In the path of Ambedkar: Periyar and the Dalit question

Abstract

ABSTRACT A few critics of Periyar E.V. Ramasamy have accused him of paying inadequate attention to the Dalit question or ignoring it altogether. Others have said that he was merely anti-Brahmin and not anti-caste, alleging that he favoured the intermediate castes over the Dalits. Contrary to allegations that Periyar tried to silence, or was indifferent to the particular interests of Dalit castes, Periyar’s works reveal that he placed Dalit liberation as an important element of the Dravidian project. Acknowledging his indebtedness to Ambedkar, Periyar was uncompromising in attacking the graded system of caste hierarchy and difference and discouraged accommodation within the system through ‘sanskritization’. In cases of conflict between intermediate castes and the Dalits, he stood on the side of the latter. Addressing caste divisions within the non-Brahmin bloc, he advocated both secular and religious forms of Dalit militancy. This article provides a systematic account of Periyar’s approach to the Dalit question, substantially focusing on his engagement with Ambedkar. It uses Periyar’s primary works to demonstrate the centrality of Dalit empowerment and liberation in Periyar’s political thought. It concludes with a discussion of his responses to anti-Dalit incidents in his lifetime, where he clearly sides with the Dalits against powerful intermediate castes.