“Periyar - A Study in Political Atheism” by Karthick Ram Manoharan

This book is a study of the work and ideas of Periyar E.V.Ramasamy, the renowned social reformer of Tamilnadu. This is not a biographical text on the life of Periyar, but is an extensive study that analyses his revolutionary criticism of religion and presents the idea of “political atheism”. The book is split into thematic sections which provide insightful perspective on the impact of Periyar’s ideologies in the political spectrum in Tamilnadu. 

The book points out Periyar’s fallout with congress after demanding proportional representation of non-brahmins in the party. His demand and he voicing out against caste inequalities were viewed “too radical” by the leaders. This conflict and Periyar’s realisation of social elitism that existed in congress led to the emergence of Self Respect Movement. 

When Indian leaders took an approach of Indian / Hindu nationalism to tackle the colonial structure and demand freedom from British, the “Dravidians” who were considered native to this land resorted to tackle the brahminical hegemony with the Aryan - Dravidian differentiation. Though there were forerunners to Periyar on this front like Iyothidasar, Karthik Ram Manoharan explains how the medium and message put across by Periyar with its simplicity gained him the popularity that he enjoys even today. 

This book also discusses in detail how Periyar drew inspiration from socialism that was gaining prominence during his times and at the same time points out his skepticism on the role of communism in India. This criticism from Periyar on communists in India was largely owing to their priority over class antagonisms over caste antagonisms and again the brahminical dominance in the communist party at that time. Periyar’s arguments also included that communism in India would be yet another tool in the hands of priestly class to cement their dominance. Periyar was also against the concept of state. However, as per my reading of Lenin’s “The State and Revolution”, it argues how complete communism can be achieved only in stages with gradual withering away of the state and how the stage of complete communism will be devoid of any form of antagonism not only the class antagonism, so this view is debatable.

The research of Karthik Ram Manoharan provides an interesting insight on how Periyar’s retelling of Ramayana was a significant strategy towards resisting and demystifying Aryan dominance. Periyar’s projection of Ravana as anti-caste hero was a strategy to counterpose the image of the Aryan icon Rama who upheld the  “Varna” system. Karthik draws parallel of this approach of Periyar with anarchists like Balkunin. 

The book also points out the inconsistencies in Periyar’s writings over a period of time which is currently levelled against Periyar in television debates. However, this book also stands to clarify these inconsistencies as individual statements that were reactionary and his true standpoint needs to be viewed from the coherence derived from the arguments that find a repetition in his thoughts and writings. 

Karthick Ram Manoharan

In the final chapter, the book brings out how Periyar’s ideology is relevant even today. This work by Karthik Ram Manoharan is a brilliant research that puts forth detailed analysis on how Periyar’s ideas to separate religion and politics changed the course of politics in Tamilnadu as an alternate to the Hindu nationalism.

Vladimir Lenin's "The State and Revolution"

Vladimir Lenin's “The State and Revolution” puts forth Marx and Engels’ views on the state, its origin, the need for setting up the transition from capitalism to complete communism in stages and the inevitability of a revolution in the process of attaining the same. This work of Lenin also argues against the distortion of Marxism by theories from socialist theorists like Kautsky and quotes excerpts from the works of Marx and Engels to disprove such theories. 

Unlike the popular opinion that the “state” is needed for maintaining the order in the society, Marx and Engels expose the “state” as a product of the society due to irreconcilable class antagonisms - the state will wither away when the oppression by capitalists and bourgeois rule are overthrown as a result of the revolution by the proletariat and the society’s transition to become classless. The state includes the police, judiciary, administrative functions and this book explains how it favours the minority oppressors in the capitalist society. 

Marx’s theory of attaining an ideal society driven by complete communism from an existing capitalist society and its transition in stages is realistic and is a theory built on experiences from the Paris Commune and other proletariat revolutions across the world. The role of proletariat democracy and the destruction of the bureaucratic apparatus of the bourgeoisie in this transition is explained in detail drawing references from Marx and Engels and refuting the claims of Kautsky which are indirectly in favour of opportunism. 

Of late, there are claims that communism is an outdated principle and ideology. In India, in addition to the class based oppression, the ideology also faces a challenge to overcome caste based oppression. This book that is a commentary on Marx and Engels theories is a reminder that the ideology is still relevant and holds good for any society with any irreconcilable antagonisms.