Newsgroups: soc.culture.indian,soc.culture.tamil
From: kbalasub@sparcle.oracle.com (Kris Balasubramanian)
Subject: Re: Adiyar on Periyar (REPOST)
Reply-To: kbalasub@sparcle.oracle.com
Organization: Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Date: Thu, 24 Dec 1992 20:39:31 GMT
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Thanks Sundara Pandian ,

	Periyar was brash, open minded and critical of superstitions. But a very noble persion. 
His intensions were good but his methods were not polished , so he did not have a major following. His
open crticisms about Tamil, Brahmins etc were misunderstood and misinterpreted.
The only difference between him and Gandhi, I think was , Ghandi was a great communicator and Periyar
lacked that may be because he was not as educated as Ghandi was. Ghandi  could understand the masses
mentality and give something that they can undersatand and practice without emotionally hurting
the opposition. Periyar will get agitated and give a drastic solution to something that he dislikes which
alienated his own followers like Anna durai. I think that is why DK never took off .

Balu
In article 15726@wuecl.wustl.edu, sp2@cec1.wustl.edu (Sundara Pandian) writes:
>
>  [ A  recent discussion in the net about  `Brahmin controlled
>    media' reminded me of an  article  by  a journalist Adiyar
>    on Periyar in the Ananda Vikatan magazine. This essay came
>    on the Vikatan issue `12.7.92.' I have given some excerpts
>    from it after translation. Your comments are welcome. SP ]
>
>                         Periyar
>                        ----------
>     
>      I saw Periyar in my college days. When I went to Trichi 
> to spend my vacation, there was a meeting at Thennur palace.
> Periyar delivered a speech  explaining  his decision to burn
> the national flag. Then he went to his room. When I saw thru
> the window, I noticed  that  Periyar was burying his face on
> the pillows. It did not occur to me why he did that.
>
>      He made a statement in the dailies in the next day that
> he  wept after making  his announcement to burn the national 
> flag.
>
>       ....................................
>
>      A similar incident in Madras also.  Rajaji was an arch-
> enemy  of  Periyar  in  their  principles.  Both  walked  in 
> different planes. Each used to enjoy  other's  failures. But
> when  Rajaji passed away... Periyar wept. What kind of a cry
> was that? If a peppermint is  suddenly picked from a kid,the
> kid would cry for long with pauses.. Such was Periyar's cry!
> Those who had never cried till then also started crying..
>
>     .......................................
>    
>    One day when I was talking with Periyar, the commissioner
> of Police, Shenoy came. Periyar stood up slowly and  greeted
> him. With shyness, another person entered the room.
>
>      `Who is he?' asked Periyar.
>
>      `My car driver. He has come with a wish to 
>       meet you in person' replied Shenoy.
>
>    Periyar  stood up again slowly and greeted the car driver 
> also. Others in the room were filled with surprise.
>
>    Saying `Sir! You are a great man! Why  should  you  stand 
> up?', the driver was about to prostrate before Periyar.
>
>   Periyar was stunned and stopped the driver from prostrating.
> He said, `I stood up with trouble only to stop you from doing
> this.. Why do you persist to prostrate still? ' Other leaders
> who were in the room kept looking at the floor then..
>
>    I  used  to  ponder, `How  come such a faultless, humanist 
> Periyar  became  an  atheist?' He himself told me once openly
> on that question.
>
>    `My fellow people  were  without  steadfastness,  courage,
> and education. Why is it so? Especially why are they deprived
> of education? When  I asked this question, I got replies that
> the  Sastras in Vedas say  that such people were not eligible
> for  education. I opposed  the Sastras which denied my people
> from receiving education. Some people asked me, `How  can you
> oppose the  Sastras in the Vedas  as  they are God's Words? '
> Then I decided to oppose - renounce God Himself.'
>
>    So  Periyar's atheism is not a blind denial of God. It was
> an  expression  of  an angry reaction with a true fondness on 
> the working class people.
>
>          ..........................................
>     
>   Also,  `self-respect' marriage was a new marriage conceived
> by Periyar himself. Its intention is not only to abolish the
> superstitious rituals present in the Hindu marriages, but to
> save the expenses in the marriages also. However, some `self-
> respect' marriages digressed from Periyar's intentions. Dowry,
> expenditure in lakhs also featured in  some   `self-respect' 
> marriages. 
>
>   One  marriage  incident!  One  Tamil  Nadu Board President,
> thinking of delivering a revolutionary speech in the presence
> of Periyar, spoke :
>
>    ` All marraiges, other than `self-respect' marriages, should
> be banned in our country.'
>
>   Periyar, who came to speak after him, mentioned in his speech,
>  
>   ` What about the `self-respect' marriages themselves? Venkaayam!
> (Tamil: onion) Marriage itself is a barbarous act! '
>
>   All audience raised their eyebrows in surprise. I, who was then
> taking notes, also put my pen down in surprise.
>
>   Periyar fought for Tamil language also. But when all the Tamil
> pundits  heaped praises on Tamil like `Tamil language was born
> even before the stone age', Periyar countered them with a question,
> `Isn't it clear then that Tamil is a barbarous language ?'
>
>   When Adithanar ( editor of `Daily Thanthi' - SP ) conducted a
> Silappathikaaram ( One of the five great epics in Tamil - SP )
> convention in Apastri Palace, Periyar raised some questions on
> Silappathikaaram itself.
>
>   `Things like a woman qustioned King's judgement in court are all
> O.K. But, what about the end ?  Who will believe things like she
> tore  off  and  threw  one of her  breasts,  and  Madurai burned 
> afterwards? All Tamil epics are not scholarly ones! We should burn 
> all of them. '
>
>   All Tamil scholars were shocked at Periyar's outburst.
>
>     .......................................
>
>  In his last days, Periyar talked openly on his life.
>
>  ` I don't have any deep fondness for language or caste or country.
> My only ambition and aim is that mankind should get steadfastness,
> courage and education. '
>
>  - Excerpts from an essay by Adiyar ( Pron. adiyaar ) on Periyar 
>     [ Ananda Vikatan, 12.7.92. ]
>
>  - Translated from Tamil by Sundara Pandian
>
>_______________________________________________________________________





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