Actor-director Radhakrishnan Parthiban is once again attempting to push social boundaries, this time through a formal call to discard caste and religious identifiers.
According to a recent press note, Parthiban’s long-running welfare platform, the R Parthiban Manidaneeya Mandram, has been rooted in service since its inception in 1990. What began as a fan club evolved into a charitable movement focused on public good, guided by the idea that human connection should transcend all divisions. Over the decades, the organisation has facilitated blood donation drives, health camps, disaster relief work, and awareness campaigns, particularly around body donation, an area where Parthiban himself set an early example.
His latest effort builds on that legacy but moves into more ideological territory. He has now initiated a campaign encouraging individuals to identify as belonging to neither caste nor religion. The move, he has clarified, is not symbolic alone but an attempt to question deeply embedded social structures and enable individuals to define themselves independently of inherited labels.
To formalise this stance, Parthiban applied for an official certificate declaring “No Caste, No Religion” through local administrative offices. Delays in processing led him to pursue legal recourse, bringing the matter before the judiciary. The court has since directed authorities to issue the certificate by April 29, 2026, acknowledging the broader social implications of the request.
In his interaction with the media following the hearing, Parthiban positioned the effort as part of a larger social shift rather than a personal milestone. He argued that identity markers tied to birth often restrict individual freedom and perpetuate division. His intention, he said, is to make it easier for others to adopt a similar stance, should they choose to.
He also pointed out that such changes often face resistance at first, drawing parallels to his earlier advocacy of body donation, which has since gained wider acceptance. The current initiative, he believes, could similarly evolve into a more widely embraced practice.