By Gail Omvedt 

``SO MANY movements have failed. In Tamil Nadu there was a movement in the name of anti-Brahmanism under the leadership of Periyar. It attracted Dalits, but after 30 years of power, the Dalits understand that they are as badly-off - or worse-off - as they were under the Brahmans. Under Dravidian rule, they have been attacked and killed, their due share in government service is not given, they are not allowed to rise.'' 

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Dr. Y.D. Phadke.

This brief Life Sketch of Mahatma Jotirao Phule is written by the noted the scholar Dr.Y.D. Phadke. He is the editor of the 'Collected Words of Mahatma Phule' in Marathi. He is also an eminent scholar of Mahatma Phule and the Satyashodhak Movement.

JOTIRAO GOVINDRAO PHULE occupies a unique position among the social reformers of Maharashtra in the nineteenth century. While other reformers concentrated more on reforming the social institutions of family and marriage with special emphasis on the status and rights of women, Jotirao Phule revolted against the unjust caste system under which millions of people had suffered for centuries.

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roundtableindia

 'Today is 24th death anniversary of Babu Jagjeevan Ram.

For many, both in the Dalit movement and outside it , Jagjeevan Ramji is a puzzle, a subject of intense debate/discussion.

There are people and political parties who will claim he is the tallest Dalit leader, of equal stature, if not bigger, as Dr. Ambedkar and there will be people/political parties, who may criticise him and question his contribution to the Dalit movement and Dalit empowerment and there will be people for whom he is at best a past, neither to be criticised, nor to be praised, a forgotten , towering personality, who had a lot of potential, achieved tremendous success, but failed to deliver to his people.

BY A K VISWAS

The 119th birth anniversary of Dr Babasaheb Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar has been observed on April 14 this year. On this occasion we offer our sincere homage to that towering personality by publishing the following article and a piece that N.C. wrote on him in 1990 when the Bharat Ratna was posthumously conferred on Dr Ambedkar.

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(First published in INSIGHT blog)

He was born on 28 August 1863 in Travancore, Kerala. He was one of the seven children of Ayyan of Pulaya caste (agricultural labour). Ayyankali grew up to be a tall, well built and handsome young man. He was known for his physical prowess and proficiency in the martial arts.

One particular child hood incident made Ayyankali aware of the caste prejudices prevalent in Travancore society. While playing football with children of his age the ball kicked by Ayyankali fell on the roof of a Nair house. The Nair warned him not to play with diku young men. Deeply hurt, he took oath never to play with them.

Then he went into a period of deep thought. He came out of a month of contemplation, a la Buddha, with a secret agenda - civil liberties for the untouchables.

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 Iyothee Thass or Pandit C. Ayodhya Dasa (Tamil: ?????????) (May 20, 1845–1914) was a practitioner of Siddha medicine who is regarded as a pioneer of the Dravidian Movement.Born on 20 May 1845, Thass's original name was Kaathavarayan. His grandfather has served as a butler to Lord Arlington. Kaathavarayan gained expertise in Tamil literature, philosophy, Siddha and had good knowledge of English, Sanskrit and Pali. After organising the tribal people in the Nilgris in the 1870s, he established the Advaidananda Sabha in 1876. He launched a magazine called Dravida Pandian along with Rev.

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By Louis Antony

INTRODUCTION:A person, who has devoted his whole life to a particular cause, should have three special qualities in order to be successful in his work. Those qualities are absolute courage, self-sacrifice and a clear plan of action. To a large extend Periyar posses all  these three qualities.