Rettamalai Srinivasan
Rettamalai Srinivasan | |
|---|---|
British India | |
| Occupation(s) | Lawyer, journalist and politician |
Early life
Rettamalai Srinivasan was born in 1860 in a poor Tamil family in Madras Presidency.[3] His family was able to send him to a residential school in Coimbatore because of his father Rettamalai's trade relations with the British. He was the only Paraiyar student among the 400 pupils in the school. He then worked as an accountant at Ooty which was then the summer capital of the Madras presidency. Ooty was brimming with Dalit political activism then and Srinivasan grew interested.[4]
He was a brother-in-law of the famous scheduled castes activist
Srinivasan established and led the Paraiyar Mahajana Sabha in 1891[6] which later became the Adi-Dravida Mahajana Sabha.[5][6] He founded a Tamil newspaper called Paraiyan in October 1893[7] which started selling as a monthly with four pages for the price of four annas.[8] However, Paraiyan experienced great difficulties in its early days.[citation needed]
Srinivasan was a participant in the freedom movement and an arrest warrant was issued against him claiming that he was fleeing the nation. In 1896, a case was filed against the newspaper and Srinivasan was dragged to the court citing a letter to the editor. The editor Srinivasan was fined ₹ 100 for his writings.[9]
Round Table Conference
Rettamalai Srinivasan represented the Paraiyars in the first two Round Table Conferences in London (1930 and 1931) along with B. R. Ambedkar.[10] In 1932, Ambedkar, M. C. Rajah and Rettamalai Srinivasan briefly joined the board of the Servants of Untouchables Society established by Gandhi.[11] In 1936, he established the Madras Province Scheduled Castes' Party.
In the Round Table Conference, he shared the dais with
In 1936 he was conferred to the title of 'Diwan Bahadur' by British government for his service to Depressed Classes.[13]
Memorials
Commemorative stamps have been issued in memory of Rettamalai Srinivasan by the Department of Posts of the Government of India.
His grandson B. Parameswaran became a minister in the Government of Tamil Nadu and a member of the Indian parliament.
Notes
- ^ a b c "'Govt to celebrate Rettamalai Srinivasan's birthday'". The Hindu. 6 July 2011. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
- ^ Cotextualizing scheduled caste Movement in South India, Pg 10
- ^ Talisman, Pg xxvi
- ^ "Remembering Rettamalai Srinivasan, the Lasting Emblem of Dalit Political Aspiration". The Wire. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
- ^ a b Thirumavalavan, Pg 227
- ^ a b c Thirumavalavan, Pg 44
- ^ Talisman, Pg xxvii
- ISBN 9780761935612.
- ISBN 9780761935612.
- ^ Cotextualizing Dalit Movement in South India, Pg 29
- ^ A saga of long struggle – TAMIL NADU – The Hindu
- ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
- ISBN 978-1-315-52643-0.
- ^ "No rules violated in stamp release function". The Hindu. 19 August 2004. Archived from the original on 29 June 2009. Retrieved 9 October 2008.
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References
- Thirumavalavan, Thol; Meena Kandasamy (2003). Talisman, Extreme Emotions of Dalit Liberation: Extreme Emotions of Dalit Liberation. Popular Prakashan. ISBN 978-81-85604-68-8.
- Thirumavalavan, Thol; Meena Kandasamy (2004). Uproot Hindutva: The Fiery Voice of the Liberation Panthers. Popular Prakashan. ISBN 978-81-85604-79-4.
- "Cotextualizing Dalit Movement in South India" (PDF). Vikalp. 2005.
Further reading
- Mohan, J. (2001). History of Dalit Struggle for Freedom: Dravidian Parties and Dalit Uprise in Tamil Nadu. Dhamma Institute of Social Sciences.
- Mohan, Pullam Ethiraj (1993). Scheduled Castes, History of Elevation, Tamil Nadu, 1900–1955: History of Elevation, Tamil Nadu, 2000–2015. New Era Publications.