Moovalur Ramamirtham

Who was Moovalur Ramamirtham?

Moovalur Ramamirtham 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 the author of the 1936 novel Dasigalin Mosavalai alladhu madhi pettra minor 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 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, 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.