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ocial cientist
Women's Question in the Dravidian Movement c.
1925-1948Author(s): Anandhi S.Source: Social Scientist, Vol. 19,
No. 5/6 (May - Jun., 1991), pp. 24-41Published by: Social
ScientistStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3517871.
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ANANDHI S.*
Women's Question in the DravidianMovementc. 1925-1948
The Suyamariathaiyakkam Self RespectMovement)whichwaslaunchedby
Periyar .V. RamasamyNaicker n 1926, nan effortodemocratise the
Tamil Society,has been the theme of historicalresearchby several
non-Marxist nd Marxist scholars.1n theirwritings hemovementhas been
characterisedn differentays-revivalist, ro-British,ecessionist,
nti-Brahmintc.A striking eatureof the existing tudies on the
SelfRespectMovement s their ilenceon itsconsistenttruggle
gainstwomen'soppression nd itsattempto dismantle heubiquitous
tructurefpatriarchyn Tamil society.AlthoughMarxist cholars ikeN.
Ramand Arulalanhavebrieflyealtwith his spectof
themovement,2detailed systematicreatment f the same is yetto be
done. Thissilence s significantecausethe uestion
fwomen'smancipationasone ofthe central hemesn thepolitical gendaof
theSelfRespectMovement,3specially uring tsearlyphase.Thepresent
aper s a modest ttempto fill his oid nthe urrentscholarshipn
theSelfRespectMovementwhich s a result fwritinghistory rom he
malepointofview.4The paperthereforeddressesitself o
thequestionofhow themovement erceived hewomen'squestion nd
inwhatmannert tried o resolvet.IDEAS OF
PERIYARAfterstablishingbreakwith heCongressn1924, eriyar5egan
oarticulate, ather tridently,is views on such
institutionsfTamilsociety ike religion, astehierarchy,nd
patriarchy.pposingthereformisteal of hiscontemporariesike Gandhi nd
those f thepastlike Siddhar and Ramanujam,6 e called for
totalbreakwith heretrograde lements f he Tamilpast.Addressing
heSouth ndian* Research cholar,Centre orHistorical
tudies,Jawaharlal ehruUniversity,ewDelhi.
Social cientist,ol.19,Nos.5-6,May-June991
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WOMEN'SQUESTION N THEDRAVIDIANMOVEMENTC. 1925-1948 25Reform
onferencen 1928,he said, . . . I havegraduallyostfaithnsocial
reform. orone who believes n radicalchange, elf-respect,equality nd
progress, healternativeto thepresent ituation)s notmerereform;
utradicalreconstructiveorkwhichwoulddestroyhetraditionaltructures.'7This
yearning or totalchangemarkedhisposition n
women'squestiontoo.Within heambience ftheSelfRespectMovement ewas
notcontentwith aking p suchconventionalhemes
fwomen'semancipationikewidow-remarriagend women's
ducationwhich,even if successful,did not underminethe existing
tructure fpatriarchy;but he raised questions relatingto basic
pillars ofpatriarchy,ike themonogamous amily nd the norms
fchastityprescribed orand enforced pon women.Even
whileadvocatingwomen's ducation, isattempt as to directtagainst he
tructurefpatriarchy. e noted,Thequalityofeducationmparted
owomantillnowhas beenone oftraining oman obe
anefficientouse-wife-bydesigning hecurriculumo include
ooking,music, ailoringtc.Thus woman's education has been an
advertisemento acquire a'qualified'husband.'He argued,women's
ducationhouldhave theaim of providingemployment orwomenand
thusmaking hemeconomicallyndependent.8Themost mportantdea hehad
advancedwas aboutmarriagendfamilywhich he identifiedas the key
institutions ustainingpatriarchy. ince marriage nabled women to be
enslaved as theproperty fmenhe insisted hatmarriages an
institutionhouldbeabolished.Speaking n a women'smeetingt
VictoriaHall,Madras,in1948heattacked he oncepts
fmarriagendfamily:
Theconcept fhusband-wifeelationshipasbeenone ofmaster-slave
relationship. he essentialphilosophy fmarriage as beento nsist
nwomen's lavery.. why houldhuman eings
lonekeepsuchcontractfone-man-one-womanelationship.. untilwomenare
iberatedromuchmarriagesndfrommen,
urcountryannotattainndependence.9Despitehisdisapproval fmarriage s
an institutioneapprovedcertainkind of marriagewhich transcended he
traditional ndsocially-acceptednorms for women. He opposed all
ritualisticpracticesssociatedwithmarriages,ncluding hetyingftali
round
theneckofthebridebythebridegroom hichhe treateds a
symbolofwomen's ubjectionomen.He alsoopposed
rrangedmarriagesndadvocatedthatmen and women houldchoosetheir
artnerst theirownfreewill.10The notion of woman's
chastity,whichsustainedmonogamousfamily,was another ubject fhis
criticism.n one ofhis pamphletsentitled Penn Yean Adimaiyanal? Why
did women becomeenslaved?),whichwas initially rittens a
seriesofarticles n 1928,
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26 SOCIAL SCIENTISThe noted: The imposition f
'patrivratha'ualities on women hasdestroyedtheir ndependence and
free-thinkingnd made themunquestioninglaves-to men-who are upposed
odemonstratenduefaith ver chastity.'1l e also attacked
lassicalTamil iterary extssuch as Silaparikaram nd Thirulcural
orpreaching hastity s anecessary ualityforwomen.12nstead, e
suggested olyandrynddivorce s solutions orwomen's ppression.n
speeches elivered tvariousplaces n1935he argued,Divorce s a
protectivenstrumentnthe
handsofmanyoppressedwomen.AlongwithDivorceAct thereshouldbe a
provision or ompulsoryegistrationf llmarriages.'13According to
Periyar,while marriageand chastitywere
keypatriarchalnstitutions,atriarchys suchwas ubiquitous,
ervadingspheres ike language, iterature nd gender-based
ocialization.nhis writings boutwomen'soppression nd in his speeches
t self-respectmarriages e notedwith ontempthat heTamil anguage
idnothave wordsfor hemale counterpartfadultress nd widow.14
einvented heneologism orwidower,Vidavan nd formale
prostitute,vibacharannd suggested heir se. He also notedthat
everalwordsare used inTamil iteraturend indaily ife nderogationf
womensuchas Aanmaimasculinity). e wrote,
Women should notforget hattheword aanmai tselfs used
inderogation to women. . . As long as aanmai will
exist,women'sslaverywill only grow. It is definite
hattheemancipationfwomen will not materialise ill women themselves
estroy hephilosophy faanmai.. *15The Tamil language, n his
opinion,was 'barbaric',s it did nothave 'respectable words for
women.'16Delivering speech atTirupatturn 1946, Periyar
tronglyriticised amil literature or
describingwomen's bodily features t length nd ignoring
heirintellectual aculties.He argued thatunless women oppose such
aprojection f their mage n the iterature,eitheriterary raditionsnor
heirwnstatuswouldchange.17Apartfromttackinghe
nstitutionsfpatriarchyndcondemningitsubiquitousnature, eriyar lso
underlinedts relationship ith hecontrol fproperty.Whenpeople
weretotally reewithout ropertyn land, do notthink herewere these
lavishpracticesfwomen's ppressionndcompulsory marriage contracts.
