robot: Update article (please report if you notice any mistake or error in this edit) |
expand structure and corrected details |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{Short description|Indian activist}} | {{Short description|Indian scheduled caste activist and politician (1860-1945)}} | ||
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2018}} | {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2018}} | ||
{{Use Indian English|date=August 2016}} | {{Use Indian English|date=August 2016}} | ||
{{Infobox person | {{Infobox person | ||
| | | name = Rettamalai Srinivasan | ||
| | | birth_date = {{Birth date|1860|7|7|df=y}} | ||
| | | image = R Srinivasan 2000 stamp of India.jpg | ||
| caption = Srinivasan (left) and [[Ambedkar]] (right) on a 2000 stamp of India | | caption = Srinivasan (left) and [[Ambedkar]] (right) on a 2000 stamp of India | ||
| | | native_name = | ||
| | | native_name_lang = | ||
| | | birth_place = [[Madras Presidency]], [[British India]] | ||
| | | spouse = | ||
| | | death_date = {{Death date and age|1945|9|18|1859|7|7|df=y}} | ||
| death_place = [[Madras Presidency]], [[British India]] | |||
| occupation = [[Lawyer]], [[Journalist]] and [[Politician]] | |||
}} | }} | ||
'''Diwan Bahadur Rettamalai Srinivasan''' ( | '''[[Dewan Bahadur|Diwan Bahadur]] Rettamalai Srinivasan''' (7 July 1860 – 18 September 1945), commonly known as '''R. Srinivasan''', was a scheduled caste activist and politician from then [[Madras Presidency]] of [[British India]] (now the [[Indian state]] of [[Tamil Nadu]]). He is a [[Paraiyar]] icon and was a close associate of [[Mahatma Gandhi]] and was also an associate of [[Dr. B. R. Ambedkar|B. R. Ambedkar]].<ref name="Govt to celebrate">{{cite news | title= 'Govt to celebrate Rettamalai Srinivasan's birthday' | date=6 July 2011 | url =https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/govt-to-celebrate-rettamalai-srinivasans-birthday/article2200160.ece | work =The Hindu | access-date = 3 November 2011}}</ref> He is remembered today as one of the pioneers of the Scheduled caste movement in India. He founded the Adi dravida mahajana sabha in 1893.<ref name="cotextualizingdalitmovementp10">[[#Cotextualizing Dalit ....(vikas)Movement in South India|Cotextualizing scheduled caste Movement in South India]], Pg 10</ref> | ||
==Early life== | ==Early life== | ||
Rettamalai Srinivasan was born | Rettamalai Srinivasan was born on 7 July 1860<ref name="TheHindu-article2209812" /> (or 1859<ref name="TheHindu-article3800613"/><ref name="PT64"/>) in a poor Tamil family in Madras Presidency.<ref name="talismanpxxvi">[[#Thirumavalavan 2003|Thirumavalavan 2003]], Pg xxvi</ref> His family was able to send him to a residential school in [[Coimbatore]] because of his father Rettamalai's trade relations with the British. He was the only [[Paraiyar]] student among the 400 pupils in the school. He then worked as an accountant at Ooty which was then the summer capital of the Madras presidency. Ooty was brimming with Dalit political activism then and Srinivasan grew interested.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Remembering Rettamalai Srinivasan, the Lasting Emblem of Dalit Political Aspiration|url=https://thewire.in/caste/remembering-rettamalai-srinivasan-the-lasting-emblem-of-dalit-political-aspirations|access-date=2021-09-18|website=The Wire}}</ref> | ||
He was a brother-in-law of the famous scheduled castes activist [[Iyothee Thass]]. He worked as a translator in a South African court when Gandhi was practicing there as an advocate; he was instrumental in Mahathma Gandhi putting his signature in Tamil as "Mo.Ka. Gandhi" ([[Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi]] in Tamil).<ref name="Govt to celebrate" /><ref name="uproothindutvap227">[[#Thirumavalavan|Thirumavalavan]], Pg 227</ref> | He was a brother-in-law of the famous scheduled castes activist [[Iyothee Thass]]. He worked as a [[Translation|translator]] in a South African court when Gandhi was practicing there as an advocate; he was instrumental in Mahathma Gandhi putting his signature in Tamil as "Mo.Ka. Gandhi" ([[Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi]] in Tamil).<ref name="Govt to celebrate" /><ref name="uproothindutvap227">[[#Thirumavalavan 2004|Thirumavalavan 2004]], Pg 227</ref> | ||
