The Birth And Growth Of Dravidian Politics In Tamil Nadu

On November 20, 1916, a group of prominent non-Brahmin traders, lawyers, doctors, landowners, and politicians from the Madras Presidency gathered and agreed to found two institutions. One was the South India People바카라�s Association, a joint-stock company that would publish a newspaper in English, Tamil, and Telugu to present the non-Brahmin perspective. The other was the South India Liberal Federation, which was 바카라�to promote the interests of non-Brahmin caste Hindus바카라�. The newspaper, Justice, released its first issue on February 26, 1917. A Tamil version, Dravidan, followed in June. Over time, the Federation became widely known as the Justice Party.

Most historians see this as the birth of the Dravidian movement, an ideology that still dominates Tamil Nadu. It is back in focus nationally as the expected delimitation바카라�the redrawing of constituency boundaries to reflect population shifts바카라�puts the South, with its lower birth rates, at a disadvantage against the North, where higher fertility rates could lead to greater political representation.

In colonial India, census data showed that Brahmins held most positions in bureaucracy, which led to resentment among lower castes. The Dravidian movement rose from the demand for better representation in government jobs and modern education for non-Brahmins, who made up over 90 percent of the Presidency바카라�s population. 

In 1920, elections under the new dyarchy system in the Madras Presidency (now Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh) gave the Justice Party a majority. Once in power, it introduced communal reservations, the first form of affirmative action in India, and took control of temples to end caste-based discrimination in religious spaces. The government also amended the Government of India Act, 1919, to enable India바카라�s first woman legislator 바카라� Muthulakshmi Reddy 바카라� to be elected to the Madras Presidency.  The party stayed in power for 17 years before losing to the Indian National Congress in 1937. 

The Justice party바카라�s push for social justice laid the groundwork for the broader Dravidian movement. Dravidians, also called Dravidars or Dravidans, speak Dravidian languages such as Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam. Tens of lakhs of people speak these languages across South India and northeastern Sri Lanka.

Periyar바카라�s Self Respect Movement

In a parallel setting, social reformer E. V. Ramasamy (바카라�Periyar바카라�) led a separate but equally determined fight against caste oppression. In 1925, he spearheaded the Vaikom struggle in Travancore (present-day Kerala) for lower-caste Hindus to use the street adjacent to a temple. The success of this protest sent ripples across India.

An atheist and rationalist, Periyar launched the Self-Respect Movement, which directly challenged caste-based discrimination and social hierarchies. He strongly supported inter-caste (or "casteless") marriage, women's education, property rights for women, and widow remarriage. The movement was radical for its time, as it called for an end to widespread and normalised rituals that reinforced discrimination.

Periyar had initially supported Mahatma Gandhi and was an active member of the Congress. But he left the party in 1927 after repeated attempts to convince its leadership to prioritise social justice alongside the political struggle for independence. He believed political freedom was meaningless without the social emancipation of backward classes from caste oppression and untouchability.

The Birth Of Dravidar Kazhagam 

The imposition of Hindi by the Congress government in the Madras Presidency in 1937 brought the Justice Party and the Self-Respect Movement together in opposition. In December 1938, Periyar, already a popular leader, became the president of the Justice Party. At the 16th Conference of the Justice Party, held on August 21, 1944, it was renamed Dravidar Kazhagam to unite all linguistic groups of South India.

The movement aimed to reform society by ending religious superstitions, ending caste distinctions, empowering women, and ending Brahmin dominance in Tamil Nadu educational institutions and government.

In opposition to the Indian National Congress's plan for a single independent nation of India, the Dravidar Kazhagam petitioned the British government for a separate Dravidian nation, Dravida Nadu, which would include Tamil Nadu, Andhra, Karnataka, and Kerala, the four South Indian ethnic regions where Dravidian languages are the dominant languages. Periyar envisioned an autonomous Dravidian republic in which Dravidians would be completely free of Aryan and North Indian political influence.

Though Dravida Nadu theoretically included all of "Dravidian" South India, the Dravidar Kazhagam received little support outside of Tamil Nadu, and the British government turned down the Dravidar Kazhagam's demands when developing its plans for Indian independence in 1947.

Dravidian Politics After Independence

India바카라�s independence in 1947 created an ideological conflict in the movement. Periyar feared that a free India would be dominated by Brahmins and called it a transition 바카라�from British Raj to Brahmin Raj바카라�. He wanted August 15 to be observed as a Black Day. However, C.N. Annadurai, another key leader of Dravidar Kazhagam, saw an opportunity to achieve the movement바카라�s goals through electoral politics. He called for celebrating Independence. They split up.

In 1949, Annadurai and his supporters formed the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). Annadurai abandoned the demand for a separate Dravida Nadu in 1962 when India was under China바카라�s attack. In the context of the war, he said, 바카라�Only if you have a home could you change the roof tiles. We can run a party only if the nation is safe.바카라� Some commentators saw this as a strategic move to protect the party from an impending law banning secessionism. In 1963, Parliament passed the 16th Amendment, barring parties or individuals advocating India바카라�s division from contesting elections.

The DMK rose to power in 1967 during a fierce agitation against the imposition of Hindi. The party demanded that English continue as an official language, as promised by Jawaharlal Nehru on the floor of Parliament. The violent agitation led the Union government to enact the Official Languages Amendment Act, ensuring English remained an official language alongside Hindi.

Since then, whenever the DMK formed a government in Tamil Nadu, the social reform agenda has been at the heart of the state바카라�s governance. Self-respect marriages that shunned caste and religious customs were legalised by the DMK in 1967. Madras became Tamil Nadu in 1969. Women were given equal succession rights in 1989.

A later split in the DMK led to the formation of the AIADMK by M.G. Ramachandran, followed by other smaller factions. This, in turn, reinforced the dominance of Dravidian parties and solidified Periyar바카라�s legacy as a guiding force. His advocacy on rationalism, self-respect, opposition to Hindi imposition, and women's rights strengthened the political influence of Dravidian parties.

Though the movement began before independence, its principles and core ideas continue to shape Tamil politics today. Since the 1967 elections, the people of Tamil Nadu have time and again voted for and elected representatives from the DMK and AIADMK. As the current Chief Minister, M.K. Stalin puts it, 바카라�Tamil Nadu is a developed state today because of the Dravidian ideology.바카라� The state consistently ranks high in human development and industrial growth.