When herewas no concept faccumulatingprivate property . .
therecould not have been anycompulsion or acquiringheirfor
thefamily-property-throughchild-birth.nlywhenthedesire
forprivatepropertyame intopracticeheconcept fmarriage ndimprisoning
omen o protectthefamily ropertylso came into practice.Once a
womanwasmade the guardianof man's property,he herself ecamehis
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WOMEN'SQUESTION N THEDRAVIDIANMOVEMENTC. 1925-1948
27propertyoproduceheirfor hefamily.. women ost heir ight oworship
heirgods but only their usbands.Theprivate ropertywhichhas
beenthemainreasonforwomen's ppression as to betotally
estroyednorder o achievewomen's iberation.18In the context
fPeriyar's iewthatprivate roperty ith tsneedtohave nheritors,ave
risetowomen's ubjectionnorder oproduceheirsforproperty,is advocacy
fbirth ontrol ssumes ignificance.Arguing hatwomen houldhave
theright o decidetohavechildren,he differentiatedis position from
he otheradvocates of birth-control y focussing ttention n
women'schoice: There s a basic
differenceetween ur nsistencenbirth-controlnd other's otion
fbirth-control. . They have only thought of family and
nationalwelfarethroughbirth-control. ut we are only concerned
boutwomen'shealth ndwomen's
ndependencehroughirth-control.'19Periyar'srenchantriticismfHinduismwas
influencedy tsrolein legitimisingatriarchy.20 hile ddressing women
udience, eremindedthemthat thevaranashrama harma nd Hindu
religionhad treated hem nly s dasis prostitutes)fgods who, nturn,
estedonlywomen's hastitynd notthat fmen.Ridiculing igamous odshe
said, Sisters, ou should neverperformny rituals o gods
whokeeptwowives ndconcubines.oumust sk the odwhyhe needs wowives
and why does he need a marriage veryyear How couldyouworship tones
as gods and fall at the feet fBrahmin riestswhohave legitimised our
lavery hrough eligion ndrituals?'21Periyar's ommitmento the causeof
women's mancipationftenled himto be critical f his own political
omrades. n anguish,henoted, 'The self-proclaimediberatorsof
women,the Dravidianintellectuals, ave kept their aughters, isters
nd mothers s meredecorative ieces at home.'22 e openly
ondemnedheJustice artyministry,espitehis general upport o it, for
tsattitude owardswomen'squestion and its failure o
effectivelymplementhe anti-childmarriage ct. Periyar emanded the
resignationfA.P. Patroand otherJusticeartyministersromheparty s
they ailed o enactany egislation oimprove heconditions f
women.23nhispersonallife too he was self-critical bout his
inability to practise hispreachings nd writings n women's
iberation.Writingn emotion-laden obituary fhis wife,Nagammal, n
Kudi Arasu 14 May 1933),henoted,I amashamed o statehere hat had
notpractised venonehundredth f what wrote ndpreached boutwomen's
mancipationat homewithNagammal'.Periyar's iewson women's uestion
oundpracticalxpressionntheactivities ftheSelfRespectMovement.
hemovement,nter lia,practised elf espectmarriages,rganised omen's
onferencesoraisetheirconsciousness nd to highlight heirproblems nd
involvedwomennmassagitations.
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28 SOCIAL SCIENTISTACTIVITIESOFSELF RESPECTMOVEMENT(a)
MarriagesOne of the mportantctivities f the
SelfRespectMovementwhichchallengedthe traditional indu marriages nd
introduced adicalchanges n themwas theconductingf
selfrespectmarriages.elfrespectmarriageswereconducted rom
928onwards mongvariousnon-Brahminastes. Thesemarriageswhich
tookplace even in theremote illagesand wereregularlyeportedn
thenewspaper fthemovement, Kudi Arasu, included
inter-castemarriages,widow-remarriagesndmarriagesfconsent.
The central im ofself espectmarriages as to free he nstitutionof
marriagefrom Hindi ritualswhich emphasisedmonogamousfamilial norms
and chastityfor women and thus legitimisedpatriarchy.24
ccordingly,hesemarriageswere conductedwithoutBrahmin riests nd
recitationfreligious exts.Moresignificantlytheydid away with the
tyingof the tali. In keepingwiththerationalisticontent fthe
SelfRespectMovement, ften heywerearranged n timeswhich were treated
nauspiciousby the Hinducalendar (Rahu Kalam). Some of the
marriagestook place atmidnight,25hich sgenerallyonsideredobe
inauspicious ime.Allthesechallenged nd subverted hereligious ura
that ntrappedheinstitutionf marriage.We shall give below threesuch
marriagesto show how themovement efusedotreatmarriagess a
personalffairndconvertedthem into spectacular political events
aimed at breaking thetraditional orms fpatriarchy.(1) The
selfrespectmarriage etweenSivagami, youngwidowbelongingo an
orthodox indufamilynThanjavuristrictnd SamiChidambaranar, Tamil
scholar and a dedicated activistof themovement, ookplace in
1930.ThoughSivagamihad givenherfullconsent omarry
hidambaranar,herewasstubbornpposition or hemarriage rom
oththefamilies. hisforced eriyaroshifthevenueof themarriage
romKumbakonam,he town fromwhich ivagamihailed,toErode,Periyar's wn
native own,wellknownfor radingactivities.26Themarriagewhichwas
presided verby E.V.RNagammal id nothave anyoftherituals
ftraditional indumarriages,ncluding hetying f tali. Speakingat
themarriage,Nagammalexplained howtali and otherrituals
ssociatedwithHindumarriagesymbolishedthe lavery fwomen o
men.Thecouple xchangedings, ook n oathwhich emphasised friendship
nd equality between them, andaddressedeach other s comrades nd
friendsnsteadofthe usual'husband' nd wife'.And, s
iftohighlighthepolitical imension fthemarriage,t was arranged
nthevenueof theSecondSelfRespectConferencetself.