Srinivasan established and led the ''Paraiyar Mahajana Sabha'' in 1891<ref name="uproothindutvap44">[[#Thirumavalavan|Thirumavalavan]], Pg 44</ref> which later became the ''Adi-Dravida Mahajana Sabha''.<ref name="uproothindutvap227" /><ref name="uproothindutvap44" /> He founded a Tamil newspaper called ''Paraiyan'' in October 1893<ref name="upismanpxxvii">[[# | Srinivasan established and led the ''Paraiyar Mahajana Sabha'' in 1891<ref name="uproothindutvap44">[[#Thirumavalavan 2004|Thirumavalavan 2004]], Pg 44</ref> which later became the ''Adi-Dravida Mahajana Sabha''.<ref name="uproothindutvap227" /><ref name="uproothindutvap44" /> He founded a Tamil newspaper called ''Paraiyan'' in October 1893<ref name="upismanpxxvii">[[#Thirumavalavan 2003|Thirumavalavan 2003]], Pg xxvii</ref> which started selling as a monthly with four pages for the price of four annas.<ref name="21stcenturyjournalism66">{{cite book | title=21st Century Journalism in India| last=Rajan| first=Nalini| year=2007| pages=66| isbn=9780761935612}}</ref> However, ''Paraiyan'' experienced great difficulties in its early days.{{citation needed|date=January 2018}} | ||
Srinivasan was a participant in the freedom movement and an arrest warrant was issued against him claiming that he was fleeing the nation. In 1896, a case was filed against the newspaper and Srinivasan was dragged to the court citing a letter to the editor. The editor Srinivasan was fined {{INR}} 100 for his writings.<ref name="21stcenturyjournalism70">{{cite book | title=21st Century Journalism in India| last=Rajan| first=Nalini| year=2007| pages=70| isbn=9780761935612}}</ref> | Srinivasan was a participant in the freedom movement and an arrest warrant was issued against him claiming that he was fleeing the nation. In 1896, a case was filed against the newspaper and Srinivasan was dragged to the court citing a letter to the editor. The editor Srinivasan was fined {{INR}} 100 for his writings.<ref name="21stcenturyjournalism70">{{cite book | title=21st Century Journalism in India| last=Rajan| first=Nalini| year=2007| pages=70| isbn=9780761935612}}</ref> | ||
| Line 28: | Line 30: | ||
==Round Table Conference== | ==Round Table Conference== | ||
[[File:Thiru. Irattai malai Sreenivasan.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Rettamalai Srinivasan memorial building, [[Gandhi Mandapam (Chennai)|Gandhi Mandapam]], [[Chennai]].]] | [[File:Thiru. Irattai malai Sreenivasan.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Rettamalai Srinivasan memorial building, [[Gandhi Mandapam (Chennai)|Gandhi Mandapam]], [[Chennai]].]] | ||
Rettamalai Srinivasan represented the Paraiyars in the first two [[Round Table Conferences (India)|Round Table Conferences]] in London (1930 and 1931) along with [[B. R. Ambedkar]].<ref name="cotextualizingdalitmovementp29">[[#Cotextualizing Dalit Movement in South India|Cotextualizing Dalit Movement in South India]], Pg 29</ref> In 1932, Ambedkar, [[M. C. Rajah]] and Rettamalai Srinivasan briefly joined the board of the Servants of Untouchables Society established by Gandhi.<ref> | Rettamalai Srinivasan represented the Paraiyars in the first two [[Round Table Conferences (India)|Round Table Conferences]] in London (1930 and 1931) along with [[B. R. Ambedkar]].<ref name="cotextualizingdalitmovementp29">[[#Cotextualizing Dalit Movement in South India|Cotextualizing Dalit Movement in South India]], Pg 29</ref> In 1932, Ambedkar, [[M. C. Rajah]] and Rettamalai Srinivasan briefly joined the board of the Servants of Untouchables Society established by Gandhi.<ref name="TheHindu-article2209812">{{cite news |last1=Karthikeyan |first1=D. |url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-tamilnadu/a-saga-of-long-struggle/article2209812.ece |title=A saga of long struggle |work=The Hindu |date=7 July 2011 |language=en-IN}}</ref> In 1936, he established the Madras Province Scheduled Castes' Party.{{citation needed|date=July 2024}} | ||
