Untouchability

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.

Rettamalai Srinivasan launches the Paraiyan newspaper

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

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.

Rettamalai Srinivasan at the Round Table Conference

Dalit leader Rettamalai Srinivasan represented the depressed classes alongside B. R. Ambedkar at the Round Table Conferences in London.

Travancore Temple Entry Proclamation

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

Madras Temple Entry Authorization and Indemnity Act

A law passed by the Rajagopalachari ministry lifted the bars on Dalits and Shanars entering Hindu temples across the Presidency.

Dalits enter Madurai Meenakshi Temple

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

Meenakshipuram mass conversion

Several hundred Dalits in Meenakshipuram village in Tirunelveli district converted from Hinduism to Islam, citing caste discrimination.

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.

Vengaivayal drinking water tank contamination

Human faeces were found in an overhead water tank serving Dalit families in Vengaivayal village of Pudukkottai district.