Iyothee Thass (1845–1914)
Iyothee Thass was a pioneering anti-caste intellectual, Tamil scholar, and Buddhist revivalist whose work shaped early Dalit humanism. Born into a Scheduled Caste community in Tamil Nadu, Thass rejected caste oppression and argued that Dalits were originally Buddhists before being marginalized by Brahminical domination. He founded the Sakya Buddhist Society in Madras and promoted Buddhism as a rational, egalitarian alternative to caste-bound Hinduism. Thass established the newspaper Oru Paisa Tamizhan to advocate education, social equality, and scientific thinking among marginalized communities. His scholarship in Tamil literature, Siddha medicine, and history opened new avenues for Dalit intellectual emancipation. Today, Thass is recognized as an early architect of Tamil Dalit humanism and a precursor to Ambedkarite thought.