Self-Respect Movement

 About

·       The Self-Respect Movement was a dynamic social movement aimed of achieving a society in which backward castes have equal human rights, and encouraging backward castes to have self-respect in the context of a caste-based society.

·       It was founded in 1925 by S. Ramanathan who invited E. V. Ramasamy (also known as Periyar by his followers) to head the movement in Tamil Nadu.

·       Periyar believed that self-respect was as valuable as life itself and its protection is a birthright and not swaraj ('political freedom'). He described the movement as Arivu Vidutalai Iyakkam, that is, a movement to liberate the intellect.

·       The three main ideologies that were propagated through this movement were the breaking down of the Brahminic hegemony, equal rights for the backward classes and women in the society and revitalization of the Dravidian languages which included Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, and Malayalam.

Aim of this movement

·       The movement aims to do away with such social structure of the society where one class of people claim to be superior to others and some men claim to be of higher birth than others.

·       It aims to work for getting equal opportunities for all people, irrespective of their communities it will strive to secure equal status for women along with men in life and according to law.

·       It aims to completely eradicate untouchability and to establish a united society based on brotherhood and sisterhood.

·       One of the primary aims of the movement was to eradicate the devadasi system which was prevalent in the eastern and southern parts of the country. In this system a woman between the ages of 7-36 were to dedicate their lives to the temple deity where they performed various arts.

Achievement of the movement

·       This Movement played a significant role in the political, social and religious life of the people of South India.

·       The monopoly of power and influence enjoyed by the Brahmins was slowly lost. It filled with the sense of self-respect and above all self-confidence, to fight against social injustice perpetrated by the Brahmins of the day.

·       It led to the promotion of inter-caste and inter-religious marriages and legalization of marriages without Brahman priest.

·       Due to relentless fight, the name boards of the hotels were changed from “Brahmins Hotel” to “Vegetarian Hotel”.

·       People started taking pride in giving up their caste name.

Criticism of the movement

·       However, the movement failed to liberate women as well as the lower caste and secured equal rights for them. 

·       It failed to strengthen the economic condition of the poor and depressed classes. Since, the movement was limited to Tamil Nadu, it had very limited influence.