Modi government on Saturday paid tribute to Erode Venkatappa Ramasamy, called Periyar by his supporters, on his death anniversary.

” Periyar (Died, 24th December, 1973). Remembering the great freedom fighter & social activist on his death anniversary. A great orator, Periyar mobilized people from all walks of life to fight against the British. #AmritMahotsav,” the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said in a tweet.

Ramasamy was a secessionist who wanted to create Dravida Nadu, a new country on racial lines. Not only he had mourned the Indian Independence in 1947, but he had also burned copies of the Indian constitution and the Indian flag.

He used to organise Nazi-style events of the burning of sacred Hindu texts like Ramayana. Ramasamy also publicly broke idols of Hindu deities to display his hatred for Hinduism. To force his wife to stop visiting temples, he had asked some of his ‘minor’ friends to sexually harass her.