தந்தை பெரியாரின் களப்போராட்ட அணுகுமுறைகள்: சமூகச் சீர்திருத்தக் கோட்பாடு, தந்திரோபாய நெறிமுறைகள் மற்றும் வரலாற்றுப் பரிமாணங்கள் பற்றிய விரிவான ஆய்வு

Field Struggle Approaches of Thanthai Periyar: A Comprehensive Study on Social Reform Theory, Tactical Ethics, and Historical Dimensions

Abstract

In the twentieth-century social and political history of Tamil Nadu and South India, the field struggles undertaken by Thanthai Periyar (E.V. Ramasamy) hold unique theoretical and practical significance. This article comprehensively analyzes Periyar's field struggle approaches against the backdrop of his policy stances, ethical self-sacrifices, rules of discipline for volunteers, and logical dialogues that compelled opponents to reflect. Various field events are analyzed here from a sociological and historical perspective, including the economic sacrifice of cutting down 500 coconut trees in his own grove during the toddy shop picketing, the cross-border social mobilization against caste oppression during the Vaikom Struggle, the 13-point code of conduct issued to volunteers during the Anti-Hindi Agitation, and the tactical clarity demonstrated during the Ganesha idol breaking protest to prevent communal riots. This work establishes that Periyar's struggles served not merely as political opposition, but as a social pedagogy aimed at individual self-respect and intellectual liberation.