In the Round Table Conference, he shared the dais with [[B. R. Ambedkar|Ambedkar]] and continued to have interaction with him. But, he differed greatly with Ambedkar on the question of [[Untouchables (caste)|untouchables]] converting to other religions. In the Yeola Conference in 1935, Ambedkar thundered "I was born as a Hindu, I solemnly assure you that I will not die as a Hindu". Rettamalai Srinivasan said, "[[Depressed class|Depressed Classes]] are not in the Hindu fold. They are full blooded [[Dravidian peoples|Dravidian]] in race".<ref>{{Cite news|last=Kolappan|first=B.|date=2012-08-21|title=Little-known facts about a well-known leader|language=en-IN|work=The Hindu|url=https://www.thehindu.com/books/littleknown-facts-about-a-wellknown-leader/article3800613.ece|access-date=2021-09-18|issn=0971-751X}}</ref> | In the Round Table Conference, he shared the dais with [[B. R. Ambedkar|Ambedkar]] and continued to have interaction with him. But, he differed greatly with Ambedkar on the question of [[Untouchables (caste)|untouchables]] converting to other religions. In the Yeola Conference in 1935, Ambedkar thundered "I was born as a Hindu, I solemnly assure you that I will not die as a Hindu". Rettamalai Srinivasan said, "[[Depressed class|Depressed Classes]] are not in the Hindu fold. They are full blooded [[Dravidian peoples|Dravidian]] in race".<ref name="TheHindu-article3800613">{{Cite news|last=Kolappan|first=B.|date=2012-08-21|title=Little-known facts about a well-known leader|language=en-IN|work=The Hindu|url=https://www.thehindu.com/books/littleknown-facts-about-a-wellknown-leader/article3800613.ece|access-date=2021-09-18|issn=0971-751X}}</ref> | ||
In 1936 he was conferred to the title of '[[Dewan Bahadur|Diwan Bahadur]]' by British government for his service to Depressed Classes.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Teltumbde|first=Anand|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fZXgDAAAQBAJ&q=diwan+bahadur+rettamalai+srinivasan&pg=PT64|title=Dalits: Past, present and future|date=2016-08-19|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-315-52643-0|language=en}}</ref> | In 1936 he was conferred to the title of '[[Dewan Bahadur|Diwan Bahadur]]' by British government for his service to Depressed Classes.<ref name="PT64">{{Cite book|last=Teltumbde|first=Anand|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fZXgDAAAQBAJ&q=diwan+bahadur+rettamalai+srinivasan&pg=PT64|title=Dalits: Past, present and future|date=2016-08-19|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-315-52643-0|language=en}}</ref> | ||
==Memorials== | ==Memorials== | ||
| Line 46: | Line 49: | ||
==References== | ==References== | ||
* {{cite book | title=Talisman, Extreme Emotions of Dalit Liberation: Extreme Emotions of Dalit Liberation| last=Thirumavalavan| first=Thol|author2=Meena Kandasamy | year=2003|publisher=Popular Prakashan| isbn=978-81-85604-68-8|ref= | * {{cite book | title=Talisman, Extreme Emotions of Dalit Liberation: Extreme Emotions of Dalit Liberation| last=Thirumavalavan| first=Thol|author2=Meena Kandasamy | year=2003|publisher=Popular Prakashan| isbn=978-81-85604-68-8|ref=Thirumavalavan 2003 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VsE2KwKwh0YC}} | ||
* {{cite book | title=Uproot Hindutva: The Fiery Voice of the Liberation Panthers| last=Thirumavalavan| first=Thol|author2=Meena Kandasamy | year=2004|publisher=Popular Prakashan| isbn=978-81-85604-79-4|ref=Thirumavalavan}} | * {{cite book | title=Uproot Hindutva: The Fiery Voice of the Liberation Panthers| last=Thirumavalavan| first=Thol|author2=Meena Kandasamy | year=2004|publisher=Popular Prakashan| isbn=978-81-85604-79-4|ref=Thirumavalavan 2004 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HfNRO-LtsN4C }} | ||
