The other side of E. V. Ramasamy Naicker — Preface
This is a translation of M. Venkatesan’s book in Tamil which was also was published as a series of articles on www.tamilhindu.com. Permissions were obtained for the translation.
When you look at the title of this book, the first thought which would come to your mind is that the author must definitely be a Brahmin. That is not the case. I am writing about E. V. Ramasamy Naicker as someone from the Dalit community.
My first thoughts about E.V. Ramasamy Naicker were that
* he toiled for the sake of the Tamil language
* he fought for the downtrodden
* he was a voice for women’s rights
* he was a truthful person; without any contradictions
Due to these notions, I started reading many books on him. I had read 90 percent of the books published by Periyar self-respect publications.
I have also read books written by his contemporaries like Sivagnanam, P. Jeevanandham, T. P. Meenakshisundaram, U. Muthuramalinga Thevar, K. A. P. Viswanatham, Annathurai, Kamarajar and Bhavanar who had exposed the contradictions of Ramsamy Naikar.
From that, I understood that the idea everyone in Tamil Nadu had of Ramasamy Naicker was contradictory to his conduct.
Some might question if it is appropriate for a person from the Dalit community to write about Naicker, “the champion of the Dalits”. Such a question is natural.
When he was alive, Dalit leaders and Dalit writers had been denouncing him as an enemy of the Dalits. Even now, Dalit leaders and Dalit writers continue to hold the same opinion.
When some can say that Ramasamy Naicker has done a lot of good for the Dalits, I am within my rights to say that he has not done anything for the Dalits.
To those who claim that it was him who liberated the Dalits from oppression and was responsible for their upliftment, I can prove with evidence that it is a big lie. What history shows us is that he had not done even 1 % of what the likes of Shatavadhani Vairakkan Velayutha Puluvar, Pandit Arangayadas, Pandit C. Ayodhya Das, Vembuli Panditar, A. P. Periyasamy Puluvar, Muthuveera Navalar, Rajendram Pillai, Tiruchipuram Perumal, Thatha Rettaimalai Srinivasan, John Rathinam, Kolar G. Appadurai, Puduvai Ra. Kanagalingam, N. Sivaraj (former legislator and Member of Parliament) and Dr. Ambedkar had done.
So, if someone raises a question of whether I as a Dalit am qualified to write about Ramasamy Naicker, it must be a question arising out of hate. Hence, if someone claims that I have written without providing any evidence, I do cite the evidence.
His followers have shown only one side of him and have covered up his other side. I consider it a duty of a good citizen of Bharata to expose his other side. Hence I have taken the responsibility of shedding light on this topic. I have provided references to criticism of him by his contemporaries in the middle of the articles and as appendices. All of these add evidence to my views.
If at least one friend who is in the Dravidar Kazhagam delusion can be woken up by reading this book, I would consider it a victory.
I thank K. A Murugan of the All India Forward Bloc, which was started by spiritual giant Muthuramalingam Thevar who opposed Ramasamy Naicker till his last breath, for helping me publish this book.
I thank my friend Shri. Prakash M. Nayar who got me a lot of books and helped me immensely when I was intending to write this book. I also thank Shri. Balasubramanian who I consider my guru and as someone who motivated me, and my friends G. Suresh Kuamr, C. Harishankar, R. Natraj, M. Manikandan, A. Napoleon.
— M. Venkatesan
Continued in Part 1.
