Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin will unveil a portrait of social reformer E.V. Ramasamy ‘Periyar’ at the University of Oxford on September 4, as part of the centenary celebrations of the Self-Respect Movement. He will also release two books documenting the movement’s century-long journey and enduring legacy.
Taking to X, Stalin wrote: “‘Oppression is my enemy’—the rallying cry of Periyar now resonates at Oxford. On September 4, I will unveil Thanthai Periyar’s portrait and release two books that chronicle the hundred-year journey and living legacy of the Self-Respect Movement.”
Periyar launched the Self-Respect Movement in 1925, challenging caste hierarchy, Brahminical dominance, and gender inequality. Through the Tamil journal Kudi Arasu (The Republic), he advocated for rationalism, social justice, and the empowerment of marginalized communities, laying the foundation for the Dravidian movement.
Stalin emphasized that Periyar’s ideals transcend geographical boundaries. “Before an assembly of international scholars, the movement that shattered caste tyranny and challenged gender barriers will be placed in dialogue with global struggles for dignity, equality, and freedom. Periyar’s ideals of equality belong not just to Tamil Nadu, but to humanity as a whole,” he said.
The year 1925 is seen as a turning point, marked both by the launch of Kudi Arasu in May and Periyar’s departure from the Indian National Congress in November. While his exit from the Congress is considered the formal beginning of the Self-Respect Movement, Kudi Arasu had already begun shaping radical discourse by criticizing caste orthodoxy and political compromises.