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WOMEN'S QUESTION IN THE DRAVIDIAN MOVEMENT C. 1925-1948 29In the
evening, o propagate he need forwidow remarriagesndself respect
marriages, he married couple were takenout in a
procession n the streets f Erode by the Self Respect
Movementactivists. eople indeed gathered n largenumbers
longtheroute ftheprocession o watch he conoclasticouple.27(2) The
marriage etweenKamalambal nd Nallasivanwhich ookplace in the same
yearat Nagerkoilnear Kanyakumari eneratedotoftension mongthemembers
f theSaliar astewho were raditionalhandloomweavers. t was a
marriage etween widow nd widower,each of them having a child from
heirpreviousmarriages.28 hemarriage was conducted by Periyar and
Nagai Kaliappan29 nacinemahall. n thecourse f
themarriage,hebridegroomransferredRs 5,000worth f his propertyo
thebride n consonance ith he elfRespect Movement's deal thatwomen
should have equal propertyright s men.About2,500people visited
hevenueof themarriageo witness heunusual event.While Periyar
xtolled he virtues f such marriages,A. Ponnambalanar nd M.
Maragadavalli30 ang songsof theSelfRespectMovement. amphlets
ealingwith hetheme fselfrespectmarriages nd the tance f
themovementn man-womanelationshipwere distributedo
theparticipants.(3) The self espectmarriage etween wo
ctivistsfthemovement,S. Neelavathi and Ramasubramaniam, ook place
at Pallathur nRamanathapuram istrict n 1930. The marriagewas
attendedbyabout 2,000 male and 500 women activistsof the Self
RespectMovement.naddition, bout 100 ocal peoplealso participatedn
t.31Interestingly,s part of the wedding, he audiencewereallowedand
encouraged to ask questions relating o man-woman
elation,marriage,women's emancipation tc. One of the
participantsskedPeriyarwhy the SelfRespectMovement llowed a second
marriage.Periyar's response was that marriages could only be
tentativearrangementsetweenmen nd women nd they houldnotbe
treatedas eternal.He furtheraid thatmen and women
houldhaveequalrightto marry nyone of theirpreference ven
afterhaving firstmarriage nd divorce houldbe permitted.32The above
three ases which were among the severalmarriagesreported n the
pages of Kudi Arasu give an idea of how the SelfRespect
Movementpoliticisedmarriages nd used them s publicevents to
propagate heir iews on the women'squestion.That waswhymarriage
enuesweredecoratedwith he ymbols nd slogans fthemovement.or
nstance, he elf espectmarriage enue na smallvillagenearCuddalore n
1928 had welcome rchesbearing loganslike 'Long Live Self Respect
Movement' nd 'Long Live VaikkamVeerar.'33 hewalls insidethemarriage
all were dornedwithhugeposters xplaining heobjectives nd
activitiesf themovement.
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30 SOCIAL SCIENTISTInvariably, ll thesemarriages,whether heywere
held at thehouse of a lowlyMarimuthu elongingocobbler aste34 ra
political
elite ikeW.P.A.SoundaraPandian,5were ttended nd addressed
yactivists fthemovement-especiallyywomen ctivists.hey pokeon these
occasionson themes elatingowomen's mancipationnddemanded
legislative rotection fwomen'srights.36n an
effortopopularisesuchmarriages, eriyar ersonally
ttendedmostofthemarriages uring heearlydaysofthe movement,ven fthey
ookplace inremote illages.37The Movement rganised everalthousand
uchmarriagesn theTamil areas during ts three ecades of political
areer. or nstance,between1929 and 1932therewereabout 8000
selfrespectmarriageswere conducted.38 hile ertainmarriages
iewedwomen's iberationas theiraim there were stillotherswhich were
againstBrahmindomination s theydispensedwithBrahmin riests nd
Sanskriticscriptures.An exasperatedPeriyar,ddressing marriage arty
n1931,objected o calling very nti-priestnti-ritual arriages
selfrespectmarriage nd said thatwith ime, ne oftheobjectives f
themovement hould be to do away
withmarriageshemselves.39hen,freeingmarriages rom ituals hemselves
as nodoubt step head.(b) ConferencesAnother mportant spect of the
Self RespectMovementwas theconferencestorganised.
heseconferences,hichwereperiodicallyorganised oth t theprovincialnd
districtevelswerecharacterisedby slogan-chantingrocessions,ong
speeches imed at propagatingthe deologyof themovement nd
passingofresolutionsn variouspolitical hemes. heSelfRespectMovement
sed these onferencessa regularpolitical iteto takeup women's ssues
and to encouragewomen'spoliticalparticipation.The first provincial
Self Respect Conference was held atChengleput, earMadras, n 1929.40
part romrticulatingtsviewson themes ike SimonCommission, aste
oppression nd religiousinstitutions, he conference ealt
specificallywith marriage ndother ituals.' t demanded hatmen
ndwomen houldhave therightoverproperty.heSecondProvincial
elfRespect onference as heldin 1930 at Erode.41Within he mbience f
thisConference wootherconferenceswere organised: a youth
conferencend a women'sconference.n the ontext
forganisingeparatewomen's onferences,one may note that Periyar
passionatelybelieved that women'semancipation ould be possible
nlyby the ffortsfwomen.He wascriticalf man's dvocacy fwoman's
mancipation:As ofnow,men'sstrugglefor women's liberationhas only
strengthened omen'senslavement.'42heproceedingsfthewomen's
onferences,erefullyconducted ywomen ctivistsnd it demanded,nterlia,
ompulsory
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WOMEN'SQUESTION N THEDRAVIDIANMOVEMENTC. 1925-1948 31education
for girls upto the age of 16, effective nd immediateimplementation
f anti-childmarriageand divorce acts, equalpropertyight
orwomen,mplementationfDevadasi Billto preventyounggirlsfrom eing
nitiateds prostitutestc.43 he fact hat herewas a separate
onferencefwomendid notcome n thewayofthegeneral onferencend
theyouth onferenceaking p women'sssues.Theyouth onference,or
xample, ppealedthatyoungmen shouldcome forward o marrywidows and
devadasiswho werewilling omarry-44The practice fhaving
separatewomen's onferencelong witheverymajor
elfrespectonferenceecame permanenteature f themovementn
thesubsequent ears.TheSecond Women'sConferenceheld atVirudunagarn
1931 ncreased tsdemands. t also argued hatwomen houldnotbe
recruitednlyforprofessionsiketeachingndmedicine, ut shouldbe
inductedven nto he rmy nd police; nd itcalled forpowers to the ocal
magistrates o identifyhosetempleswhichencouraged evadasi
ystem.45While pecialwomen's onferencesrovided n
exclusivepaceforwomen ctivists ftheSelfRespectMovement o
articulatehemselveson women's ssues,their articipationngeneral
onferencesasalsosubstantial. hat swomenwerenot ghettoised'
ithinhemovement.Often hemuchhonoured oleofdeliveringhe
nauguralddresses fconferences ellon the shoulders f womenactivists.
o cite a fewinstances: n 1931, ndraniBalasubramaniannaugurated he
ThirdSelfRespect Conference t Virudunagar;46n 1932,T.S.
