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TNPSC social reform movements in Tamil Nadu: practice questions

By the PrepMatic team · Updated 9 Oct 2026 · 3 min read

Social reformers are among the most reliable scoring topics in the Tamil Nadu history unit, because the questions ask for the same few facts in different words: who founded which society, which journal, which year. The unit as a whole carries about 20 of the 75 General Studies questions in the Group 4 and Group 2 prelims papers (TNPSC calls the split indicative). The five questions below follow the common patterns. The matching subject guide is TNPSC Tamil Nadu History, Culture and Heritage.

What this topic covers

• Spiritual and social reform in the nineteenth century: Vallalar (Ramalinga Adigal) and his message of compassion for all living beings.
• Voices of the oppressed: Iyothee Thass Pandithar and the Dravidian Buddhist revival.
• Self-Respect Movement: Periyar E. V. Ramasamy, his journals, and the Vaikom Satyagraha.
• Women's reform: Muthulakshmi Reddy and the campaign against the devadasi system.

Sample questions

Question 1

Periyar E. V. Ramasamy took part in the Vaikom Satyagraha in the year:

• A. 1919
• B. 1924
• C. 1930
• D. 1938

Question 2

The journal started by Periyar in 1925 to spread the ideas of the Self-Respect Movement was:

• A. Viduthalai
• B. Swadesamitran
• C. Kudi Arasu
• D. Dravida Nadu

Question 3

Vallalar established the Sathya Dharma Salai at Vadalur in 1867 in order to:

• A. teach Sanskrit scriptures
• B. train soldiers
• C. print newspapers
• D. provide free food to all who were hungry

Question 4

Who became the first woman legislator in British India, in the Madras Legislative Council in 1927?

• A. Muthulakshmi Reddy
• B. Annie Besant
• C. Moovalur Ramamirtham
• D. Rukmini Devi Arundale

Question 5

Iyothee Thass Pandithar edited the weekly:

• A. Swadesamitran
• B. Tamilan
• C. Kudi Arasu
• D. India

Answers and explanations

1. B. The Vaikom Satyagraha of 1924 demanded that people of oppressed castes be allowed to use the roads near the Vaikom temple in Travancore. Periyar's role earned him the title "Vaikom Veerar".
2. C. Kudi Arasu, begun in 1925, was the voice of the Self-Respect Movement. Viduthalai was a later paper, Swadesamitran was a nationalist daily and Dravida Nadu was a journal linked to Annadurai.
3. D. Vallalar's Sathya Dharma Salai at Vadalur, founded in 1867, serves free food to all who come, which reflects his principle of jeevakarunyam, compassion for all living beings.
4. A. Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddy was nominated to the Madras Legislative Council in 1927 and became the first woman legislator in British India. She worked for the abolition of the devadasi system and for women's education.
5. B. Iyothee Thass started the weekly Oru Paisa Tamilan in 1907, later called Tamilan, and used it to argue for the rights and dignity of oppressed communities.

How to prepare social reform

Build a "who, what, when" card for each reformer using the table above, and add one fact that is not in the table (for example, the place where the society was founded). Rewrite the cards weekly, because the same facts recur in slightly altered forms, such as the founder of a society or the editor of a journal.

Separate the reformers by theme. Compassion and spiritual reform belong to Vallalar. Caste and religious identity belong to Iyothee Thass. Rationalism and equality belong to Periyar. Women's rights belong to Muthulakshmi Reddy and Moovalur Ramamirtham. When you see an option list of four names, ask which theme the question belongs to, and the answer is often clear.

The broader political story is in TNPSC Dravidian movement practice, and the legal outcome, the reservation system, is in TNPSC social justice and reservation practice. Keep dates exact. The two nearest years for Periyar, 1924 and 1925, are used for different events, and the examiners know it.

Take the full topic test on PrepMatic

PrepMatic topic tests (about 15 questions, 30 minutes) are useful for fact-heavy chapters such as this, because repeating short rounds is the only way to retain names and dates. The Basic plan is free, and the free assessment points to your weakest subjects so that you can decide how often a chapter like this deserves a repeat.

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