Thanthai Periyar says the substitution of the word for marriage is "Valkai thunai" or "life partner".

Thanthai Periyar says the substitution of the word for marriage is "Valkai thunai" or "life partner". கணவன் மனைவி என்பது கிடையாது, ஒருவருக்கொருவர் துணைவர்கள், கூட்டாளிகள் என்பதுதான்.


Regarding marriage, Thanthai Periyar has stated that it is one of the worst customs in India. He claimed that the marriage principle, briefly, involves the enslavement of a woman by her husband and nothing else. This enslavement is concealed under the cover of marriage rites to deceive the women concerned by giving the wedding the false name of a divine function.^[  Periyar further states that the very idea that the only proper thing for women to do is to be slaves of domesticity, bear children and bring them up, is a faulty one. As long as these restrictions are imposed on women, we can be sure that women have to be subservient to men and depend on men for help. If women have to live on terms of equality with men, they must have the liberty, like men, to have the kind of education they like and also to do unhampered, any work suitable to their knowledge, ability and taste. With marriage comes the expense. Periyar stated that in our country, and particularly in Hindu society, a marriage is a function causing a lot of difficulties and waste to all people concerned. Wedding feast, jewels, expensive clothes, procession, pandal, dance, music—money is spent on all these to satisfy the vanity of the organizers. Whatever may be the amount of money spent on the wedding and however pompous each of the items may be, the mirth and jollity associated with these are over in two or three days. In a week's time the prestige and honor connected with these are forgotten. But the wedding expenses leave many families crushed; for many poor families these expenses leave an enormous burden and the debts remain un cleared for a number of years. Periyar advocated the substitution of the word for marriage taken from the Tirukkual "Valkai thunai" or "life partner".

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