Self-Respect Movement was a dynamic social movement aimed at destroying the contemporary Hindu social order in its totality and creating a new, rational society without caste, religion and god.
Self-Respect Movement was started by E.V. Ramaswamy Naicker in Tamil Nadu in 1925. It was an egalitarian movement that propagated the ideologies of breaking down of the Brahminical hegemony, equal rights for the backward classes and women in the society and revitalization of the Dravidian languages like Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, and Malayalam.
The movement aims to do away with such social structure of the society where one class of people claim to be superior to others and some men claim to be of higher birth than others. It aims to work for getting equal opportunities for all people, irrespective of their communities it will strive to secure equal status for women along with men in life and according to law.
All people should be given equal opportunities for growth and development. It aims to completely eradicate untouchability and to establish a united society based on brotherhood and sisterhood.
Friendship and fellow feeling should be natural among all the people. To establish and maintain homes for orphans and widows and to run educational institutions. To discourage people from building new temples, mutts, chlorites or Vedic Schools. People should drop the caste titles in their names. Common funds should be utilized for educational purposes and for creating employment opportunities for the unemployed.