Visionary, rationalist, atheist, activist, social reformer, writer, doyen of Tamil politics, Father of the Dravidian Movement E.V. Ramasamy, a.k.a. Periyar, was a man who donned many hats during his long and eventful political sojourn of nearly sixty years. Both intensely admired and hated, he fought, among other things, for abolishing the caste system and the emancipation of women. A political firebrand, he believed passionately and wholeheartedly in the ideals he upheld; through his actions, he won many supporters, as well as detractors. A depiction of the political, social and literary impact that this iconoclast’s views had and continues to have on his followers, this book is a fresh look at an extraordinary life.