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| Patriot late Muthu ramalinga Thevar, TN. indiatimes.com |
Thevar Jayanthi,the birthday of Pasumpon Muthuramalingam Thevar, one of the courageous Indian patriots and politicians is celebrated on 30 October on a grand grand scale at his memorial - samadhi in Pasumpon village in Ramanathapuram district of Tamil Nadu. It is a three day event and communities closer to him, in the last several years have been paying homage by way of conducting Gurupuja on the same day. Tens of thousands of well-wishers and followers of his dharmic path - devotion and patriotism visit the place to offer obeisance to him and participate in the the ceremonies at the samadhi.
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| Lord Krishna from Bhagavad Geeta india.com |
The following are some of the unknown facts about Sri Thevarji:
01. In the southern districts of Tamil Nadu, though it is not an official public holiday, many schools and businesses in the area remain closed on the day as a mark of respect and gratitude.
02. This year more than 9000 police personnel will be on duty to control the crowd, besides more than 200 cameras and more than 75 CCTV cameras will be used for effective crowd management.
03. The TN Police have to take extra precaution in many surrounding villages which are known to be sensitive. Vehicular traffic to Pasumpon village is allowed only on certain routes.
04. No annual Guru puja is conducted on a large scale for Tamil Nadu politicians other than Thevarji.
05. That his date of birth and death ( October 30 1963 at Thirumangalam near Madurai ) fall on the same day is a rate one and is interpreted as a divine dispensation of god - his eshta devata Muruga (Karthikaya).
06. Born in a rich family, he could have led a cozy and comfortable life. But, it was not to be; Thevarji chose a rugged path full of hurdles.
07. Born on October 30, 1908 in Pasumpon village in Ramanthapuram in Tamil Nadu, he remained unmarried and till his death he dedicated his entire life to various social causes and eradication of social ills in the society.
08. Sri Muthuramalinga Thevar gave his full political and moral support to lawyer A. Vaidhyanatha Aiyar when he led a group of dalits into Meenakshi temple, Madurai - the first ever temple entry of dalits in Tamil Nadu on July 8,1939. The state govt had just passed the act (Temple Entry Authorization and Indemnity Act) removing restrictions that prevented the entry of dalits into the temples. He stood vigil and gave protection against the protagonists. The successful temple entry won him and Sri Aiyar the appreciation of countless national leaders across the country.
09. He fought tooth and nail and at last successfully removed the draconian tribal acts the Criminal Tribes Act (CTA) of 1871 introduced by the British to contain activities of thugees that also included the Maravar community from !9 villages.
10. Mr. Thevar vehemently opposed this act and toiled to get it removed. Neither the the Justice Party (in power) and nor the Congress Party responded. In March 1946, Thevar won the election from his Muthukalathur constituency and in the same year Criminal tribes Act was removed after a long and sustained struggle.
11. Sri Thevarji owned 32 and a half villages in that part of Tamil Nadu and donated most of them for a common cause.
12. Being a charitable person and philanthropist he donated 87,000 acres of lands to Dalits for their livelihood.
13. In March 1939 in the 52 annual session of the Indian National Congress held in Tripuri, Nethaji was re-elected the President of INC and it is said Thevarji played a role in it. ,The opposing candidate Pattabhi Sitaramayya was supported by Gandhiji and Nehru
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14. Sri. Thevar gave full support to Congress leader Kamaraj for the post of TN Congress President in the meeting at Thiruparankundram, and succeeded in his bid. The opposing candidate was Rajaji.
15. An interesting historical fact is the British government had passed orders restraining two freedom fighters from making political speeches at public meetings (in Tamil it is called Vaai Poottu Chattam). Because they persistently and boldly opposed the British rule and criticized their misrule. The two were Bal Gangadhar Tilak and the other being Muthuramalinga Thevar.
16. When the Japanese government had on August 18, 1945 announced about the air crash Sri Muthuramalinga Thevar, a close associate of Netaji, in the same year had hinted Netaji was alive after the air crash. At Madurai, he briefed the reporters that he was in direct contact with Netaji. Thus he was responsible for an enquiry commission to go into the death of Nethaji.
17. He won the state Assembly Election in 1937 against the Rajah of Ramnad S R N Sethupathi, an equally competent candidate in the Mudhukulathur constituency proving that he was above caste and communal differences.
18. He was a staunch supporter of labor classes and headed as many as 23 trade unions in this region .
19. He made a vital role in safeguarding the welfare of factory workers and others and never failed to fight for their rights. He impressed on the companies to give priority to their personal safety against certain dangerous machinery, etc. His successful handling of labor problem won him laurels.
20. He was highly critical of offering cash to voters for voting and offering freebies by the political parties.
21. He was one among the few politicians to have raised his voice over equal rights for women and urged the government and companies to offer maternity leave for the working women.
Youngsters must look upon this great human being as Guru and take inspiration from him to make India great.
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