Ramanathapuram (Tamil Nadu), Oct 30 (PTI) Hundreds of people descended on freedom fighter and spiritual leader U Muthuramalinga Thevar’s memorial in Pasumpon near here, and paid tributes marking the leader’s 119th birth anniversary and 64th guru puja on Friday.
The celebrations began amid tight police security, with law enforcement deploying 10,000 personnel, installing 400 CCTV cameras, and establishing 38 observation towers to monitor the crowd. In addition, the police have enforced strict traffic regulations.
In neighbouring Madurai, where an imposing statue of Muthuramalinga Thevar is located at Goripalayam junction, the police have enforced traffic regulations and deployed personnel to ensure smooth activity for the day as political party leaders and cadres would garland the statue and drive to Kamuthi in Pasumpon to pay tributes at his memorial.
The Thevar Jayanthi and guru puja mark the birth anniversary and also the memorial day of Muthuramalingam Thevar, who was also a political leader and social activist. He played a major role in the Indian independence movement and regional social reforms in the Madras region.
He was a pillar of the All India Forward Bloc and was a strong voice for militant nationalism against British rule and actively participated in the Quit India Movement, which led to multiple periods of imprisonment by the British.
One of his most significant triumphs was leading massive campaigns against the discriminatory British Criminal Tribes Act, which unfairly branded certain communities as criminals by birth. His persistent protests contributed to the act being repealed in 1946 (and completely phased out by 1948).
On the social reforms front, along with activist A Vaidyanatha Iyer, he spearheaded the historic 1939 Meenakshi Goddess Temple Entry Movement in Madurai, helping secure rights for the marginalised communities to enter the temple. Due to his dual contributions as a revolutionary political leader and a community reformer, he is widely commemorated every year on October 30 (his birth and death anniversaries fall on the same day) with official state honours.
Vice President C P Radhakrishnan and other leaders are expected to pay their tributes to the statue at Goripalayam junction. PTI JSP JSP KH
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