Social ReformNational and Dravidian movements

Periyar leaves Congress and starts the Self-Respect Movement

· Kanchipuram

Periyar leaves Congress and starts the Self-Respect Movement
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After his resolution on communal representation was not allowed at the Kanchipuram conference, E. V. Ramasamy left the Congress and began the Self-Respect Movement.

At the Tamil Nadu Congress conference at Kanchipuram in 1925, E. V. Ramasamy sought to move a resolution supporting communal representation for non-Brahmins, which was not permitted. He walked out and left the Congress. He then built the Self-Respect Movement, which aimed at a society in which backward castes had equal rights and opposed caste hierarchy, religious superstition and Brahmin dominance. The movement became the ideological base of the later Dravidian parties.

Related events

  1. 1879

    1. 17 Sep 1879ErodeSocial Reform

      Birth of E. V. Ramasamy (Periyar)

      E. V. Ramasamy, later known as Periyar, founder of the Self-Respect Movement and the Dravidar Kazhagam, was born at Erode.

  2. 1924

    1. 1924CheranmahadeviSocial Reform

      Cheranmadevi Gurukulam controversy

      Separate dining for Brahmin and non-Brahmin students at a Congress-funded gurukulam at Cheranmadevi caused a major controversy.

  3. 1925

    1. 2 May 1925ErodeCulture

      Periyar launches Kudi Arasu

      E. V. Ramasamy began publishing the Tamil weekly Kudi Arasu, which became the main voice of the Self-Respect Movement.

  4. 1929

    1. Feb 1929ChengalpattuSocial Reform

      First Provincial Self-Respect Conference at Chengalpattu

      The first provincial conference of the Self-Respect Movement at Chengalpattu passed resolutions against caste and for women's rights.

  5. 1931

    1. Dec 1931 to Nov 1932Soviet UnionPolitics

      Periyar tours Europe and the Soviet Union

      Periyar E. V. Ramasamy toured Europe and spent three months in the Soviet Union, an experience that shaped his later politics.

  6. 1973

    1. 24 Dec 1973VelloreSocial Reform

      Death of Periyar E. V. Ramasamy

      Periyar E. V. Ramasamy, founder of the Self-Respect Movement and leader of the Dravidar Kazhagam, died in Vellore aged 94.

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