When ‘Periyar’, Ambedkar and Jinnah sailed together politically

The recent controversy surrounding the omission of references to Dravida Kazhagam (DK) founder E.V. Ramasamy Naicker (EVR) and Scheduled Castes (SC) icon B.R. Ambedkar in the Tamil Nadu Backward Classes and Most Backward Classes Welfare department's 2022 policy note has sparked political debate. Critics argue that the omission is due to the current Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK)-led government's efforts to omit these references, while supporters maintain that the omission was unintentional.

EVR and Ambedkar, often referred to as "Periyar" and "Babasaheb," were political allies in their fight against the Congress party. In fact, they even attempted to forge a united front with former president of the All India Muslim League, Mohammed Ali Jinnah, on January 8, 1940, in Mumbai. The meeting came after both Jinnah and Ambedkar had declared their support for Jinnah's call for Muslims to observe December 22, 1939, as a "Day of Deliverance" in response to the exit of Congress governments in various states.

The meeting between the three leaders was prompted by their shared disdain for the Congress party. EVR's presidential speech in December 1938, while presiding over the Justice Party, was the first time the demand for a separate Dravidian state, known as Dravida Nadu, was made. The academic paper "The Historic Meeting of Ambedkar, Jinnah and Periyar" by K.V. Ramakrishna Rao discusses the meeting, which was attended by other leaders of the Justice Party, including C.N. Annadurai.

Despite the meeting being successful, the relationship between EVR and Jinnah did not yield the desired results. In August 1944, Jinnah wrote a response to EVR, stating that the people of EVR's province must assert themselves if they truly desire a Dravida Nadu. This marked the end of the alliance between the three leaders, despite their initial political camaraderie.