The Self Respect Movement was one of the most radical and revolutionary social reform movements in Indian history. It was founded by Erode Venkatappa Ramasamy, universally known as 'Periyar', in Tamil Nadu in 1925.
Founded: 1925, Tamil Nadu.
Founder: Periyar E.V. Ramasamy.
Core Demand: Social equality, dignity, and rejection of caste hierarchy.
Achievement: 'Self-respect marriages' without priests were legally recognized.
Political Legacy: Foundation of the Dravidian political movement.
Periyar launched this movement after deeply observing that:
His mission was to give every Tamil person — regardless of caste — the right to self-respect and dignity.
Periyar's movement permanently changed Tamil Nadu's social and political landscape. The Dravidian parties (DMK and AIADMK) that have ruled Tamil Nadu for decades trace their ideology directly to the Self Respect Movement.
It was a social reform movement founded by Periyar in 1925 in Tamil Nadu to fight caste discrimination, give dignity to lower-caste people, and eliminate Brahminical religious dominance.
Periyar E.V. Ramasamy (also called 'Thanthai Periyar') founded the Self Respect Movement in Tamil Nadu in 1925.
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