Kunchidaminaugurated heTanjavur istrictelfRespect
onference;47n1933, .Neelavathi inaugurated the Third
TanjavurDistrict elf
RespectConference;n1934,R.AnnapuraninauguratedheTiruchenkodalukAdi
DravidaConference;48n 1937,Meenambal ivarajpresided
vertheTinnelveliDistrict hirdAdi DravidaConference;49nd
in1938theMaduraiSelfRespect onference as inaugurated yRajammal.50In
the course of the inauguraladdresses, thesewomen speakersdiscussed
the various aspects of the women's question. Thisparticipation as
ofPeriyar's ffortso breakthe culture fsilencewhich
nfluencedhewomenactivists f themovement: e insistedthat venthemost
narticulate omen ctivists houlduttertleastfewwords nthewomen's
onference.51hesuccess f hese elf espectconferencesnpoliticising
omen an be summarisednthefollowingwords ofSingaravelu
hettiar:52Womenwho havebeenconfined o thekitchen respeaking
odayfrom ublicplatforms;hey re debating bout public ssues;theyare
involved in social work as equals of men: the
creditforfacilitatingll thesegoes toPeriyar.It s rare ofindwomen n
othermovements ho are as skillednpublicoratory s they re in
thismovement. uring he ast fifty
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32 SOCIAL SCIENTISTyears, he ndianNationalCongress ouldproduce
nly neSarojiniNaidu.
. . .What an abilitywomenbelongingto the SelfRespectMovement ave
norganisingheirwnconferences-independentlyand with rue
quality.nothermovements,omen igurenly s anadjunct o men's
ctivities;ut n ourmovement,hey unctions anindependentgroup and
involve in-the
movement's-activitiesdemonstratingqualitywithmen.53It was
theconferenceftheProgressiveWomen'sAssociation,eld nMadras in
1938thatbestowedthehonorificitlePeriyarTheGreatOne) on E.V.
Ramasamyforhis unparalleled ctivism o
transformtheSouthIndianSociety.'54his title ecame the
short-handorhisnameall through is life nd after.Some eadingwomen
ctivists ere lected otheCentral ouncil ftheorganisingommitteef
Tamilnadu rovincialonferencehroughthe conference very year. For
instance, t the ThirdProvincialConference t Virudhunagarn 1931,
ndirani alasubramaniam aselectedas councilmember.When the
Samadharma arty onferencewas held at Erode in 1933,S. Neelavathi nd
K. Kunchidamwereelected s Propaganda ecretarieso establish
heSelfRespect eagueinvillages.Few otherwomen ikeR.
Annapurani,ndRamamirthamAmmal, were chosen as district nd
inter-districtamadharmapropagandists.55The women membersof the
SelfRespectMovementnot onlyparticipatedn
thenon-agitationalrogrammesf themovementikeconferences, ut also
quite actively n mass agitations. he mostsignificant
assagitationaunched ythemovementuringheperiodofourstudywas the
nti-Hindigitation hich ontinued or ver woyears,from ate
1937toearly1940.Theagitation orced heCongressministry eaded by C.
Rajagopalacharito reverse ts decision tointroduce indi s a
compulsoryubjectnthe chool urriculum.During the nitialphase of
theagitation,womenmembers fthemovementctively
articipatednprocessionsndmeetings.Womenclad in sarees
withtheTamilflag56 rinted n them nd chantinganti-Hindi nd pro-Tamil
loganswere a distinct eature f
theseprocessionsndpublicmeetings.57hemeetings ere lsoaddressed
ywomenactivists. or nstance hugepublicmeetingrganised t
theTriplicane each nMadrason11September938 oreceive symbolicTamil
army,whichmarchedby footfromTrichinopoly istrictoMadras propagating
nti-Hindimessage,was addressedby not essthan four women
activists;RamamirthamAmmaiyar,NarayaniAmmaiyar, Va.ba.Thamaraikanni
Ammaiyar, MunnagaraAzhagiyar.58 lso,thewomen ctivistsrganised
arewellommitteestoseeoff heirmalecomrades oprison.59
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WOMEN'SQUESTION N THEDRAVIDLANMOVEMENTC 1925-1948 33Withthe
agitation aining trengthver time, atches fwomenactivists ourted
rrest. he first atch f fivewomen onsistingfDr.
