Question

What are the aims of the self-respect movement?

Answer 1

Hint: It was a social movement which began in Tamil Nadu by E.V Ramaswamy Naicker. He was the first leader to propagate the idea of the self-respect movement. It’s a very important event in the timeline of Dalit history.

Complete answer: The self-respect movement was a dynamic social movement aimed at destroying the contemporary Hindu social order, which divided people based on their caste and religion.
It was started by E.V. Ramaswamy in 1925 in Tamil Nadu, its main objectives were:-
a. Breaking the Brahmanical Hegemony
b. To do away with the existing social structure of the society where a certain class of people is considered superior to the others.
c. Equal opportunities for all people irrespective of their caste, community and gender.
d. Completely eradicate untouchability and establish a united society in India.
e. Encouraging people to drop their castes and titles.
The self-respect movement or the Dravidian movement was also a strong supporter of feminist ideology, it demanded equal respect for women, and propagated the ideas of letting women come to the forefront, female education was also an essential idea of this movement, the followers of the movement campaigned for equality. However, ultimately it didn’t prove to be very effective as far as gender equality is concerned.

Note: The movement did to some extent fill people with self-respect and encouraged them to give up their titles. Post-independence Tamil Nadu became the first state to legalise Hindu marriages without a brahmin priest. However, there’s still a long way to go as it failed to empower women.