Prof. A. Samson
The book “Dravidaththal Vizhndhom” was published in the year 1994. In the beginning, this title sparked huge controversy and vehemence, though it has now become indispensable in advocating the Tamils’ National Liberational Politics. This book as stated by author Guna, is not a research book, but a first-hand espousal of the slave-like state of the Tamils’, which evoked a myriad of emotions and thoughts that were inherently oppressed but found a way of exploding through this book. As supported by the dialectics of the interchanging of Necessity and Chance, this book was involuntarily brought forth by the writer, and it resulted in changing the Tamil Nadu politics. The unburnished argument that Dravidian ideology brought in a counter-thought for the Aryan ideology is negated by the author who shed light on three unique aspects: 1. The independent nature of the Tamils’ Nation; 2. The methodology based on Tamils’ historiography; and 3. The probes into the philosophies of the ancient Tamils’.
These aspects reiterate and evolve the fact that even if one breaks the iron-clad shackles of Aryan ideology, the Tamils’ are still left with the leg irons of Dravidian ideology which poses the biggest hindrance to their liberation. This realization brought forth the concept “ Dravidaththal Vizhndhom” which uproariously commented on the Tamil National Liberation Politics. When the people in Andhra call themselves as Telugus, those in Karnataka are Kannadigas, and the people in Kerala claim themselves to be Malayalis, why the Tamils in Tamil Nadu alone were branded as ‘Dravidians’? Answer to this question could be found in the light of Tamils’ historiography which is further elaborated in this book of Arignar Guna.
The Dravidian ideology is a historical notion. Its opposite is the Aryan ideology. The simplest historical explanation presented by the Dravidian ideology is that the ‘Dravidians’ were defeated and enslaved because the Aryan barbarians, who intruded grazing their sheep, oppressed the Tamils and imposed castes and creed on them to suppress them. The other side of the coin (or the Aryan ideology) is the Dravidian ideology. Aryan and Dravidian were Siamese twins. Aryan ideology and Dravidian ideology are two racist notions. Even though the ‘Dravidian’ was so deceptive and crooked, the intellectuals and politicians among the Tamils had become addicted to that ideology and it became a major cause for us to lose and ruin our true history.
The homeland of Tamils shrank to lay from Vindhyas to Kumari during the Sangam period. After such shrinking of the Tamil homeland, did any direct Aryan invasion ever take place on Tamil Nadu? No! Except for the arrival of the British, no northerner ever conquered the Tamil country and ruled it directly.
On the whole, no major Northern invasion was successful south of the Vindhyas. Therefore, it is a big blunder to blindly impose on the two-thousand-year history of Tamils what all took place in North India, far beyond the Vindhyas. This is where the Arya-Dravidian policy thrust on the Tamils took the first blow. The Aryans, who are said to have come through the Khyber and Bolan passes, have no proven history of conquering Tamil Nadu, down south.
However, the Dravidian ideologists, who do not know the difference between Paarppaariyam, Brahmanism, and Aryanism, believe that all these three are the same. Lacking such subtle historical interpretation, E.V.R confused and conflated Paarppaariyam with Brahmanism and Aryanism. He confronted the Aryan Bogey through his Dravidian bogey.
If not the Aryans, who else conquered the Tamil country? The first major invasion of Tamil Nadu was the Kalabhra invasion. These invaders were Kannada Vadugas, and they were followed by the Pallavas, Chalukyas, Vijayanagara and Nayakars, who were all Telugu Vadugas.
During the Nayakar regime, the Tamil race was buried deep in the caste mire, and some people were branded as Untouchables and Unseeables. The Naickar regime favoured and nurtured Brahmanism. Next came the Martha invaders to drink the blood of the Tamils. Thus the fact is that Tamil land was occupied not by Aryan invaders but only by Dravidian Vadugas through the Kannada, Telugu, and Maratha invasions. Did the situation ever change with the arrival of the British? No. In the erstwhile Madras Province, the Telugu elite were successively able to become its Chief Ministers, Ministers or Governors. Same was the story even after the ‘Non-Brahman’ Justice Party or the Congress Party coming to power!
