Stalin observed ‘Equality Day’

Chief Minister MK Stalin on Monday took the equality day pledge and paid his tribute to BR Ambedkar on the latter’s birth anniversary at Kalaivanar hall in the city.  

“Today is the birth anniversary of the revolutionary Ambedkar, who spoke against the caste inequalities and untouchability in the society and rewrote history. That’s why, the Dravidian model government has declared his birthday as the equality day and Thanthai Periyar’s birthday as the social justice day,” he said.

 The event was organized to take the equality day pledge, he said, adding that the society should move towards ensuring equality, and the pledge would deepen the thoughts of equality in people’s minds.

Pointing out that the Dravidian movement always held Ambedkar and his work high, he said that his book, ‘Annihilation of caste’ was translated and published in Tamil by Periyar in 1930. “Not just that, former chief Minister M Karunanidhi was the first to name the law college after Ambedkar during the Vaikom protest. We continue to proclaim that Ambedkar is our identity,” he added.

The Chief Minister's speech at the Equality Day celebration on the birthday of Dr. Ambedkar held at Kalaivanar Arangam, Chennai, on behalf of the Adi Dravidian and Tribal Welfare Department: he Ambedkar Manimandapam

Before coming to this event, I had inaugurated a students’ hostel named after one of the greatest leaders from the state, MC Raja, in Saidapet, he said, adding that his government would install a bust-size statue of Raja in front of the hostel.

Referring to the VCK leader Thol Thirumavalavam, he said that Thirumavalavan has risen to become a thinker who teaches everyone about politics and social science, and a principled political leader.

“If the progress of students is like eyes, then the progress of women is like a heartbeat. That is what Ambedkar said, ‘I measure the progress of a society by the progress of the women in that society.’ On this day, I want to firmly say that the government will always work for the upliftment of Adi Dravidar and tribal people. We will eradicate discrimination against them, and take society towards equality,” he added.