Periyar ( E.V. Ramaswamy ) was objectively a British agent, who preached caste hatred. The wicked British policy in India after the Mutiny of 1857 was of divide and rule. In the Mutiny Hindus and Muslims had fought jointly against the British. After suppressing the Mutiny the British decided that the only way to control India was divide and rule ( see online ' History in the Service of Imperialism ' by B.N. Pande ). So the British policy was that not only religious hatred but also caste hatred had to be aroused and spread in India. It is true that there were already religious and caste differences in feudal Indian society. The whole question was whether these differences should be narrowed down, or further aggravated ? The British policy was that they should be aggravated. The policy of all patriotic Indians ( like Bhagat Singh, Chandrashekhar Azad, Surya Sen ( Masterda , etc ), on the other hand, was, and still must be, that the differences should be reduced and we become one, strong and prosperous nation