Dharmambal,RamamirthamAmmaiyar,Malar Mugathammaiyar,Pattammal nd
Seethammalwerearrested n 14November 938, nMadras.60 Wearing arees
printedwith the Tamilflagand singingBharathidasan'svocative ong
callingfor Tamilarmy o save thelanguage, heywere ed in a
processionrom asiVisvanathan empleinPethuNayakkanPettai o
HinduTheological chool.On therouteoftheprocession heywere stopped t
variouspoints ndgarlanded.Forpicketing heschool,theywerearrested nd
imprisoned or ixweeks.61 hough he udge offeredhem heoption fpaying
fine fRs50 or undergoingweeks mprisonment,hey hose he atter.From
hen nwardswomen ctivistsf
themovementourtedrrestwithdifferentntervals, illSeptember
939whenthe astbatchoffivewomenwere rrested.n total, 3womenwere
rrested nd ailedfor their involvement n the anti-Hindi
agitation.Significantly,several of themwent to jail withtheir
hildren; hirtywochildrenaccompanying heirmothers o jail.62An
exasperatedmemberftheCongressministry,ommentedhatwomenweregettingrrestedogetmilkfor
their hildren n the ail The Madras provincialwomen'sconferenceheld
at Vellore in 1938,demanded thatthe ministerconcerned akebackhis
commentndoffern unconditionalpology.63The Self
RespectMovement'snewspaper Kudi Arasuprominentlyreported hewomen's
involvementn the agitation nd publishedtranscriptof the arguments
they had in the court and theirphotographs. nd Periyar imselfwas
arrested uring he agitationonthe harge f nciting omen ofill he
ails.Inconcluding his ection, e shallcite n exchangehat
ookplacebetween womanactivist f theSelfRespectMovement,rrested
orparticipatingn theanti-Hindigitation, nd a prosecutingnspectorina
MadrasCourt:
Prosecutingnspector: ou are withyour smallchildren, rison
spainful nd yourhusbandwillsuffer.fyou promise ouwillnotdosimilar
hingsn future i.e.,participatingn such agitations),
eshallpardonyou.Womenctivist: . We arewilling o bear anysufferingor
heprogress f our language, urnation.Our husbandsaveno right
ointerferen this. hey re nottheones to do so.64WOMENACTIVISTSAND
THEIRCONSCIOUSNESSA Case StudyTheSelfRespectMovement,s we have
seen,hadprovided pace fortheencouraged olitical ctivismmongwomen.To
explorehow farthemovement ad succeeded nraising heconsciousness f
womenabouttheir wnplight, ne needs toconstructasehistories f
these
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34 SOCIAL SCIENTISTwomen activists. We shall provide below the
portraitof anextraordinarywoman who began her life as a
devadasi65,buttransformed erself, ver the years, to become a front
ankingparticipantntheSelfRespectMovement.MoovalurRamamirtham
mmaiyarwas born n 1883 n the saiVellalarcaste, one of thecaste
fromwhichdevadasis were drawn.She was broughtup in a devadasi
family t the small villageofMoovalurin Thanjavurdistrict,nd was
initiated nto thedevadasisystemt a young ge.WritingnKudiArasun1925,
henoted,I wasborn in a traditional non-devadasi family. . My uncle
and auntpersuaded my father o forceme into prostitution,hrough
hedevadasi custom.Theyalso advised not to marryme
away,sincewouldfetch handsome mount or hefamily
hroughheprofession,givenmytalentsnmusic nd dance.... So myparents
orcedme ntothis ustom. twas duringhis ime, deeply houghtbout his
ustomas evil and read thosereligious extswhich dvocated t.I felt
hatmenhaveforced ertain omennto his
egradingrofessionopursuetheirndiscreetleasures ndfor elfish
easons.'66 his warenessedher to walkout of thedespicabledevadasi
ife nd marry musicianSuyambu illai
onherownaccord.Thismarriagereated urorenhercommunityndresultednher
eing stracised.67Ramamirtham mmaiyar egan herpolitical areer n the
ndianNational Congress. As a Congressactivist,her full
energywasexpendedntacklinghequestion f women's ositionnTamil
ocietyespecially hatofdevadasis.n herwords: I
havebeenstrugglingorthepast seven or eightyearstoabolish
thisdevadasi ustom. havealso organiseda conference o reform ur
women and break thedevadasi system.Without nvitations,
bargedintohouses, wheremarriageswereheld,to advocate
implemarriagesnd toexposetheevilsofdevadasi ystem. have forcedwomen
okeepthepromise fdiscouragingheir ellowwomenfrom ecoming
evadasis.omemenhave been constantly ampaigning gainstmy
battleagainst thesystem.... They rethreatening.. that
heywouldsmashmy kullfI preach nmarriagesgainst hedevadasi
ystem'.68Fromherwritings,t is notclear why heleft heCongress o
ointheSelfRespectMovement. owever,t s only vident
hatherbreakwiththeCongresswhichoccurred uringmid-1920swas sharp
ndcomplete. n 1956,whileremembering erinvolvementn the
SelfRespectMovement,he wrote,onceGandhihad writteno me a
letterappreciatingmy effortsowards evadasi bolition. used to
worshipthat etter. fter left heCongress, otonly hat etter,ven
Gandhihad got erased from my mind.'69 One may note here
thatRamamirtham mmaiyarmetGandhi in 1921, duringhis visit toMayuram
nd thismeeting ave added fillip o heractivism n theCongress70
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WOMEN'SQUESTION N THEDRAVIDIANMOVEMENTC. 1925-1948 35In
thecourseof herpolitical areer n theSelfRespectMovement,she acted
as a relentlesspolitical campaigneragainst women's
slavery. As a full-time ctivistof the movement, he
addressedvarious
onferencesfthemovementndelaboratedowHinduismndupper castemen were
egitimising omen's lavery.71hearrangedand addressed several
elfrespectmarriagesn differentlaces, ndone such significantmarriage
rrangedby Ramamirtham as thewidow-remarriagefSivagamiand
Chidambaranar,hichwe haveearlierdescribed n some detail.72 uring he
nti-Hindi gitationn1938, she propagated the
anti-Hindimessagethrough padayatrafrom richi o Madrasand was
arrested. hispadayatratartedn 1August
1938fromUraiyurTrichy),overedaround 577miles andreachedMadrasafter
2 days.Durin; thepadayatrabout87 publicmeetings ere ddressed
ythegroup.Significantly,amamirtham mmaiyaruthored
ssaysregularlyinKudiArasu on thecondition fwomen.Here one
maynotethatRamamirtham mmaiyarhad informal ducationonly upto
ThirdStandard. n 1936, hepublished voluminous ovel nTamil
unninginto 303 pages, with the title Tasikalin Mosavalai
AllathuMatipettra ainer Thetreacherous etoftheDasis ora minor
rownwise).74 The novel,which did not follow the tradition f
Tamilliterary tylehoweverremained n interestingocument ince it
sbased on personalexperiences f theauthoresswho after ll was
aprofessionaldasi herself.75t dealt withhow
twodevadasisisterswhowereexploited ywealthymenwalkedout of
theprofessionndorganisedDevadasigalMunnetra angamFederation f
theProgressof Devadasis) to abolish the system.This
semi-autobiographicalnovelcarried poignant nd political
refacenwhich hewrote,
My strong pinion s thatfrom heancient ime hetemple riests,kings
and the landlords, . . . in the name of art,had
encouragedparticularommunitieso ndulge nprostitution.. . . These
days more than the KumbakonamShastris,Satyamurthyhastri ave
beenmaking oise aboutpreservingheDevadasicustom.. . . Our women
have been suppressed n all spheres.Thelegitimisation f the
suppressiongiven throughreligion andshastras is evident n themanner
n whichwomen have beenassigned the role of prostitutes.
