Politicians across Tamil Nadu paid tributes to Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar, Thevar caste leader and freedom fighter, on his 116th birth anniversary. Chief Minister MK Stalin visited Pasumpon in Ramanathapuram on Monday, October 30, and garlanded a life-sized statue of Muthuramalinga Thevar. He was accompanied by other senior Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leaders including Palanivel Thiagrajan (PTR), P Moorthy, and G Thalapathi. The DMK functionaries were accompanied by the Mayor of Madurai, Indrani Pon Vasanth.
Taking to social media, DMK MP Kanimozhi also paid her tributes to Muthuramalinga Thevar and noted, “Let us remember the achievements of Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar, who was at the forefront of the Indian freedom struggle and strove for social harmony.”
Tamil Nadu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Chief Annamalai visited the life-size statue of Muthuramalinga Thevar in Madurai, along with Goa Chief Minister Pramod P Sawant. Annamalai shared pictures of garlanding the statue and said, “Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar fought for national and social liberation. He was a generous person who donated his wealth to the poor. He led the temple entry protest so that people of all castes could enter temples. We praise the glory of Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar.”
Former All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) co-ordinator O Panneerselvam (OPS) also visited the statue of Muthuramalinga Thevar in Madurai to pay his tributes. Sharing pictures from the visit, OPS said, “On the 116th jayanthi (birth anniversary) of Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar, we garlanded the idol of Thevar at Goripalayam in Madurai.”
Other political leaders who paid their tributes to Muthuramalinga Thevar include DMK MP Su Venkatesan, AIADMK MLA Sellur Raja, founder of Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) Seeman, founder of Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) TTV Dhinakaran, and Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) treasurer Premalatha Vijayakant, among others.
Born on October 30, 1908, Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar is a revered figure among the dominant Thevar community (classified as Most Backward Classes), and his birth anniversary is celebrated with grandeur in southern Tamil Nadu. He was elected to the Parliament three times as a Congress candidate, following which he launched the Forward Bloc – a faction of the Congress that emerged as an independent political party after the independence of India. Muthuramalinga Thevar was also accused of indirectly instigating riots between the Maravars (a sub-group of Thevars) and Pallars (classified as Scheduled Castes) in 1957 and the murder of Dalit leader Immanuel Sekaran. However, he was acquitted of all the charges in 1959.