The conspicuous and frequent display of pictures of E.V. Ramaswamy Naicker (known as ‘Periyar’ by his followers) in the functions of Tamil Nadu state more prominently than many other patriots, projecting him as a revolutionary and freedom fighter, is nothing but a farce and completely contradictory to history.
While the manifest malevolent motive of the present rulers to manipulate and manage to create a distorted and dishonest opinion in the minds of the wide-eyed innocent masses is understandable, let us look at a few facts from the annals of recorded history that are accurate, authentic, authoritative to ascertain the ‘role’ of “dravidian ilk” during the entire freedom movement.
1. When Dr. Annie Besant came out with the proposal of Home Rule Movement, the following are the declarations of Justice Party [Original name: South Indian Liberal Federation and later popularly referred to as Justice Party and the parent organisation of all the dravidian parties]:
‘We do not want to support any scheme that will reduce the power of the British Government.’
We welcome the continuance of the British Raj for social justice. We support them. We are indebted to them’
The author of the above statements is one Pitty Thiagarajan Chetty, co-founder of the Justice Party.]
2. To spread their motto, the Justice Party started three journals, ‘Justice’ in English, ‘Andhra Prakasini’ in Telugu [Incidentally most of the office bearers and initial members essentially were of Telugu origin], and ‘Dravidan’ in Tamil. The preference of ‘Dravidan’ to ‘Tamilan’ is simply to camouflage and confuse the Tamil speaking public.
3. In 26th Feb. 1917 issue of ‘Justice’, Dr. T M Nair, another co-founder, wrote thus: “Our aim should be to maintain constant love and absolute loyalty towards the British Raj, which is doing lot of good things for us.”
4. During the visit of Montagu and Chelmsford in 1917, the representatives of SILF met them and submitted a memorandum as: “At present, India is not ripe for freedom. Majority of the people do not have political awareness. Therefore, it is better if the British continue for some more time and ensure social justice.”
5. Opposing the Rowlatt Act, Jallianwalla Bhag massacre etc., when Gandhi started ‘Non-Cooperation Movement’ they did not participate. One of the reasons for their support of the Rowlatt Act was funny; viz., most of the people who opposed it, including Tilak were Brahmins! Their interest was in acquiring a protected position in the new Legislative Councils proposed by the British as part of Montague–Chelmsford reforms, wherein landlords, zamindars and Government loyalists could get elected through special constituencies. Shockingly, Justice Party founders T M Nair and P. Theagaraya Chetty approved of the British action and the massacre at Jallianwala Bagh, as per the book Politics and Social Conflict in South India by Eugene F. Irschick.
6. In their Fourteenth Annual Conference, Justice Party, under the leadership of EVR, passed a resolution to the effect that there should be a state separate from India under the direct control of Britain.
7. When Britain sent Richard Stafford Cripps to India on a mission, EVR, WPA Soundarapandian Nadar, NR Samiappa Mudaliar, Muthiah Chettair met him on March 30, 1942 and submitted a proposal stating that they do not want complete liberty, India can continue as a self-governing unit under the suzerainty of the British, with a separate Dravida Nadu. Of course, that was not considered by the mission.
8. On July 25th, 1947, EVR ordered that Independence Day, August 15th be treated as ‘Black day’.
9. From 1940 onwards, EVR advocated for an independent Dravida Nadu free of ‘Aryan’ influence, and supported the Muslim League demand for Pakistan. EVR met with Jinnah, Ambedkar and the British to push his idea of a trifurcation of Bharat.
[P.S. Of course, to do justice and to complete the records, EVR spent some time in the Indian National Congress also and defected from it due to difference of opinion.]
We hasten to add that while being patriotic or not is one’s own prerogative and cannot be prodded, the dishonest, deceptive depiction of one as a freedom fighter to delude, dupe and defraud the people, in order to win their favour, is despicable, detestable, disgraceful and disgusting.
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