''Kudi Arasu'' (also pronounced as ''Kudiyarasu''; English: Republic) was a

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

weekly magazine published by Periyar E. V. Ramasamy in Madras Presidency (present-day

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

) in India.

History

Periyar started ''Kudi Arasu'' on 2 May 1925 in

Erode Erode () is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Erode is the seventh largest urban agglomeration in the state, after Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, Tiruchirapalli, Tiruppur and Salem. It is also the administrative headquarters of the ...

with K. M. Thangaperumal pillai as the editor. Its initial publications were issued weekly on Sunday with 16 pages at a cost of one

anna Anna may refer to: People Surname and given name * Anna (name) Mononym * Anna the Prophetess, in the Gospel of Luke * Anna (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773) * Anna (daughter of Boris I) (9th–10th century) * Anna (Anisia) (fl. 1218 to 12 ...

. In November 1925, Periyar quit the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British E ...

after his failed attempt to bring reservation for non-Brahmins in educational institutions and government jobs. S. Ramanathan who founded Self Respect Movement in 1921 along with like minded friends, invited EVR to spearhead the Self-Respect Movement to propagate

self-respect Self-esteem is confidence in one's own worth or abilities. Self-esteem encompasses beliefs about oneself (for example, "I am loved", "I am worthy") as well as emotional states, such as triumph, despair, pride, and shame. Smith and Mackie (2007) d ...

among Indians, especially

Tamils The Tamil people, also known as Tamilar ( ta, தமிழர், Tamiḻar, translit-std=ISO, in the singular or ta, தமிழர்கள், Tamiḻarkaḷ, translit-std=ISO, label=none, in the plural), or simply Tamils (), are a Drav ...

. The magazine became the mouthpiece of the movement. The magazine circulated in the

Tamil diaspora The Tamil diaspora refers to descendants of the Tamil immigrants who emigrated from their native lands (Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Sri Lanka) to other parts of the world. They are found primarily in Malaysia, Arab states of the Persian Gulf, ...

, for which Thamizhavel G. Sarangapani played a prominent role. It had Periyar's wife Nagammai, his sister Kannammal and his brother E. V. Krishnasamy as the publisher for a period of time when he was on tour or arrested. It ceased publication on 5 November 1949.

Publications

Periyar wrote several articles on women's rights, on atheism and against the caste system. Others like M. Singaravelu wrote many articles on socialism. In an editorial dated 29 March 1931, Periyar criticised

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

for

Bhagat Singh Bhagat Singh (27 September 1907 – 23 March 1931) was a charismatic Indian revolutionary* * who participated in the mistaken murder of a junior British police officer * * in what was to be retaliation for the death of an Indian national ...

's death. He wrote,

There is no one who has not condoled the death of Mr. Bhagat Singh by hanging. There is none who has not condemned the government for hanging him. Besides, we now see several people known as patriots and national heroes scolding Mr. Gandhi for the happening of this event.

The Madras government of the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was him ...

banned the magazine at several occasions for various reasons including sedition and for propagating communism. In 1935, the Tamil version of '' Why I am an Atheist'' was banned, and translator P. Jeevanandham and publisher E.V. Krishnasamy were arrested.

In recent times

In 2010, works from between 1925 and 1938 were reproduced and published as books.

References

{{Reflist Defunct magazines published in India Dravidian movement News magazines published in India Weekly magazines published in India Magazines established in 1925 Magazines disestablished in 1949 Tamil-language magazines