Rettamalai Srinivasan facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Rettamalai Srinivasan
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Srinivasan (left) and Ambedkar (right) on a 2000 stamp of India
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| Born | 7 July 1860 |
| Died | 18 September 1945 (aged 85) |
| Occupation | Lawyer, journalist and politician |
Rettamalai Srinivasan (born July 7, 1860 – died September 18, 1945) was an important leader from British India. He worked hard for the rights of a group of people called the Scheduled Castes. He was a close friend of both Mahatma Gandhi and B. R. Ambedkar. Many people remember him as one of the first leaders to start the movement for Scheduled Caste rights in India. In 1893, he started a group called the Adi-Dravida Mahajana Sabha.
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Early Life and Work
Rettamalai Srinivasan was born in 1860 in a family in the area known as Madras Presidency. His family was not rich. However, his father had business connections with the British. This allowed Srinivasan to attend a special school in Coimbatore. He was the only student from his community among 400 pupils there.
Later, he worked as an accountant in Ooty. At that time, Ooty was the summer capital of Madras Presidency. It was also a place where many people were starting to speak up for the rights of the Dalit community. Srinivasan became very interested in this movement.
He was also related to another famous activist, Iyothee Thass. Srinivasan worked as a translator in a court in South Africa. This was when Gandhi was working there as a lawyer. Srinivasan even helped Gandhi sign his name in Tamil as "Mo.Ka. Gandhi."
Starting Important Groups
Srinivasan started a group called the Paraiyar Mahajana Sabha in 1891. This group later became known as the Adi-Dravida Mahajana Sabha. These groups aimed to help and support his community.
In October 1893, he also started a Tamil newspaper called Paraiyan. It was a monthly paper with four pages. The newspaper faced many challenges in its early days. Srinivasan himself faced legal trouble because of his writings. In 1896, he was fined for a letter published in the newspaper.
Important Meetings in London
Rettamalai Srinivasan went to London to represent his community. He attended the first two Round Table Conferences in 1930 and 1931. He attended these important meetings with B. R. Ambedkar.
In 1932, Srinivasan, Ambedkar, and M. C. Rajah joined a group called the Servants of Untouchables Society. This group was started by Gandhi. In 1936, Srinivasan also created the Madras Province Scheduled Castes' Party.
During the Round Table Conference, he worked alongside Ambedkar. They often talked about important issues. However, they had different ideas about some things. For example, they disagreed on whether people from the "untouchable" community should change their religion. Srinivasan believed that the "Depressed Classes" were not part of the Hindu religion. He said they were "full-blooded Dravidian" people.
In 1936, the British government gave him a special title. He was called 'Diwan Bahadur' for all his hard work.
Remembering Rettamalai Srinivasan
The Government of India has released special stamps to honor Rettamalai Srinivasan. A political party called Viduthalai Siruthaigal built a memorial for him in Otteri. They named it Urimai Kalam.
On July 6, 2011, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, J Jayalalithaa, announced something special. She said that his birthday, July 7, would be a government event. Ministers would honor him by placing garlands on his statue. This statue is located inside Gandhi Mandapam in Chennai.
His grandson, B. Parameswaran, also became an important person. He became a minister in the Tamil Nadu government and a member of the Indian parliament.
