News: Vice President of India paid respects to Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar at his memorial on his 118th birth anniversary and 63rd Guru Pooja at Pasumpon village in Ramanathapuram district.
About Muthuramalinga Thevar
- Birth: He was born on 30 October 1908 in Pasumpon village, Ramnad district, Tamil Nadu.
- Political career and associations
- He was initially associated with the Indian National Congress, but later became a key supporter of Subhas Chandra Bose, joining the Forward Bloc after the 1939 Tripuri Congress session.
- He was elected three times to the national Parliament from the All India Forward Bloc (AIFB) and served as its National Deputy Chairman from 1952.
- Role in social justice movements
- He fiercely opposed the Criminal Tribes Act (CTA) of 1920, leading mass protests against the Act which criminalized entire communities as habitual offenders.
- His efforts contributed to the repeal of the Act in 1946.
- He was also closely associated with the Temple Entry movement.
- He played a pivotal role in allowing Dalits to enter the Meenakshi Temple in Madurai alongside activist A. Vaidyanatha Iyer.
- He fought for the upliftment of marginalized communities and against untouchability, serving as secretary of the Harijan Sevak Sangh in Ramnad district.
- He fiercely opposed the Criminal Tribes Act (CTA) of 1920, leading mass protests against the Act which criminalized entire communities as habitual offenders.
- Legacy
- Muthuramalinga Thevar is celebrated for promoting social equality and political representation for backward classes in Tamil Nadu.
- His birth anniversary, Thevar Jayanthi, is commemorated annually and remains a significant event, especially in southern Tamil Nadu.
- Several educational institutions and a district are named after him and his memorial is an official state shrine.
