Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar

Why is in news? PM bows to freedom fighter, Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar on the occasion of his Guru Pooja

He was born on 30th October 1908 in Pasumpon in Ramanathapuram district in Tamil Nadu.

He was a freedom-fighter-cum-spiritual leader.

He is seen as a deity among the Mukulathor community, a cluster community comprising the Kallar, Maravar and Ahambadiar.

He did not accept the traditional Hinduism because it supported ‘Varnashrama’. He always fought against the evils of Hindu religion. He openly condemned religious superstitions and narrow mindedness.

Being a socialist and a colleague of Subhash Chandra Bose, he served as the national deputy chairman of All India Forward Bloc (AIFB) from 1952.

He was elected three times to the national parliamentary constituency of AIFB.

The Temple Entry Authorisation and Indemnity Act was passed by the government of C. Rajagopalachari in 1939. It removed restrictions prohibiting Dalits from entering Hindu temples.

He supported this reform and in July 1939 he helped the activist A. Vaidyanatha Iyer taking Dalits to Meenakshi Temple in Madurai.

The Criminal Tribes Act (CTA), enacted by the British in 1920, against the Mukulathor community, against which Thevar protested by mobilising the people and launching protests that was a major milestone in his career.

CTA criminalized entire communities by designating them as habitual criminals.

He was instrumental in getting the act repealed after continuous efforts in 1946.

He died on 30th October in 1963 due to illness.