hroughPotarrupu angam'propagated the anti-devadasi message for
which among theDevadasi community tselftherewere
opposition.Prominentreligious heads, Devadasi agents, reform
eaders-everybodyopenly pposedmy tand.... Then decided hat t s
easytoopposeimperialismndBrahminismutnottheDevadasiSystem.76Anotherfictional
erial thatRamamirtham mmaiyarwrote nDravida Nadu in
1945,Damayanthi, lso deals with thequestionof
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36 SOCIAL SCIENTISTdevadasis. The woman protagonistn the novel
breaksout of thedevadasi ystem nd becomes teachernd
accusesreligious exts fimposing the practiceof prostitutionn a
sectionofwomen andquestions herationalef God's carnal esires
ohavewomen s dasis.Through the narrative, he also attacked
untouchabilitynd theeconomic xploitationfthepoorby therich.77An
irrepressiblectivist nd a writer, amamirtham mmaiyarfinally uit
theDravida Kazhagam(which was thenew name theSelf RespectMovement
cquired n 1944) n 1949to ointheDravidaMunnetraKazhagam founded
yC.N. Annadurai longwith thers.The reasonforherquitting hemovement
as significant;he did notapproveof and openly riticised erniar's
ecision o marry 20-yearold youngwomanwhenhe was sixty.The tale
ofRamamirtham mmaiyarwas indeedextraordinary.Frombeinga devadasi,
he becamea foremosthampion f women'scause inTamilareas. Her
commitmento the ausemade herdisagreewith and break away fromPeriyar
despite two decades ofcomradeship between
them.RamamirthamAmmaiyardoes notrepresent n 'average'woman activist
f the SelfRespectMovement,but one whomarked heouter imit owhich
woman ctivistf themovementouldreach ut.WOMEN'SQUESTION:
TWOAPPROACHES-THE NATIONALMOVEMENTANDTHESELF RESPECTMOVEMENTThe
radical content f the SelfRespectMovement'spproach o thewomen's
uestionanbefullynderstoodnlywhenwecomparetwithother
ontemporaryoliticalmovements.hemost mportantoliticalmovement
hichwascontemporaryo the elfRespectMovement as,ofcourse,
henationalist ovement.or ackof pace,weshallpresentbelowa synoptic
iew ofhowthenationalist ovementresolved' hewomen's
uestion,ndcomparetwith he elfRespectMovement.In a recent
aper,ParthaChatterjee as shown hat henationalistmovementesolved
hewomen's uestion yreworkingndreaffirmingthe
pre-existingpatriarchal structure.The nationalists,whileapproving f
imitatingnd incorporatinghematerial ulture f thewest rguedthat
dopting hewest naspectswhichwere piritualranythingther han
hematerialphere fwestern ivilization ouldthreaten the
self-identityf the national culture itself. As anextension
fthisposition, hey ocatedhome as thesitetoretain he'inner
spirituality f indigenous life' and women as the agentsresponsible
orthat. t was advocatedthatwomencouldmeet
thisresponsibilityfpreserving he spiritual ore of thenational
ulturethrough chastity,
elf-sacrifice,ubmission,devotion,kindness,patienceand the abour of
love.' Only within his newpatriarchy'the nationalistmovement
ttemptedll its reformselated o women.As long as women
demonstratedhese so-calledfeminine/spiritual
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WOMEN'SQUESTION N THEDRAVIDIANMOVEMENTC. 1925-1948
37qualities,they ould go to school, ravel n publicconveyance,
atchpublic ntertainmentrogrammesnd ntime ven ake p
employmentoutsidehome.'79The nationalistmovementmobilisedwomen n
the anti-colonialstruggle-especially rom 920onwards-onlywithin
heframeworkof this new patriarchy.The traditionalfeminineroles such
asnurturingmother, bedientdaughter, od-fearinghaste wifewhowould
neverdefy hehusbandwereextended o thepublicrealm oexpand
women'sparticipation utside.80While AbadiBanuBegamhad to appear n
publicplatformsypresentingerselfs a motheryinvoking her maternal
nickname 'Bi Amman,'81the Calcuttaprostitutes'upport o
thenon-cooperationovementameunder irefrom
henationalistntelligentsia.82In illustrating ow thenationalistsn
theTamil-speakingreasaddressed the women'squestion, ne may
beginwiththeviewsofThiruviKalyanasundaram,n
activistnthenationalmovementndaTamil writerwho enjoyed pan-Tamil
ppeal despitehis nationalistpolitics.none of hisearliest nd a very
opularbookPenin erumai83('Women's Pride', 1927), he defined
feminity s encapsulatingpatience,endurance,sacrifice, elflessness,
eauty and love, andessentialised eminitys motherhood. ccording
ohim, ll womenwerecreated o be mothersnd they houldbeworshippedince
heywere theprocratorss well as thetransmittersf moralvalues
tothenewgeneration f children. pposingwestem-typef education,
esuggestedthatgirlsshould be providedwith ducation
hatwouldingrainnthem raditional oral nd religious aluesand train
hemif uchhousehold uties shushing ndpounding frice,
ailoringtc.Muthulakshmi eddi, nother ationalist ho tookup
thewomen'scause through er ctivitiesntheWomen'sndiaAssociation,s
muchremembered for her campaign against the Devadasi
system.Significantly,eropposition o the Devadasi system temmed
romher view that t stood in the way of womenbeing
chastewives.Similarly, she held conservative views on the question
ofcontraception-despitebeing a medical practitioner.he did
notperceivethe inkbetween ontraceptionnd women'sfreedomndcould
onlyadvocate-rather eluctantly-the andhian deal ofself-control
rBrahmachariyas a means fcontraception.84Suchtendencies ere venmore
cute nthe ase ofother ationalistleaders such as C. Rajagopalachari
and S. Satyamurthy.WhenMuthulakshmiReddy initiatedthe debate on
devadasi abolition,Rajagopalachari, as the President of the Tamil
Nadu CongressCommitteeefused otake p the ssuefor
iscussion.85atyamurthynthe otherhand, went to the extent f claiming
hat thedevadasisrepresentedational rtand culture nd hencethe ystem
houldberetained nd everydevadasi hould dedicate t leastone girltobe
afuture evadasi.86n thesame vein,he also vehementlypposedthe
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38 SOCIAL CIENTISTChild-marriage estraint ct,on the ground hat
twould hurt hesentimentsftheHindus.87
Thus the nationalistsailed o develop a critique fthe
nstitutionofpatriarchynd rather alorised atriarchys a necessity.tis
onlytoo evident that thepositionof the Self RespectMovement n
thewomen's questionwas in sharpcontrast o thatof
thenationalistmovement. he institutionsf patriarchyike
family,marriage ndchastity,whichwere defendedby the
nationalistmovement, erecalled into question by Periyar and his
followers. Theyprogrammaticallyttempted o challenge hese
nstitutionshroughmeans like SelfRespect Marriages. n shortwhilethe
nationalistspreserved patriarchy he mobilisingwomen forpolitics, he
SelfRespectMovementmobilised hem o contest atriarchy.In
sayingthis,however,we do not mply hat hespreadof anti-patriarchal
onsciousness mongthe followers f the SelfRespectMovementwas even. t
s indeedtrue hat hemovementuite learlyexhibited patriarchal
onsciousness n its functioning,speciallyduring ts aterphase.One can
citeseveral llustrationsowards his;while ntheearlyphase
ofthemovement othmen ndwomenwereaddressedbya singleword Thozhar'
comrade), ith heformationfthe DravidaKazhagam n 1944 women
ctivistswererechristeneds'mothersndsisters';nthepublicmeetingsndconferencesuring
heanti-Hindigitation, omen ctivists ere ntroducednterms f
theachievements of theirfathers nd husbands; during the
sameagitation,women activists hemselvesikenedTamillanguageto
achaste woman likeKannagiand calledforwomen'sparticipationoprotect
the chastityof the Tamil language:88 and the DravidaKazhagam's
imsand objectives tatedntheTrichinopolyonferencein 1945did not
haveany specific eferenceo women's ssues, ut forcallingthem
oparticipaten the party ctivities.89These examplesgo to show
that,whiletheSelfRespectMovementchallenged patriarchy,t failed to
create a new anti-patriarchalconsciousness venamong
tsownfollowers.heold regressivedeascarrying atriarchal alues was
dormantwithin hemovement ndasserted tselfwhengiven
heopportunityoarise.[I am gratefulto ProfessorK.N. Panikkar,
BiswamoyPati, PadminiSwaminathan, . Chandhu,Karunakaran,Meera V.
