[Social Reformers of South] Thiruvalluvar, Chennaiah, Iyodhee Pandithar, Ayyankali, Subramanya Bharathi

Iyothi Dhass (20 May,1845 – 5 may,1914) – 1st Person who had worked for the cause of revivalism of Buddhism in modern India:

BORN : 20 may, 1845.
DIED : 5 may, 1914.

TITTLE :
Pandit, Morning star of Rationalist Movement in Tamil nadu.

ACHIEVEMENTS :
He was the 1st person who instrumental in articulating the idea that the downtrodden people were not only Buddhists formerly but were the original inhabitants of India which later paved way for many social movements. He was the first Leader who had worked for the cause of revivalism of Buddhism in modern India. In 1898, Dhass founded the “Sakya Buddhist Society” ( Indian Buddhist Association). He succeed in the getting the thousands of acres of lands and distributed among the landless poor under the scheme of “Panchami Lands”.

LIFE :
* Birth Place – Nilgiris.
* Father – Kandaswamy.
* Original Name – Kathavarayan.
* He was also a popular Siddha Doctor. He gained expertise in reading palm leaf manuscripts, Tamil literature, philosophy, Siddha and had good knowledge of English, Sanskrit and Pali. Iyothee Thass was the first Dalit to undergo a personal educational revolution. He educated himself in Tamil, Sanskrit, Pali and English. Because he was self-taught, he was able to shed new light on Tamil and Pali culture and spirituality. He is a role model for every Dalit student struggling in casteist, run-down government schools. He realized, as few others did, that the real revolutionary potential lay not in urban Dalits, but in the rural Dalits and adivasis. Iyothee Thass united and organized the various tribes of the Nilgiri Hills (Wayanad in Kerala, Nilgiris in Tamil Nadu).
* 1885 – Launched a magazine ‘Dravida Pandian’.
* 1886 – He announcing that the so called Untochables are not Hindus.
* 1891 – established the Dravida Mahajana Sabha and during 1st census urged the so called Untochables to register themselves as casteless Dravidians.
* 1896 – He moved from Nilgiris to Chennai where he created one Buddhist Temple.

SOCIAL REFORMS :
Iyothee Thass was a forerunner of Dr.Babasaheb Ambedkar and EV.Ramasamy Periyar. He was the first Dalit to use Dravidian sentimental legacy to liberate Dalits from Hinduism. He did this based on his deep knowledge of Tamil history, culture and social dynamics. He was the first Dalit to realize the revolutionary legacy of Buddhism and to use Buddhism to create social change. While his movement did not transcend religion into a genuine spiritual movement, it had a tremendous impact in Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka. Iyothee Thass created the first ideological media revolution, writing from his deep personal knowledge to enlighten Dalits on countless subjects. Still today, his writings are not properly compiled let alone translated. Iyothee Thass was also an intellectual revolutionary because while most Indians were running after Western knowledge or imagining airplanes and atoms in the Vedas, Iyothee Thass revived the Dravidian Siddha system of medicine. The Tamil Siddhas were among the most revolutionary poets in Indian history. Their strong assault on not just casteism but the very materialist mentality behind it has a powerful impact, even in translation, on any materialist, western or eastern. Iyothee Thass revived this anti-Brahminical medical knowledge system in the teeth of resistance from the Aryan, Ayurvedic establishment.

His meeting with Olcott was a turning point not only in his life but also for the Dalit movement in many ways. He led a delegation of prominent Dalits to Henry Steel Olcott and asked for his help in the re-establishment of “Tamil Buddhism”. Olcott helped Thass to visit Sri Lanka, where he received Diksha from Bhikkhu Sumangala Nayake. After returning to India, Thass established the ‘Sakya Buddhist Society’ in Madras with branches in many places including Karnataka. Thass established a weekly magazine called Oru Paisa Tamizhan (“One Paisa Tamilan”) in Chennai on 19th June 1907 and its price was ‘one paisa’. On 26th August 1908, the name, Oru Paisa Tamizhan, was changed into Tamizhan. He established of several Panchama schools in chennai. Iyothee Thass, with the help of Col. Olcott, set up five schools in the City, specifically for the Depressed Class. It was from these schools that the first generation of leaders and ideologues emerged. He died in the year 1914. The Central Govt has decided to restore Iyothi Dhass and name to “ The National centre for Siddha research in chennai”. Prof. Lakshmi Narasu and M.Singaravelu were the disciples and best associates of Pandit Iyothi Thass. Singaravelu was one the founding father of the Communist Party of India in Tamil Nadu.

Books written:
He he has written 325 political, 55 literary, 51 social, 109 religious articles in Tamizhan. On 3rd February 1909, he wrote an article about voting right to minority. Iyothee Thass wrote several articles in the Tamizhan explaining the historical evolution of the society, religious traditions and cultural patterns of Tamil Nadu. Dalit political discourses dominated the columns of Tamizhan. These bring out a systematic argument of the first ever Depressed Class Ideology in Tamil Nadu. In Indirar Desa Charithram (History of the Country of Indrars), Iyothee Thass declared that in the past, the Subcontinent was known as ‘Indirar Desam’ or the ‘Land of Indirar’. Indirar was none other than the Buddha who had managed to control his five senses successfully. His knowledge prompted him to arrive at the conclusion that the Panchamas were not Hindus but ‘Adi Thamizharhal’ (Original Tamils). Iyothee Thass also wrote at length on Buddhism, the life of Buddha, his readings, the dialogues he had with his disciples, and on the principles of faith and action which he upheld. He argued that the text, Thirukural, was originally known as Thiri-kural (thiri means three) and it was the first Buddhist Text in a Dravidian Language. The Kural content adhered to the three Pitakas of the Buddha’s Teachings and hence it was known as the Thirukural. The idea of Communal Reservation was articulated in 1885 by him.