A Tamil, born to Tamil parents and having spent nearly 20 years in Bombay — I had never truly heard of Thanthai Periyar. Once, my mother mentioned him in passing: “He was a bad man — an atheist who broke idols of Hindu gods on roads.” That was all. Even during five years of hostel life in Coimbatore, no one spoke of Periyar’s work. For me, he was a dead thought.
Then I noticed his face everywhere in Tamil Nadu politics — DK, DMK, AIADMK. No political banner without Periyar’s ghost. Still, I never cared to ask why.
It took the Northies to shock me awake. They called me a “Tamil Periyarist” after reading my posts on Threads. They insisted I echoed Periyar’s thought. They also said calling him “Betiyar” was a slur. I had no clue. I later learned Betiyar means “a man who marries his own daughter” — a shocking claim that became my curiosity trigger.
I read about Periyar. And the more I read, the more I understood — and respected — why his shadow still looms over Tamil Nadu.
Here’s the irony: If the Northies hadn’t provoked me, Periyar might have remained a ghost to me forever. So thank you.