Caste and the Crisis of Dignity: Periyar E.V. Ramasamy Speaks

by V.M.S. Subagunarajan

English 348 pages 1 edition

‘I cannot think of a better time to resurrect Periyar’s words and world. Truly essential reading for all Indians committed to a better tomorrow.’—Seema Chishti, Editor, The Wire Long before ‘social justice’ became a slogan, E.V. Ramasamy ‘Periyar’ launched a revolution against social injustice by foregrounding the demand for ‘self-respect’ among lower castes and women. An uncompromising non-conformist, he built the Self-Respect Movement by transforming non-Brahmin aspirations into a radical, relentless campaign against caste, superstition and Brahminical privilege. This unique volume brings together his speeches at caste association meetings and ‘caste abolition’ conferences he was invited to, spanning the decades from the 1920s to the early 1970s—gatherings that drew thousands across the Madras Presidency and what later became Tamil Nadu. Far from being paradoxical, Periyar’s decision to confront caste from within its own forums was a bold and unprecedented strategy to expose myths, dismantle hierarchies and demand self-respect. Here you meet a thinker who refused to worship nation or deity, who trashed the pieties of Gandhian ‘village republics’ and warned that British Raj would simply give way to Brahmin Raj. Rationalist, atheist, Dravidianist and democrat, Periyar’s ideas on equality, citizenship, religion and women’s rights remain startlingly contemporary in an era when majoritarian nationalism repackages old hierarchies as glorious heritage. Lucidly translated and with a comprehensive introduction to Periyar, locating and contextualising his thought and struggles, Caste and the Crisis of Dignity recovers the voice of a movement that treated self-respect as the foundation of democracy and equality. It is a handbook for anyone who wants to understand how caste power works—and how it can be challenged.