Iyothee Thass actively engaged with the colonial census and sought recognition for the Depressed Classes as Adi-Tamilar, distinct from Hinduism.
On 19 June 1907, Iyothee Thass launched a weekly Tamil newspaper called Oru Paisa Tamizhan or One Paise Tamilian and Dravidia Pandian,[7] later known simply as The Tamilan, which he ran until his death in 1914.
[10] In addition to hosting Iyothee Thass' editorials, the newspaper gave a voice to the public, including members of the Dalit community, who had the opportunity to publish articles on areas such as "religion, law, Tamil literature, economy, agriculture and a Ladies Column"[10].
: 22 The newspaper enjoyed a wide reach among marginalized communities and took an explicit anti-caste stance, also reflected in its refusal to use caste names[10].
Iyothee Thass claimed that his grandfather Kandappan worked as a butler of George Harrington, a European Civil Servant possibly in Madurai district.
Between 1825 and 1831, Kandappan discovered handwritten manuscripts of the Thirukkural as well as the Tiruvalluva Maalai (a hagiographic anthology of Valluvar and his work) and the Naaladi Naannurru (also known as Naalatiyaar, a poetry collection from the Sangam period).
[11] The books were finally published in print for the first time in 1831 thanks to the collaboration between Ellis, his manager Muthusamy Pillai, and Tamil scholar Tandavaraya Mudaliar.
Thass proposed that the publication of Thirukkural by Ellis likely alerted the brahmanas to the existence of an ethical text authored by a valluvan, a sub-sect of the pariahs.
This awareness may have led them to reconcile their views on the social status of valluvans and pariahs with the newfound intellectual strength and achievements demonstrated in Thirukkural.
Different versions of these stories circulated, with the 1847 edition by Muthuveerapillai and Vedagiri Mudaliar linking Thiruvalluvar's birth to puranic myths.
Thass argued that these stories, often inconsistent and absurd, aimed to distance Thiruvalluvar from his Buddhist origins and integrate him into the Brahminical Hindu value system.
[8] Ezhilmalai, then the Union Health Minister, also made a desired to name the planned National Center for Siddha Research after the leader.
[14] In the early part of the 20th century, he indulged in vehement condemnation of the Swadeshi movement and the nationalist press remarking that he could "locate the power of the modern secular Brahmin in the control he wielded over public opinion.