<p>September 17 – the birth anniversary of legendary social reformer E V R Periyar – will be observed as ‘Day of Social Justice’ every year, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin announced on Monday. Periyar, as he is popularly known, founded the Dravidar Kazhagam, a precursor to the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK).</p>.<p>Stalin’s announcement in the Assembly was welcomed by all political parties represented in the House, including the BJP which projects itself as an alternative to the Dravidian parties. Social justice is a core principle of the Dravidian movement whose off-shoots are ruling the state since 1967.</p>.<p>Making the announcement under Rule 110 in the Assembly, Stalin paid rich tributes to Periyar, whose roots can be traced to present-day Karnataka, saying the social reformer’s two primary principles were equality of men and women and abolition of caste.</p>.<p>“Periyar launched the Self Respect Movement to ensure that people from all sections of the society live with dignity. The protests that he spearheaded can never be replicated by others. The words that came out of his mouth are those others were scared to utter. If I keep talking about him, I can go on for ten days,” Stalin told the Assembly.</p>.<p>The Chief Minister said the first amendment to the Indian Constitution came about because of Periyar, who “never went to Parliament.” The first amendment to the Constitution in 1951 concerned “fundamental rights”, the right to freedom of speech, rights against the compulsory acquisition of property (Art. 31) and rights against non-discrimination.</p>.<p>“The government has decided to observe Periyar’s birth anniversary on September 17 every year as the Day of Social Justice in Tamil Nadu,” Stalin said, adding that employees in all state government offices will take an oath to follow the principles of self-respect, rationalism, equality, brotherhood, and social justice.</p>.<p>Periyar is highly revered in Tamil Nadu for his fight against discrimination of women and some of his revolutionary ideas like the right to women in family properties were transformed into legislation by successive DMK governments.</p>.<p>BJP, which welcomed the announcement on Monday, views Periyar as its ideological opponent as it makes a concerted effort to emerge as an alternative to the Dravidian majors.</p>
<p>September 17 – the birth anniversary of legendary social reformer E V R Periyar – will be observed as ‘Day of Social Justice’ every year, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin announced on Monday. Periyar, as he is popularly known, founded the Dravidar Kazhagam, a precursor to the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK).</p>.<p>Stalin’s announcement in the Assembly was welcomed by all political parties represented in the House, including the BJP which projects itself as an alternative to the Dravidian parties. Social justice is a core principle of the Dravidian movement whose off-shoots are ruling the state since 1967.</p>.<p>Making the announcement under Rule 110 in the Assembly, Stalin paid rich tributes to Periyar, whose roots can be traced to present-day Karnataka, saying the social reformer’s two primary principles were equality of men and women and abolition of caste.</p>.<p>“Periyar launched the Self Respect Movement to ensure that people from all sections of the society live with dignity. The protests that he spearheaded can never be replicated by others. The words that came out of his mouth are those others were scared to utter. If I keep talking about him, I can go on for ten days,” Stalin told the Assembly.</p>.<p>The Chief Minister said the first amendment to the Indian Constitution came about because of Periyar, who “never went to Parliament.” The first amendment to the Constitution in 1951 concerned “fundamental rights”, the right to freedom of speech, rights against the compulsory acquisition of property (Art. 31) and rights against non-discrimination.</p>.<p>“The government has decided to observe Periyar’s birth anniversary on September 17 every year as the Day of Social Justice in Tamil Nadu,” Stalin said, adding that employees in all state government offices will take an oath to follow the principles of self-respect, rationalism, equality, brotherhood, and social justice.</p>.<p>Periyar is highly revered in Tamil Nadu for his fight against discrimination of women and some of his revolutionary ideas like the right to women in family properties were transformed into legislation by successive DMK governments.</p>.<p>BJP, which welcomed the announcement on Monday, views Periyar as its ideological opponent as it makes a concerted effort to emerge as an alternative to the Dravidian majors.</p>
