Dalit History Month: Why Did Periyar Call August 15 the 'British-Baniya-Brahmin Contract Day'

South India's renowned social reformer and Dalit thinker, Periyar E.V. Ramasamy, believed that the independence attained on August 15, 1947, effectively ended the reservation rights of Dalits, the oppressed, and marginalized communities. This deeply disappointed him.

According to Periyar’s book Caste System and Patriarchy, which has been a bestseller for several years, he had appealed to the then-government in 1935 to implement reservations in all central government institutions located in the Madras Presidency, similar to the state government institutions. Under this system, 14% of the positions were reserved for Brahmins, 44% for non-Brahmins, and 14% for Dalits. The then Chief Minister of Madras (now Tamil Nadu), Raja Sir Bobbili, forwarded this appeal to the central government.

Due to the persistent efforts of Periyar and Raja Sir Bobbili, 72% reservation was implemented in central government institutions. This historic government order remained in effect until the end of British rule in India. However, shortly after India’s independence, the Brahminical administrators of the country revoked this order.

Periyar had already predicted that this would happen. He wrote two articles in the daily newspaper Viduthalai. One was titled August 15: The Dawn of a New Era of Varna System Rule, and the other was August 15: The British-Baniya-Brahmin Contract Day.

The First Constitutional Amendment and OBC Reservation

In 1950, a Brahmin woman named Shenbagam Duraisamy was denied admission to a medical college because she had exceeded the age limit. She blamed the reservation policy and filed a petition in the Madras High Court seeking its cancellation.

On July 28, 1950, the Madras High Court ruled in her favor, and later, the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal against this decision. As a result, the reservation system was abruptly abolished. It is significant to note that Shenbagam’s lawyer, Krishnaswami Ayyar, was a former member of the Constituent Assembly.

Within a week of the Madras High Court’s decision, on August 6, 1950, Periyar urged the people of Madras state to fight for their rights. Statewide protests ensued. On August 14, 1950, Periyar called for a general strike, which was highly successful.

He appealed to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel to restore reservation rights. Responding to this demand, the government amended Article 15 of the Indian Constitution, which prohibits discrimination based on religion, race, caste, sex, or place of birth.

Article 15(1) states, “The State shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth, or any of them.”

Article 29(2) states, “No citizen shall be denied admission into any educational institution maintained by the State or receiving aid out of State funds on grounds only of religion, race, caste, language, or any of them.”

A crucial addition, Article 15(4), was made, which states, “Nothing in this article or in clause (2) of Article 29 shall prevent the State from making any special provision for the advancement of any socially and educationally backward classes of citizens or for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes.”

Thus, Periyar successfully thwarted the conspiracy to abolish reservations and ensured its constitutional protection. If this 30-word clause had not been added to the Constitution, multiple generations of Tamils would have been deprived of education, and India would not have had a model state to guide the rest of the nation in social justice. Thanks to Periyar, future generations of India’s backward classes will not be deprived of education.