The Telugu or Kannada elite had strengthened and enriched themselves in Tamil Nadu through their Aryan bogey. Dravidian politics was a tool in the hands of the Vadugas to grab and swallow the Tamil land. Can’t any one understand that the Aryan Bogey was just a diversionary ruse for the Telugu interests? Tamils lost their very identity due to the ‘Dravidian’ trap.
Dravidian ideology was the sole cause for such infamy. Dravidian politics sprang and spread widely after 1947. As this Dravidian politics grew, the flow of Marwaris into the Tamil country increased directly in proportion to it. When C. N. Annadurai founded DMK in 1949 after breaking away from E.V.R, the majority of the youth in Dravidar Kazhagam went over to Anna’s side. The number of Tamil-conscious youth, who rallied behind DMK, increased in large numbers. As a result, the organization of E.V. R.’s Dravidar Kazhagam shrank due to the feud between E.V.R and Annadurai. “Until the DMK won the election, I was a staunch opponent of that party” said E.V. R. His methods of struggle were in tune with his enmity towards Annadurai.
Though he was from the Telugu Balija Naidu caste, E, V. Ramaswamy Nayakkar falsely claimed himself to be a Kannadiga. Even after the demise of E, V. Ramasamy Nayakkar, Dravidar Kazhagam still being headed and run by Telugus, who hold the political power. The prominent political parties of Tamil Nadu, such as DMK, AIADMK, MDMK, and DMDK are all headed by non-Tamils. Tamils and Tamil Nadu had lost a lot due to the deceptions of the Dravidian ideology and their cruel regimes. Under their rule, Tamil could not become the language of governance and the language in courts. When in the world as such education is given and fostered in one’s own native tongue, Tamil Nadu alone is seen ignoring its native tongue (Tamil) even in Government schools, where English medium is being imposed as the medium of instruction.
To hide the unique sense of an independent Nation status of Tamils, the Dravidian ideology unfolds various deceptive tools like caste and religion, and works tirelessly to sow disunity among the Tamils. To bolster these views, Arignar Guna had brought out his other works, like “Mannurimai”, “Valluvathin Veezhchi”, “Tamils’ Antiquity”, “Thamizhar Meiyial” and “Thamizhiyathaal Ezhuvoam”, etc.
Ramasamy Nayakkar slurred that Tamils don’t have a culture of their own, and as well the literature, grammar, and other disciplines of knowledge or wisdom. As a response to his blabbering, Arignar Guna rediscovered the unique philosophies of Tamils’ which were the prime contributions to the world. To name a few: Enniyam (Samkhya), Earanam (Logic), Aaseevagam, Chirappiyam (Vaiseshika), etc. He expounded the Tamil philosophical elements that are strewn in the earliest known grammar work, Tholkappiam, and as well in Vallalar and poet Bharati. The contributions of Arignar Guna are greatly commended and appreciated.
Tamil is the world’s primary classical language. Mankind originated on the said Kumari continent. Devaneya Pavanar, an etymologist, said assertively that Tamil is the mother of ‘Dravidian’ languages and remains the root of ‘Aryan’ tongues. Arignar Guna’s ‘Dravidaththal Vizhndhom!’ reflects Devaneya Pavanar’s philology. This book redefines Tamilness among Tamils. Tamils ought to despise the falsities of the Aryan and Dravidian ideologies, as well the fake Marxist, Ambedkarist, Periyarist, and Dalit ideologues. It raises the question whether the Tamil land should continue as hunting ground for the alien invaders and intruders.
We should all unite as Tamils in oneness. The consciousness that prompts that Tamil is our mother tongue and Tamil Nadu is our native land and nation should surge manifold. Let the oneness of Tamils’ prosper! Let the Tamils’ National Liberational Politics flourish! Let the Tamils’ be liberated!
(Prof. A. Samson, is currently serving as Coordinator in a Community College. He had worked in various International Social Work Organisations as Inter-Personal Communication Specialist and served as Faculty In-charge in School of Social Work. He is the Secretary of Gunaaviya Trust. He is also an Activist, Street Theatre Trainer, Motivational Speaker, who creates Modules in Life Skill Education. He had presented papers in International and National Conferences on Tamils’ Nationalism and Social Work paradigms.)
