2. Nature of Backward Class Movements
• The activities of the Christian missionaries to win converts
among lower castes and the various socio-religious reform
movement among the Hindus further contributed to the
growth of awareness among the lower caste against
Brahmin’s domination and the oppressive nature of the caste
system. This led to the emergence of various backward class
movements in early 20th century.
• The British Government also lent support to these
movements in order to weaken the freedom struggle. Some
of the important backward class movement which grew in
early 20th century were:
• 1. Dravidian Movement
• 2. SNDP Movement
• 3. Mahar Movement
• According to MSA Rao these backward class movement were
transformative in nature.
3. Circumstances for the creation of
Dravidian Movement
• With the spread of Christianity and the western
education, the non Brahmin in the Madras
presidency region developed a new awareness as
a result of which resentment started growing
among them against the domination by Brahmin
and other higher castes in profession as well as in
politics, especially the Congress Party.
• They believed that, if they had to make
successful careers, the domination of Brahmins in
professional and political life had to be first
overthrown.
4. Cont…
• By 1914 this conflict between the emerging non-
Brahmin urban middle class and the establishment of
mostly Brahmin middle class and upper class took a
sharp turn.
• The non-Brahmin caste uniting themselves and the
Non-Brahmin Manifesto published in 1916 was
followed by the formation of South Indian Association
in 1917.
• After the Montague Chelmsford Reforms ‘South-Indian
Association’ was converted into Justice Party to
counter the political influence of the Congress.
5. Arrival of Periyar
• However the Justice Party was a party of
urban educated professional middle class elite
in nature and therefore failed to build a mass
base.
• Soon after, the self-respect movement was
founded in 1925 by E.V. Ramaswami, popularly
known as Thanthai Periyar.
6. Dravidian Ideology
• The self-respect movement was based on the
Dravidian ideology to save the non-Brahmin
from the tyranny of Brahmin who were
considered Aryans.
• The self-respect movement aimed at
removing the control of Brahmin from the
social and political level and sought to wean
the people away from the puranic ritualistic
Hinduism necessitating the presence of
Brahmin priest.
7. Merger of two organisation and
creation of Dravida Kazhaham
• It considered the Brahmin as the symbol of all
exploitation.
• This movement was successful in appealing to
the masses and acquired a mass following.
• Finally the self-respect movement and Justice
Party were merged in 1944 to from Dravida
Kazhaham headed by Periyar. It adopted a
militant mass agitational strategy and
advocated an egalitarian ideology condemning
the caste system.
8. Formation of Dravida Munnetra Kazhaham
• Later on in 1949, due to difference between the Periyar
and C. N. Annadurai who led the younger section in the
Dravida Kazhaham, there was a split leading to the
formation of Dravida Munnetra Kazhaham.
• The majority of the rank and file of D.K. joined the
DMK. Initially the support base of DMK consisted of
the lower middle class, students, lower castes like
Nadars, Marwars and Adi Dravidians and unemployed
youth, etc.
• Cinema was one of the effective media which was used
by DMK to propagate its ideology and win a mass base.
9. Transformation
• A consequences of the DMK was the decline in
the domination of Brahmins in Tamil Nadu, a
new sense of release and freedom among the
lower castes.
• However, later on as DMK tried to capture
power, it gradually abandoned its reformist
zeal and even the demand for creation of a
separate Dravidian Nadu and acquired a
character of one of the mainstream political
parties with a rational support base.
