women, practicing the usage of weapon rather than learning traditional dances is more important for women in the contemporary world to deal with the physical and mental dominance of men. He espied the invariable pleasures, benefits and pedantic freedom experienced by men in all aspects that was solely based on their gender and instituted several new revolutionary concepts like self-respect marriage that excluded all religious rites including the practice of wearing Thaali that serves as a symbol of being married for women, he mutinied widow remarriages and propagated the need for birth control even from 1920s as he viewed childbirth as a chain of bondage for womenfolk. After a point, he even endorsed contraceptives as he scrutinized the problem of population in the country, however he didn’t intend to oppose women birthing children altogether and he focused on limiting the number of parturition. He gained mass support for lawful abolition of Devadasi system and practice of child marriages. As a result of his unyielding attempts,
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the policy of reservations in job opportunities in Indian government was put into practice in Tamil Nadu.
Periyar’s views on wealth were again criticized harshly and neglected by many despite the rectitude it portrayed. He didn’t want people to be self-obsessed and to earn and spend only for their needs. He suggested youths to be conscious while spending and not to get carried away with what the entertainment sector shows. According to him, whatever a person is involved in, he should be oriented towards the needs of society as well and try to contribute something good for society. In the fullness of time, Thandhai Periyar can be seen as a self-propelled, born rebel who was harshly honest with the bitter truths of world and whose thoughts were wholly dispensed with the hidden motto to let humanity breathe in the so-called civilized world. Forty seven years after his fading into history, Periyar has been inspiring generations and lives in the hearts of millions.
March 2020
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