Moovalur Ramamirtham

Moovalur Ramamirtham (Tamil: மூவலூர் ராமாமிர்தம்) (1883–1962) was a Tamil social reformer, author, and political activist of the Dravidian Movement, who worked for the abolition of the Devadasi system in the Madras Presidency. She was born in Thiruvarur, and was brought up at moovalur a village near mayiladhuthurai.hence she was called commonly known as moovalur ramamirtham ammaiyar. She was the author of the 1936 novel Dasigalin Mosavalai alladhu madhi pettra minor (lit. Devadasis' web of deceit or the minor grown wise) which exposed the plight of the devadasis. Originally a supporter of the nationalist Indian National Congress, she became a member of Periyar E. V. Ramasamy's Self-Respect Movement after Periyar left the Congress in 1925. In 1930, she supported Muthulakshmi Reddi's failed attempt to abolish the Devadasi system in the Presidency through legislation. She took part in the Anti-Hindi agitations of 1937-40 and in November 1938, was jailed for six weeks for participating in the agitations. The public awareness created by her novel and her continuous campaign to abolish the devadasi system, were instrumental in the passage of the Madras Devadasi (Prevention of Dedication) Act or the Devadasi Abolition Bill, which outlawed the practice in 1947. In 1949, she parted ways with Periyar, when he married Maniammai, a woman much younger than he was. She became a supporter of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), a new party started by Periyar's protégé C. N. Annadurai. She remained a DMK supporter till her death in 1962. In her memory, the Government of Tamil Nadu has instituted the "Moovalur Ramamirtham Ammal Ninaivu Marriage Assistance Scheme" - a social welfare scheme to provide financial assistance to poor women.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12]

Moovalur Ramamirtham
Born1883
Thiruvarur, Madras Presidency, British India
Died1962
OrganisationDMK
MovementDravidian movement, Tamil Nationalism

She was married to Suyambu Pillai an accomplished musician. She had two sons and a daughter. Unfortunately the first son and the daughter died at very early age. This shock converted her to atheism. She lost faith and belief in god and became a follower of Periyar. Her surviving son Chellappa was settled in mayuram. Married to Rajapadmavathy he had two sons (Selvaraj and Mohan) and two daughters (Vimala and Mallika); settled in Chennai.

References
  1. Ramaswamy, Sumathy (1997). Passions of the tongue: language devotion in Tamil India, 1891-1970. University of Chicago Press. pp. Chapter 5. ISBN 978-0-520-20805-6. OCLC 36084635.
  2. Sarkar, Tanika (2008). Women and social reform in modern India: a reader. Indiana University Press. pp. 395–403. ISBN 978-0-253-22049-3.
  3. Thorner, Alice; Krishna Raj, Maithreyi (2000). Ideals, images, and real lives: women in literature and history. Orient Blackswan. pp. 241–250. ISBN 978-81-250-0843-9.
  4. Anandhi, S. (March 1991). "Representing Devadasis: 'Dasigal Mosavalai' as a Radical Text". Economic and Political Weekly. 26 (11/12): 739–746. JSTOR 4397430.
  5. Desikan, Shubashree (19 December 2008). "Grace under fire". Business Line. The Hindu Group. Retrieved 19 January 2010.
  6. "Moovalur Ramamirtham Ammayar ninaivu Marriage Assistance Scheme" (PDF). Government of Tamil Nadu. Retrieved 19 January 2010.
  7. Menon, Parvati (4 August 2001). "Of studies on women". Frontline. The Hindu Group. Retrieved 19 January 2010.
  8. Viswanathan, S (24 May 2008). "The Pioneers: Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddy". Frontline. The Hindu Group. Retrieved 19 January 2010.
  9. Sithannan, V. (2006). Immoral traffic: prostitution in India. JEYWIN Publications. p. 53. ISBN 978-81-905975-0-0.
  10. PKR (10 November 2009). "Book Review". The Hindu. The Hindu Group. Retrieved 19 January 2010.
  11. Chandhrika, G. (October 2009). "Of Men, Women and Morals: Gender, Politics and Social Reform in Colonial South India". Intersections: Gender and Sexuality in Asia and the Pacific (22). Retrieved 19 January 2010.
  12. Ramamirthammal, Muvalar; Kalpana Kannabirān; Vasantha Kannabiran (2003). Muvalur Ramamirthammal's Web of deceit: Devadasi reform in colonial India. Zubaan. p. 53. ISBN 978-81-86706-63-3.
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