Diwan Bahadur Rettamalai Srinivasan (Aged 85) who was born on July 7th, 1860 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, is commonly known as R. Srinivasan. He was a Scheduled Caste activist and politician from the then Madras Presidency of British India (now the Indian state of Tamil Nadu). Srinivasan was a Paraiyar icon and a close associate of Mahatma Gandhi as well as B.R. Ambedkar. He is remembered today as one of the pioneers of the Scheduled Caste movement in India, having founded the Adi Dravida Mahajana Sabha in 1893.
Thanks to his father Rettamalai’s trade relations with the British, Srinivasan’s family was able to send him to a residential school in Coimbatore. He was the only Paraiyar student among the 400 pupils in the school. He then worked as an accountant in Ooty, which was the summer capital of the Madras presidency at that time. Ooty was teeming with Dalit political activism, and Srinivasan grew interested.
In 1891, Srinivasan established and led the Paraiyar Mahajana Sabha, which later became the Adi-Dravida Mahajana Sabha. He founded a Tamil newspaper called Paraiyan in October 1893, which started selling as a monthly with four pages for the price of four annas. However, Paraiyan experienced great difficulties in its early days.
Srinivasan participated in the freedom movement, and an arrest warrant was issued against him, claiming that he was fleeing the nation. In 1896, a case was filed against the newspaper, and Srinivasan was dragged to court citing a letter to the editor. The editor, Srinivasan, was fined ₹ 100 for his writings.
Rettamalai Srinivasan represented the Paraiyars in the first two Round Table Conferences in London (1930 and 1931), along with B.R. Ambedkar. In 1932, Ambedkar, M.C. Rajah, and Rettamalai Srinivasan briefly joined the board of the Servants of Untouchables Society established by Gandhi. In 1936, Srinivasan established the Madras Province Scheduled Castes’ Party. He passed away on September 18th, 1945, in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.
Rettamalai Srinivasan
(1860 – 1945) – (Tamilnadu)
Diwan Bahadur Rettamalai Srinivasan (Aged 85) who was born on July 7th, 1860 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, is commonly known as R. Srinivasan. He was a Scheduled Caste activist and politician from the then Madras Presidency of British India (now the Indian state of Tamil Nadu). Srinivasan was a Paraiyar icon and a close associate of Mahatma Gandhi as well as B.R. Ambedkar. He is remembered today as one of the pioneers of the Scheduled Caste movement in India, having founded the Adi Dravida Mahajana Sabha in 1893.
Thanks to his father Rettamalai’s trade relations with the British, Srinivasan’s family was able to send him to a residential school in Coimbatore. He was the only Paraiyar student among the 400 pupils in the school. He then worked as an accountant in Ooty, which was the summer capital of the Madras presidency at that time. Ooty was teeming with Dalit political activism, and Srinivasan grew interested.
In 1891, Srinivasan established and led the Paraiyar Mahajana Sabha, which later became the Adi-Dravida Mahajana Sabha. He founded a Tamil newspaper called Paraiyan in October 1893, which started selling as a monthly with four pages for the price of four annas. However, Paraiyan experienced great difficulties in its early days.
Srinivasan participated in the freedom movement, and an arrest warrant was issued against him, claiming that he was fleeing the nation. In 1896, a case was filed against the newspaper, and Srinivasan was dragged to court citing a letter to the editor. The editor, Srinivasan, was fined ₹ 100 for his writings.
Rettamalai Srinivasan represented the Paraiyars in the first two Round Table Conferences in London (1930 and 1931), along with B.R. Ambedkar. In 1932, Ambedkar, M.C. Rajah, and Rettamalai Srinivasan briefly joined the board of the Servants of Untouchables Society established by Gandhi. In 1936, Srinivasan established the Madras Province Scheduled Castes’ Party. He passed away on September 18th, 1945, in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.
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