Chennai : Former Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai has drawn a clear line between Dravida Kazhagam (DK) founder EV Ramasamy Naicker, or Periyar’s social reform legacy, and his own ideological positions. The clarification comes days after Annamalai’s tribute to Periyar on his 147th birth anniversary triggered a backlash among sections of his supporters.
Founder of the new political movement, We the Leaders, Annamalai acknowledged what he called Periyar’s contributions to women’s empowerment and the fight against caste discrimination, while drawing a firm ideological boundary. “We acknowledge that he [Periyar] advocated women’s liberation and spoke about the eradication of caste. The 42-year-old IPS officer-turned-politician made the remarks while addressing volunteers associated with We The Leaders after a seven-week cleanup drive along a 33-acre stretch of the Vaigai river in Madurai.
On September 17, Periyar’s 147th birth anniversary, Annamalai posted on X that the Dravidian leader had played a “pivotal role in social reform movements” and left an “indelible impact” on Tamil Nadu’s social and political history. He also called Periyar as someone who had spent much of his life fighting against “inequalities and superstitions”. The post stood out because Annamalai, during his years as Tamil Nadu BJP president, had frequently positioned himself against aspects of Periyarist politics, particularly over the placement of Periyar statues and atheistic messages near Hindu temples.
Critics also revived a 2024 video of Annamalai performing self-flagellation as an offering to Lord Murugan, juxtaposing the religious act with his reference to Periyar’s rationalist legacy. The backlash appears to have prompted Annamalai to spell out what parts of Periyar’s legacy he accepts and what he does not. At Sunday’s event, Annamalai argued that Periyar’s political history contained “numerous contradictions”. He cited Periyar’s positions on the Hindi language movement as one example.
Periyar remains one of the most consequential and contested figures in Tamil Nadu’s political history. His rationalist and anti-caste politics shaped the Dravidian movement, while his criticism of religion and Brahminical social structures continues to be both defended and opposed across the state’s political spectrum. He said his political movement, We The Leaders, would relocate such statues if it comes to power, arguing that devotees entering temples should not be confronted with explicitly atheistic messages.
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