We celebrate Periyar E.V. Ramasamy’s birth anniversary (September 17) as Social Justice Day. At a fundamental level, I consider this a day for recalibrating our vision for a world where social justice and rationality define “the best possible version of truth” for a large majority of people. Even Periyar would have wanted us to question every concept and framework in the world, and not accept anything, because someone told us so. He converted interested crowds into keen listeners, listeners into avid thinkers, and thinkers into principled politicians and die-hard activists. Even those who did not enter the political fray tried to understand why he was steadfast about what he stood for.
Vision for the future
When he presented his thoughts, there was nuance, honesty, and an explicitness, which prompted even people practising different faiths to discuss and debate his ideas on rationality and religion. Periyar himself said, “Everyone has the right to refute any opinion. But no one has the right to prevent its expression.”
