Previous Year Question
With reference to the E.V. Ramaswami Nayakar, which of the following statement/s is/are correct?
He participated in the Non-Cooperation Movement.
He left the congress in 1925.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
Code:
Neither 1 nor 2
Only 2
Both 1 and 2
Only 1
Correct Answer: C
Detailed Solution
Statement 1 is correct. E.V. Ramaswami Nayakar, who later became popularly known as Periyar, remained actively associated for some time with the Indian National Congress and the national movement led by it. He participated in the Non-Cooperation Movement, offered satyagraha and supported the promotion of khadi.
During the Non-Cooperation period, he also participated in campaigns such as prohibition and picketing of toddy shops, along with programmes directed against British rule. During this phase, he emerged as an influential Congress leader in the Madras Presidency.
The question of social equality also remained important in his activities within the Congress. He demanded adequate political and administrative representation for non-Brahmin communities and wanted a clearer policy against caste-based inequality.
Statement 2 is also correct. Between 1919 and 1925, he repeatedly attempted to secure acceptance within the Congress for proposals concerning communal representation or representation for non-Brahmins, but these attempts failed. Growing differences on this issue eventually led him to leave the Congress in 1925.
In the same year, he carried forward the Self-Respect Movement. The movement campaigned against caste hierarchy, untouchability, priestly domination and social inequality.