Anti Caste

Channar revolt over the upper cloth

Nadar women in southern Travancore, including today's Kanyakumari district, struggled for decades for the right to cover their upper bodies.

Birth of Ramalinga Swamigal (Vallalar)

Ramalinga Swamigal, the Tamil saint-poet known as Vallalar, was born at Marudur near Chidambaram.

Ayya Vaikundar begins his mission

Ayya Vaikundar began the teachings that gave rise to Ayyavazhi, a movement that challenged caste rules in southern Travancore.

Ayya Vaikundar imprisoned by the Travancore king

Ayya Vaikundar, founder of Ayyavazhi, was arrested on the orders of the Travancore king and held at Singarathoppe jail.

Ayya Vaikundar's mission ends

Ayyavazhi tradition records that Ayya Vaikundar's earthly mission ended on 2 June 1851.

Vallalar starts the Samarasa Vedha Sanmarga Sangam

Vallalar, or Ramalinga Swamigal, formed a fellowship of devotees against caste distinctions, which was later renamed the Samarasa Suddha Sanmarga Sathya Sangam.

Vallalar opens the Sathya Dharma Salai at Vadalur

At Vadalur, Ramalinga Swamigal opened a free kitchen for the needy of every caste and lit a stove that was never to be put out.

Vallalar opens the Sathya Gnana Sabhai at Vadalur

At Vadalur, Ramalinga Swamigal (Vallalar) opened the Sathya Gnana Sabhai, which taught compassion for every living being regardless of caste.

Disappearance of Vallalar

Ramalinga Swamigal shut himself in a room and told followers not to open it; when officials broke in that May, nobody was inside.

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.

Iyothee Thass declares Dalits are not Hindus

Anti-caste activist Iyothee Thass declared that the depressed classes were not Hindus, a stand he later carried into the Dravida Mahajana Sabha and the 1891 census.

Rettamalai Srinivasan founds the Paraiyar Mahajana Sabha

Rettamalai Srinivasan set up the Paraiyar Mahajana Sabha, an early Dalit body, and launched the Tamil paper Paraiyan in 1893.

Iyothee Thass founds the Dravida Mahajana Sabha

Iyothee Thass founded the Dravida Mahajana Sabha and urged Dalits to record themselves in the census as casteless Dravidians rather than Hindus.

Rettamalai Srinivasan launches the Paraiyan newspaper

Dalit leader Rettamalai Srinivasan started the Tamil paper Paraiyan in October 1893 to speak for the Paraiyar community.

Kamudi temple entry agitation

Nadars entered the Meenakshi Sundareswarar temple at Kamudi in 1897; the courts, and in 1908 the Privy Council, ruled against their right of entry.

Iyothee Thass founds the Sakya Buddhist Society

After embracing Buddhism in Ceylon, Iyothee Thass founded the Sakya Buddhist Society in Madras, launching a Tamil Buddhist revival among Dalits.

Iyothee Thass launches Oru Paisa Tamizhan

Iyothee Thass launched the Tamil weekly Oru Paisa Tamizhan, an anti-caste journal that later became The Tamilan.

Council adopts the term Adi Dravida

Acting on a resolution by M. C. Rajah, the Madras Legislative Council adopted Adi-Dravida officially in place of terms like Paraiya and Panchama.

Cheranmadevi Gurukulam controversy

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

Vaikom Satyagraha

A satyagraha in Travancore demanded that people of oppressed castes be allowed to use the roads around the Vaikom temple; E. V. Ramasamy took part.

Periyar leaves Congress and starts the Self-Respect Movement

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.

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.

Travancore Temple Entry Proclamation

The Maharaja of Travancore opened state temples to all Hindus regardless of caste, including temples in present-day Kanyakumari district.

Dalits enter Madurai Meenakshi Temple

A. Vaidyanatha Iyer led a group of Dalits and Nadars into the Meenakshi Amman Temple, Madurai, defying orthodox opposition.

N. Sivaraj becomes first president of the Scheduled Castes Federation

At Nagpur, Madras Dalit leader N. Sivaraj was elected first president of the new All-India Scheduled Castes Federation founded with Ambedkar.

Dalit leader Immanuel Sekaran murdered

Immanuel Sekaran, a Dalit activist and former soldier, was murdered amid caste tensions in Ramanathapuram district.

Order allowing people of all castes to become temple priests

A 1970 order of the Karunanidhi government opened priesthood in public temples to all castes; in 1972 the Supreme Court struck it down.

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.

Uthapuram caste violence and the 'untouchability wall'

After caste violence in Uthapuram near Madurai in 1989, caste Hindus built a wall separating the Dalit area of the village.

First Samathuvapuram equality village inaugurated

The first Periyar Ninaivu Samathuvapuram, a housing colony where families of different castes live side by side, opened near Madurai.

Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi contests elections for the first time

The Dalit Panthers movement led by Thol. Thirumavalavan, later the VCK, entered electoral politics for the first time in 1999.

Priests of all castes appointed to state temples

The government appointed trained archakas from many castes, including non-Brahmins, to temples under the HR and CE department.