*{{cite journal | title=Cotextualizing Dalit Movement in South India| journal=Vikalp| year=2005| url=http://vakindia.org/archives/Vikalp-Aug2005.pdf|ref=Cotextualizing Dalit Movement in South India}} | *{{cite journal| title=Cotextualizing Dalit Movement in South India| journal=Vikalp| year=2005| url=http://vakindia.org/archives/Vikalp-Aug2005.pdf| ref=Cotextualizing Dalit Movement in South India| archive-date=13 April 2016| access-date=12 October 2008| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160413175129/http://vakindia.org/archives/Vikalp-Aug2005.pdf| url-status=dead}} | ||
==Further reading== | ==Further reading== | ||
| Line 55: | Line 58: | ||
* {{cite book | title=Scheduled Castes, History of Elevation, Tamil Nadu, 1900–1955: History of Elevation, Tamil Nadu, 2000–2015| last=Mohan| first=Pullam Ethiraj| year=1993| publisher=New Era Publications}} | * {{cite book | title=Scheduled Castes, History of Elevation, Tamil Nadu, 1900–1955: History of Elevation, Tamil Nadu, 2000–2015| last=Mohan| first=Pullam Ethiraj| year=1993| publisher=New Era Publications}} | ||
{{Dravidian politics | {{Dravidian politics}} | ||
{{Indian Independence Movement}} | {{Indian Independence Movement}} | ||
| Line 63: | Line 66: | ||
[[Category:1945 deaths]] | [[Category:1945 deaths]] | ||
[[Category:Tamil activists]] | [[Category:Tamil activists]] | ||
[[Category:Paraiyar leaders]] | [[Category:Paraiyar leaders]] | ||
[[Category:Dewan Bahadurs]] | [[Category:Dewan Bahadurs]] | ||
| Line 73: | Line 75: | ||
[[Category:Dalit leaders]] | [[Category:Dalit leaders]] | ||
[[Category:Anti-caste activists]] | [[Category:Anti-caste activists]] | ||
[[Category:People from the Madras Presidency]] | |||
Latest revision as of 02:18, 30 October 2025
Rettamalai Srinivasan | |
|---|---|
 Srinivasan (left) and Ambedkar (right) on a 2000 stamp of India | |
| Born | 7 July 1860 |
| Died | 18 September 1945 (aged 86) |
| Occupation | Lawyer, Journalist and Politician |
Diwan Bahadur Rettamalai Srinivasan (7 July 1860 – 18 September 1945), commonly known as R. Srinivasan, was a scheduled caste activist and politician from then Madras Presidency of British India (now the Indian state of Tamil Nadu). He is a Paraiyar icon and was a close associate of Mahatma Gandhi and was also an associate of B. R. Ambedkar.[1] He is remembered today as one of the pioneers of the Scheduled caste movement in India. He founded the Adi dravida mahajana sabha in 1893.[2]
Early life[edit | edit source]
Rettamalai Srinivasan was born on 7 July 1860[3] (or 1859[4][5]) in a poor Tamil family in Madras Presidency.[6] His family was able to send him to a residential school in Coimbatore because of his father Rettamalai's trade relations with the British. He was the only Paraiyar student among the 400 pupils in the school. He then worked as an accountant at Ooty which was then the summer capital of the Madras presidency. Ooty was brimming with Dalit political activism then and Srinivasan grew interested.[7]
He was a brother-in-law of the famous scheduled castes activist Iyothee Thass. He worked as a translator in a South African court when Gandhi was practicing there as an advocate; he was instrumental in Mahathma Gandhi putting his signature in Tamil as "Mo.Ka. Gandhi" (Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi in Tamil).[1][8]
Srinivasan established and led the Paraiyar Mahajana Sabha in 1891[9] which later became the Adi-Dravida Mahajana Sabha.[8][9] He founded a Tamil newspaper called Paraiyan in October 1893[10] which started selling as a monthly with four pages for the price of four annas.[11] However, Paraiyan experienced great difficulties in its early days.[citation needed]
Srinivasan was a participant in the freedom movement and an arrest warrant was issued against him claiming that he was fleeing the nation. In 1896, a case was filed against the newspaper and Srinivasan was dragged to the court citing a letter to the editor. The editor Srinivasan was fined ₹ 100 for his writings.[12]
