candidates for municipal, State and limitations which should not be over­ long standing, has been able to pro­ parliamentary elections. looked. It is written by an active vide in his book certain insights into Anti-North Orientation member of the DMK party and hence, the development and working of the contains, rather inescapably, consider­ DMK party which cannot easily be The DK and DMK movement, start­ able propaganda material. In a number gained by outsiders. ed initially as a protest against the domination of the Brahmans in Tamil­ nad, was given a new dimension after India's Independence when the attack was directed against the alleged domi­ nation of North India. It found ex- pression in the slogan 'therku thaike- rathu, vadaku valarkerathu', i e, the South is receding and the North is progressing. Opposition to 'Aryan' domination is the common reason for the movement's antipathy to the Brahmans and the North. In order to escape the alleged domination of the North, the DMK started the agitation for an independent 'Dravida nadu' or 'Dravidasthan'. It seems, from the book under review, that though the DMK has because of legal and consti­ tutional compulsions given up recently its demand for an independent Gra­ vida nadu', it has not lost faith in the ideal. Along with the movement against the Brahmans and the North, a host of other activities were initiated, pri­ marily directed against the use of Hindi language in schools and col­ leges in Tamilnad and the use of Sanskrit in temple worship and against idol worship. No one studying the social processes in Tamilnad today can afford to neglect these forces released by the DK and DMK movement in the last 30 to 40 years. In tracing the history of DK and DMK movement in Tamilnad I found T M Parthasarathy's book a useful guide. Here I must add that many of the socio-political developments of contemporary India such as the DK and DMK movement are not well- documented in English. However, a considerable volume of literature is available in regional languages. The book under review, written in Tamil, is in itself a good example as far as the DMK movement in Tamilnad is concerned. It Rev Father Xavier S Thani Nayagam in his recent paper* demonstrates the value of literature in * Xavier S Thani Nayagam "Regio­ nal Nationalism in Twentieth Century Tamil Literature", Tamil Culture, Vol X, No 1, Jan-Mar 1963, pp 1-23, 1556