Iyothee Thass Pandithar

The Tamil Nadu government has installed a statue of Dalit rights and anti-caste activist Iyothee Thass Pandithar in Chennai.

It will unveiled at Gandhi Mandapam on December 1, 2023. He was a prominent Tamil anti-caste activist and practitioner of Siddha medicine.

Birth – On May 20, 1845 in the former Madras Presidency.
Languages known – Tamil, English, Pali and Sanskrit.
Tribal activist – He organised the tribal people in the Nilgiris in 1870’s and then started Advaidananda Sabha in 1876.
Against Untouchability – He founded Panchamar Mahajana Sabha in 1891 along with Rettaimalai Srinivasan.He stressed that untouchables are not Hindus and shall be considered as Adi-Tamilars.
Renaissance of Buddhism – He established the ‘Sakya Buddhist Society’ in Madras in 1898 with branches all over South India, which is also known as Indian Buddhist Association.
Literature – He launched ‘Dravida Pandian’ magazine in 1885 along with John Rathinam and in 1907, he launched ‘Oru Paisa Tamizhan’, a Tamil newspaper.
Empowered depressed class – He succeeded in getting 1000’s of acres of lands and distributed among the landless poor under the scheme of ‘Panchami Lands’.

Panchama are people who do not belong to the Varna system. They are called Avarna communities.

Recognition – The Siddha Institute of Studies (National Siddha Institute) at Tambaram, Chennai was established in 2005 and named after the anti-caste Buddhist leader.
A commemorative stamp was issued in his honour in 2005.
His work was nationalized and in 2008 he was given alimony to his legal heirs.

Iyothee Thass Pandithar is also known as the ‘Father of Social Reforms in South India’ and also described as ‘Dravida Peroli’.

Source:

Join Our Telegram

Voice over 5G (Vo5G/ VoNR) AND Volte

Electoral Reforms and Postal Ballot

Oceanic Anoxic Event 1a and MASS EXTINCTION

25 Dec, 24
SHARE

Oceanic Anoxic Event 1a from the Paris Basin (Environment) Paper-3 PMP OAE 1a refers to a period during the Cretaceous Period (145 million years ago and ended 66 million years ago) when Earth's oceans became depleted of oxygen, causing a significant disruption in marine life. Cause: The event is believed to have been

Viksit Panchayat Karmayogi (Good governance)

26 Dec, 24
SHARE

Viksit Panchayat Karmayogi (Good governance) Governance GS PAPER-2 PMP Dr. Jitendra Singh launched the ‘Viksit Panchayat Karmayogi’ initiative on Good Governance Day, celebrated to mark the 100th birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The initiative, which is part of the broader ‘Prashasan Gaon

Major programmes to control Air Pollution

23 Dec, 24
SHARE

Major programmes to control Air Pollution National Clean Air Programme? It was launched by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) in January 2019. It is the first-ever effort in the country to frame a national framework for air quality management with a time-bound reduction target. The

Air pollution and Air quality Measures in India

21 Dec, 24
SHARE

Air pollution and Air quality Measures in India (Environment) GS Paper-3 P-M-P Air pollution may be defined as the presence of any solid, liquid or gaseous substance including noise and radioactive radiation in the atmosphere in such concentration that may be directly and/or indirectly injurious to humans or other l

Geopolitical Significance of Ports

20 Dec, 24
SHARE

Geopolitical Significance of Ports (IR) Act as geopolitical assets: Ports enhance the projection of strategic reach, which helps strengthen the country’s control over important sea and energy supply routes. E.g. Indian Navy’s staging base at Agalega Islands will enable marine patrols