Round Table Conference[edit | edit source]
Rettamalai Srinivasan represented the Paraiyars in the first two Round Table Conferences in London (1930 and 1931) along with B. R. Ambedkar.[13] In 1932, Ambedkar, M. C. Rajah and Rettamalai Srinivasan briefly joined the board of the Servants of Untouchables Society established by Gandhi.[3] In 1936, he established the Madras Province Scheduled Castes' Party.[citation needed]
In the Round Table Conference, he shared the dais with Ambedkar and continued to have interaction with him. But, he differed greatly with Ambedkar on the question of untouchables converting to other religions. In the Yeola Conference in 1935, Ambedkar thundered "I was born as a Hindu, I solemnly assure you that I will not die as a Hindu". Rettamalai Srinivasan said, "Depressed Classes are not in the Hindu fold. They are full blooded Dravidian in race".[4]
In 1936 he was conferred to the title of 'Diwan Bahadur' by British government for his service to Depressed Classes.[5]
Memorials[edit | edit source]
Commemorative stamps have been issued in memory of Rettamalai Srinivasan by the Department of Posts of the Government of India.[14] Cadres of the Viduthalai Siruthaigal party claimed to have discovered the remains of the Paraiyar leader in Otteri and constructed a memorial over his mortal remains and named it Urimai Kalam.[9] On 6 July 2011, Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa had directed that his birth anniversary on 7 July be observed as a government function and ministers to honour him by garlanding his statue located inside Gandhi Mandapam, Chennai.[1]
His grandson B. Parameswaran became a minister in the Government of Tamil Nadu and a member of the Indian parliament.
Notes[edit | edit source]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "'Govt to celebrate Rettamalai Srinivasan's birthday'". The Hindu. 6 July 2011. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
- ↑ Cotextualizing scheduled caste Movement in South India, Pg 10
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Karthikeyan, D. (7 July 2011). "A saga of long struggle". The Hindu.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Kolappan, B. (21 August 2012). "Little-known facts about a well-known leader". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Teltumbde, Anand (19 August 2016). Dalits: Past, present and future. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-315-52643-0.
- ↑ Thirumavalavan 2003, Pg xxvi
- ↑ "Remembering Rettamalai Srinivasan, the Lasting Emblem of Dalit Political Aspiration". The Wire. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Thirumavalavan 2004, Pg 227
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Thirumavalavan 2004, Pg 44
- ↑ Thirumavalavan 2003, Pg xxvii
- ↑ Rajan, Nalini (2007). 21st Century Journalism in India. p. 66. ISBN 9780761935612.
- ↑ Rajan, Nalini (2007). 21st Century Journalism in India. p. 70. ISBN 9780761935612.
- ↑ Cotextualizing Dalit Movement in South India, Pg 29
- ↑ "No rules violated in stamp release function". The Hindu. 19 August 2004. Archived from the original on 29 June 2009. Retrieved 9 October 2008.
References[edit | edit source]
- Thirumavalavan, Thol; Meena Kandasamy (2003). Talisman, Extreme Emotions of Dalit Liberation: Extreme Emotions of Dalit Liberation. Popular Prakashan. ISBN 978-81-85604-68-8.
- Thirumavalavan, Thol; Meena Kandasamy (2004). Uproot Hindutva: The Fiery Voice of the Liberation Panthers. Popular Prakashan. ISBN 978-81-85604-79-4.
- "Cotextualizing Dalit Movement in South India" (PDF). Vikalp. 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 April 2016. Retrieved 12 October 2008.
Further reading[edit | edit source]
- Mohan, J. (2001). History of Dalit Struggle for Freedom: Dravidian Parties and Dalit Uprise in Tamil Nadu. Dhamma Institute of Social Sciences.
- Mohan, Pullam Ethiraj (1993). Scheduled Castes, History of Elevation, Tamil Nadu, 1900–1955: History of Elevation, Tamil Nadu, 2000–2015. New Era Publications.