Iyothee Thassar – Important Points Context:Tamil nadu Chief Minister paid floral tributes to the statue of social reformer Pandit lyothee Thassar at Gandhi Mandapam in Chennai on the occasion of his 181 birth anniversary. EARLY AND POLITICAL ACTIVITY Ayothidasa was born on May 20, 1845, under the name 'Kathavarayan'. Later, he adopted the name 'Ayothidasa' in honor of his teacher. He mastered Siddha medicine through his family's traditional lineage. Ayothidasa was a multifaceted personality who excelled as a writer, journalist, social reformer, Siddha physician, Tamil scholar, and Buddhist scholar. To propagate ideas of social reform, he published and edited the journal Tamizhan for eight years. During the 1870s, he mobilized indigenous communities—including the Todas living in the Nilgiri Hills—and fostered ideas related to the freedom movement. In 1891, in collaboration with Rettamalai Srinivasan, he founded the "Dravida Mahajana Sabha." At the Nilgiri Conference held in 1892: He put forward the demand for reservation. He advocated for representational rights for oppressed communities. He emphasized equal rights for men and women. He championed widow remarriage, vocational education for women, and reservation and equal rights for women. In 1898, he established the "Sakya Buddhist Society" in Madras and subsequently set up its branches across South India. In June 1907, he launched the journal Oru Paisa Tamizhan to coordinate the activities of this organization. He is hailed as the "Father of South Indian Social Reform." Pandit Ayothidasa's birth anniversary is celebrated annually as a state event by the Government of Tamil Nadu. He vehemently opposed Brahmanism, Vedic rituals, untouchability, and caste-based discrimination. His grandfather, Kandappan, was a renowned Tamil scholar and a Siddha physician. Kandappan preserved a palm-leaf manuscript of the Thirukkural. During his time in Ooty, he established the 'Advaitananda Sabha' to propagate the philosophy of Advaita. He maintained close ties with Henry…
