Tamil Nadu Timeline

PoliticsNational and Dravidian movements

Periyar raises 'Dravida Nadu for Dravidians'

· Chennai

Periyar raises 'Dravida Nadu for Dravidians'
Ashiqiyya, CC0 · Wikimedia Commons

Periyar swapped the slogan 'Tamil Nadu for Tamils' for 'Dravida Nadu for Dravidians', setting the Justice Party on a separatist course.

Led by Periyar, the Justice Party took up the cause of a separate Dravida Nadu. A resolution adopted at its December 1938 confederation asserted the right of Tamils to a sovereign state under the Secretary of State for India. In a speech on 17 December 1939 Periyar put forward 'Dravida Nadu for Dravidians' as the new slogan, in place of 'Tamil Nadu for Tamils', current since 1938. The party's August 1940 confederation reaffirmed the demand. Periyar called off the agitation on 10 August 1941 in order to back the war effort.

Related events

  1. 1930

    1. 27 Oct 1930 to 4 Nov 1932ChennaiPolitics

      Justice Party returns to power under B. Munuswamy Naidu

      The Justice Party won the 1930 election, boycotted by the Congress, and B. Munuswamy Naidu became Premier.

  2. 1932

    1. 5 Nov 1932 to 1 Apr 1937ChennaiPolitics

      Raja of Bobbili becomes Premier

      The Raja of Bobbili, a zamindar, replaced B. Munuswamy Naidu as Premier and led the last Justice Party ministry before 1937.

  3. 1935

    1. 1 Jun 1935ChennaiLiterature

      Viduthalai newspaper launched

      Viduthalai began as a Justice Party bi-weekly and became a daily under Periyar in 1937.

  4. 1937

    1. 11 Aug 1937 to 21 Feb 1940ChennaiLanguage

      Compulsory Hindi order and first anti-Hindi agitation

      The Rajaji government's move to make Hindi compulsory in schools triggered a large anti-Hindi agitation led by Periyar, the Justice Party and Tamil scholars.

  5. 1938

    1. 29 Dec 1938ChennaiPolitics

      Periyar jailed and elected Justice Party president

      E. V. Ramasamy was imprisoned for his role in the anti-Hindi agitation and was elected president of the Justice Party while in jail.

  6. 1963

    1. Nov 1963ChennaiPolitics

      DMK drops demand for a separate Dravida Nadu

      After the Sino-Indian War and the anti-secession Sixteenth Amendment, the DMK abandoned its demand for an independent Dravida Nadu.

Open in the timeline explorer