Chennai, Sept 17:
Leaders across the political spectrum in Tamil Nadu paid tribute to social reformer Periyar E.V. Ramasamy on his 148th birth anniversary on Thursday, highlighting his contributions to social justice, rationalism, self-respect and equality.
Chief Minister Vijay said Periyar had spent his life spreading progressive ideas based on self-respect, social justice and rationalism, while fighting against caste and religious discrimination and for people’s rights. He said the social justice seeds sown by Periyar should flourish across generations. Vijay also called for building a Tamil Nadu where people prosper through equal opportunities and where self-respect remains strong.
DMK president M.K. Stalin said Periyar had worked to ensure that successive generations of Tamils could hold their heads high. Referring to what he described as the continuing presence of domination, Stalin said identifying and challenging such forms of domination would remain the responsibility of future generations. He stressed the importance of questioning, saying that the rationalist flame lit by Periyar should continue to shine across generations.
AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami also paid tribute to Periyar, describing his struggle as one against social domination rather than against any individual. Palaniswami said Periyar fought caste-based dominance, social inequalities and superstitions and sought to build a society founded on self-respect, rationalism, equality and social justice. He said Periyar’s message that there was no superiority or inferiority by birth and that every person should be treated as a human being had left a deep imprint on Tamil Nadu’s political and social life.