and Anna Chandyfortheirnsightfulommentsnan earlier raft.]
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WOMEN'SQUESTION NTHEDRAVIDIANMOVEMENTC. 1925-1948 39NOTES1.
TheSelfRespectMovements only
nephaseoftheDravidianMovementndthepresent aperdeals with
nlythisphase. n itssubsequentncarnations,thastaken heformsf
DravidaKazhagam, ravidaMunnetra azhagam ndAnnaDravidaMunnetra
azhagam.For omeof henon-Marxisttudiesn themovement,ee:Robert
.HardgraveJr., heDravidianMovement,ombay, 965;Eugene
rschick,heNon-BrahminMovementnd TamilSeparatism,916-1929,
alifornia, 969; Margurite ossBarnett, hePolitics fCultural
ationalismnSouth ndia,Princeton,976.For heMarxist tudies,ee:N.
Ram,DravidianMovementnitspre-independencehases,'
conomicndPoliticalWeekly, nnualNumber,Vol.XIV,No. 7 and 8, February
979;P.Ramamurthy,AriyaMayaiya? DravidaMayaiya? Viduthalai
orumDravidaIyakkamum,adras,1987, in Tamil).2. N. Ram, p.
cit.;Arulalam,TheRelevance fPeriyar: asteor
ClassStruggle?'TheRadicalReview, ol. 2,No. 2, May1971.3. A
briefobituary f Periyar ublished n Economic nd
PoliticalWeekly,2January974, uccintlyrings uthis
ife-longommitmentothewomen'sause:'He championedhe ause
ofwidow-remarriage,fmarriagesased onconsent,and ofwomen's ight
odivorce ndabortion.ointingutthathere as noTamilword for themale
counterpart f an adultress,he fumed, . . . the word
adultressimpliesman's onceptionfwoman s a slave, commodityobesold
andhired.'Periyar'semand ta conferencewoyears gothat o odium hould
eattachedtoa womanwhodesired manotherhan erhusbandwhichhe ress o
avidlyvulgarished), s well as Periyar'sdvocacy f theabolition
fmarriages theonlywayoffreeing omen romnslavement,ere bout s
radical s the iewsof nywomen iberationist.'4. Inthe ecent astthere
avebeenconsciousttempts adebyhistoriansowritewomen's
istoryyamassing ifferentinds f ourcematerialso makewomenvisiblen
history.or he mportanceftheneedforwriting omen's
istory,ee:ElizabethFox-Genovesse,PlacingWomen'sHistory n
History,'New LeftReview, o. 133,May-June982.5. E.V.Ramasamy aicker
rPeriyar, BalijaNaidufrom rode, tarted isearlylife s a
merchant,ater s a Municipal ouncilChairmanfErode,nd then s alocal
Congress leader. In 1920 he became an
ardentnon-co-operationist,propagating hadiand
anti-liquorctivities.n 1924 he becamethe eaderofVaikom-Satyagrahand
was twice rrested.n 1925, fter isconfrontationiththe ocal Congress
eadersat theConjeevaramonference e openly riticisedCongress ornot
howingnterestnthewelfaref thenon-Brahmins.inallyn1927he eft
heCongress or oodandbegan he elf espect ovement.6. Siddarswere
conoclasticmystic oetswhorepresentedmovementfrevoltagainst
empleworship,asteism ndBrahminiresthood.heir eriodwas
10to15A.D.Ramanujam as a socio-religiouseformerf he 2th entury.D.7.
KudiArasu,6November928 emphasismine).8. Ibid., 0January948;
1September946.9. Viduthalai,1October 948.10. Periyar ad
deliverednumerous peeches nd had writtenxtensivelyn theparty
ewspapers,xpressinghe boveviews. o cite nly ome nstance:KudiArasu,
2 December 929,20 September931, 9 September940, 7November
940,24November 945;Pagutharivu,April 936;Pagutharivu,October 937;
uratchi,7July 934.11. E.V. Ramasamy, en YeanAdimaiyanal?Whydid
womenbecome nslaved?)Erode, 942, p.11-16.12. Ibid., . 16-25.13.
KudiArasu, 6July 935; 6December929.Viduthalai,4October 948.14.
KudiArasu, 6October 930, 1 September 930 nd
E.V.Ramasamy,enYeanAdimaiyanal?p. cit., . 48,15. KudiArasu,2August
928.16. CharlesRyerson, egionalismndReligion,
heTamilRenaissancendPopularHinduism, adras, 988, . 100.
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40 SOCIAL SCIENTIST17. KudiArasu, 1 September946.18.
Viduthalai,1 October 948, emphasismine).19. Kudi Arasu, 4 December
930,1 March1931and 6 April1931, nd Pen YeanAdimaiyanal?p. cit.,
.20. Ibid.22December 929.21. Ibid., July948.22. Ibid.,21 September
946; ee also E.V. Ramasamy,en YeanAdimaiyanal?p.cit., . 62; E.V.
Ramasamy, azhkai hunaiNalam,Madras, 977, . 35.23.
KudiArasu,3September928; 9 December 929.24. We comeacrossone
SelfRespectmarriagenwhich he
oupleswereMuslims.HajurullaMohaideenmarried ameejaBegamn
1936withoutnyreligiousitesand thebridedid notwearthe ustomaryurdah
uringhemarriage.ee,KudiArasu, 6February936.25. Sami Chidambaranar,
amilarThalaivarleaderof theTamils),Madras,1983,pp. 118-119.26.
