There is need today to re-examine the ideas of E.V.Ramsamy (1879-1973), who came to be known as ‘Periyar’(the Great Man) after he dropped his caste surname ‘Naicker’. This has to be done for two reasons.Mayawati, who lost her chief ministership in 1995 after she launched the Periyar Mela, is again harping onPeriyar today. In Tamil Nadu, the relationship between the Hindutva BJP and the Dravidian parties is gettingstronger by the day.