Iyothee Thass
| Iyothee Thass | |
|---|---|
| Born |
20 May 1845 Nilgiris district |
| Nationality | British Indian |
| Other names | Kathavarayan |
| Occupation | Siddha physician |
| Known for | Dalit Buddhist movement |
C. Iyothee Thass (20 May 1845 – 1914) was a prominent Paraiyar and anti-caste activist and a practitioner of Siddha medicine who is regarded as a pioneer of the Dravidian Movement. He famously converted to Buddhism and called upon the Paraiyars to do the same, arguing that this was their original religion. He also founded the Punchmar Mahajana Sabha in 1891 along with Rettaimalai Srinivasan. Punchamas are the one who does not come under Varna system. They are called as Avarnas.
"Iyothee Thass" is the most common Anglicized spelling of his name; other spellings include Pandit C. Ayodhya Dasa, C. Iyothee Doss, C. Iyodhi Doss, C. Iyothee Thoss, K. Ayōttitācar (avarkaḷ) or K. Ayōttitāsa (paṇṭitaravarkaḷ).
Iyothee Thass possessed deep knowledge in Tamizh, Siddha medicine and philosophy, and literary knowledge in languages such as English, Sanskrit and Pali.
Iyothee Thass was born Kathavarayan on 20 May 1845 in Chennai's Thousand lights area, and later migrated to Nilgiris district. His family followed Vaishnavism, in basis of that he named his children Madhavaram, Pattabhiraman, Janaki, Raman and Rasaram. His grandfather worked for George Harrington in Ooty and little Kathavarayan profited immensely from this association.
In the 1870s, Iyothee Thass organized the Todas and other tribes of the Nilgiri Hills into a formidable force. In 1876, Thass established the Advaidananda Sabha and launched a magazine called Dravida Pandian in collaboration with Rev. John Rathinam.
In 1886, Thass issued a revolutionary declaration that Scheduled caste people's were not Hindus. Following this declaration, he established the Dravida Mahajana Sabha in 1891. During the 1891 census, he urged Scheduled caste people to register themselves as "casteless Dravidians" instead of identifying themselves as Hindus. His activities were inspiration to Sri Lanka's Buddhist revivalist Anagarika Dharmapala.
Iyothee Thass met Colonel H. S. Olcott with his followers and expressed a sincere desire to convert to Buddhism. According to Thass, the Paraiyars of Tamilakam were originally Buddhists and owned the land which had later been robbed from them by Aryan invaders. With Olcott's help, Thass was able to visit Ceylon and obtain diksha from the Sinhalese Buddhist monk Bikkhu Sumangala Nayake. On returning, Thass established the Sakya Buddhist Society in Madras with branches all over South India. The Sakya Buddhist Society was also known as the Indian Buddhist Association and was established in the year 1898.
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