Interview ith ivagamiChidambaranar,adras, April, 989.27. KudiArasu,
1 May1930.28. Ibid., 4 September930.29. Nagai Kalliapan was one of
leading propagandistsn the movementwhotravelledoBurma nd Malaysia o
propagatehemovement'sdeals mong heoverseasTamils.30. A.
Ponnambalanar as a prominentntellectual howrote requentlyn
KudiArasu.M. Maragadavalliwas the editor fthe oumal,Madhar
Marumanam(widow-remarriage),ublished rom
araikudiuringhemid19309.31. S.A.K.K. Raju,
NeelavathiRamasubramaniam azhkai Varalaru The
LifehistoryfNeelavathiRamasubramaniam),983, p. 14-57.32. KudiArasu,
2 October 930.33. KudiArasu, 3 December 928.Periyar as calledVaikom
eerarecause fhisleadershipn theVaikom
atyagrahaTemple-entryovement)n 1924.34. The self espectmarriage
etweenMarimathundThaiyammalook laceon20April 930 t
Coimbatore.ee,KudiArasu,7 April 930.35. W.P.A. oundara andian, ne
of theeading ctivistsn themovementuringhe1930s,onducted idow
emarriagesnd nter-castearriagesmongheNadars.36. For
nstanceee,KudiArasu,5Decenber 932.37. Sami Chidambaranar,p.cit., .
323.38. E.Sa. Viswanathan,The Political areer fE.V.
Ramaswamyaicker,Madras,1983, .99.39. KudiArasu, 1 June 931.40.
K.Veeramanied.),NamaduKurikkolOur Objectives), adras, 982,
p.5-12.41. Ibid., p. 13 and 16-21.42. Sami Chidambaranar,p.cit., .
218.43. KudiArasu, 8May1930.44. K. Veeramanied.), op.cit., . 17.45.
Ibid., p.25-26;KudiArasu,6 August 931.46. KudiArasu,6August 931.47.
Ibid., 6June 932.48. Ibid., April1933.49. Ibid., 7May1934.50.
Ibid., February937.51. Interview ithRajammal asudevan, arasuram,1
November 988.52. SingaraveluChettiar, leading activist f theSelf
RespectMovementn the
1930s,nitiated heSelfRespect eagueand startedhe amadharmaarty
longwith Periyar.53. SingaraveluChettiar uotedby C.V.K.
Amirthavalliarn her speechmade atKualaLumpur. ee,KudiArasu,0
October 940.54. KudiArasu, 8 December 938.55. Under
ecretaryafeSecret ile, 6October 934,Appendix , Appendix ,
pp.20,4548.56. The TamilFlag carried hesymbols f thethree ncient
ingdoms,.e. Chera,Chola and pandias.57. SamiChidambaranar,p.cit., .
179.
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5/28/2018 Women's Question and Dravidian Movmt
19/19
WOMEN'SQUESTION N THEDRAVIDlANMOVEMENTC. 1925-1948 4158.
Illancheliyan,amilar h7oduthaor TheWar Wagedby
Tamils),Madras,n.d.,pp. 118-19.59. See for xample, udiArasu,
8September938.60. Ibid., 0 November938.61. illancheliyan,p.cit., p.
148-9.62. Ibid., p. 148-50.63. KudiArasu,8December 938.64. Ibid., 0
November938 emphasismine).65. Devadasis wereyounggirlsdedicated, y
custom, o temples nd treatedswedded to theGod. In practice,hese
irls,who were ftenrainedn music nddance,were sed
sconcubinesyupper-cstemen.66. KudiArasu, 3December925.67.
InterviewwithMr. C. Selvaraj, lTe grandson f
Ramamirthammmalyar),Madras, 3July989.68. KudiArasu, 3December
925.69. Murasoli, ongalMalar,January956, . 52.70. Interview ithMr.
C. Selvaraj, p.cit.71. For nstanceee, KudiArasu, 0 September933.72.
Interview ith ivagamiChidambaranar, adras, April1989.73. Iryanan,
uyamariyadaihudoroligalShining tarsof
SelfRespectMovement),Madras,p. 60; Illanchelian,p. cit., p.
116-120.74. Moovalur RamamirthamAmmal, TasikalinMosavalai
AllathuMatipettraMainarTheTreacherouset ftheDasisor a Minor
rownwise),Madras, 936.75. KamilV. Zvelebil,A Devadasi as the author
fa TamilNovel,'JournalftheInstitutefAsian tudies,eptember,987, .
155.76. MoovalurRamamirthammmal, p. cit., p. 2-4. S. Satyamurthias
the henministern theCongressegislature ho stronglypposed he
egislationgainsttheDevadasisystem.77. DravidaNadu, 2and 29 April
945; 3May1945.78. Interview ithMr. C. Selvaraj op.cit.79. Partha
Chatterjee, The NationalistResolution f the
Women'sQuestion,Occasional aperNo. 94,Center or tudies nSocial
ciences, alcutta,987.80. For an elaboration f this argumentwith
nstances, ee, Gail Minault,TheExtended amily s Metaphor nd the
Expansion fwomen'sRealm' nGailMinault, d., TheExtended
amily,Womennd Political articipationn Indiaand Pakistan, elhi,
1981.81. Gail Minault, p.cit., . 11.WritingboutNationalistMovement,
arthaChatterjeeotes,In fact heimageofwomen s Goddess r mothererved
o eraseher exualityntheworldoutside hehome' See, Partha
hatterjee,p.cit., . 20).82. Sandip Bandyopadhyay,The fallen' nd
Non-cooperation,' anushi,July-August,989.83. ThiruV.
Kalyasundaranar,eninPerumai llathu azkai hunai,Madras, 986(later
edition).84. BarbaraN. Ramusack,Embattled dvocates: he
debateoverBirth ontrolnIndia,1920-1940',ournalfWomen's istory,ol.
1,No.2,1989.85. MuthulakshmiReddy papers, SubjectfileNo. 11, Part.
I.86. Muthulakshmieddy's etter o the ditor f Tamilnadua
Tamilnewspaper)nReddy apers, ubject ileNo. 12,Part I, p. 79.87.
Swadesamitran, 8 November1928. A leading Congress ctivist
alemC.Vijayaraghavachariyarot his daughter,who had notyetattained
uberty,hurriedly arried,efore he hildmarriage estraintct
ouldbeenforced.ee,C.S. Lakshmi.TheFace behind heMask, Womenn
TamilLiterature,. 22,Delhi, 1984.88. For instancesee, V.B.
Thamaraikanni's peech at Madras Tamil WomenConferencen 1938.
llanchelian,p. it., . 138.89. K. Veeramanied.),op.cit., p.
51-64.
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