Moovalur Ramamirtham - Revision history

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← Older revision		Revision as of 17:15, 16 November 2025
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	{{Use dmy dates\|date=~~December 2012~~}}		{{Short description\|Tamil social reformer}}
			{{Use dmy dates\|date=March 2022}}
	{{Infobox person		{{Infobox person
	\|name = Moovalur Ramamirtham		\| name = Moovalur Ramamirtham
	\|image =		\| image =
	\|caption =		\| caption =
	\|birth_date = 1883		\| birth_date = 1883
	\|birth_place =Thiruvarur, [[Madras Presidency]], [[British India]]		\| birth_place = [[Thiruvarur]], [[Madras Presidency]], [[British Raj\|British India]]<br/>(now [[Tamil Nadu]], India)
	\|death_date = 1962		\| death_date = 1962
	\|death_place =		\| death_place =
	\|other_names =		\| other_names =
	\|movement = [[Dravidian movement]], [[Tamil Nationalism]]		\| movement = [[Dravidian movement]], [[Tamil Nationalism]]
	\|organisation = [[Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam\|DMK]]		\| organisation = [[Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam\|DMK]]
	\|awards =		\| awards =
	}}		}}

	'''Moovalur Ramamirtham''' ~~({{lang-ta\|மூவலூர் ராமாமிர்தம்}})~~ (1883–1962) was a [[Tamil people\|Tamil]] social reformer, author, and political activist of the [[Dravidian Movement]], who worked for the abolition of the ''Devadasi'' system in the [[Madras Presidency]]~~. Born in Thiruvarur, she was brought up at Moovalur, a village near Mayiladhuthurai~~.		'''Moovalur Ramamirtham''' (1883–1962) was a [[Tamil people\|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'' (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 Tamil Nadu\|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. 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.<ref>{{cite book \|first=Sumathy\|last=Ramaswamy\|year=1997\|title=Passions of the tongue: language devotion in Tamil India, 1891-1970\|publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]]\|isbn=978-0-520-20805-6\|oclc=36084635\|url=http://www.escholarship.org/editions/view?docId=ft5199n9v7&chunk.id=ch5&toc.depth=1&toc.id=ch5&brand=eschol\|pages=Chapter 5}}</ref><ref name="sarkar">{{cite book\|first=Tanika\|last=Sarkar\|year=2008\|title=Women and social reform in modern India: a reader\|publisher=Indiana University Press\|isbn= 978-0-253-22049-3\|pages=395–403\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JLGBUEs74n4C&pg=PA397}}</ref><ref name="thorner">{{cite book\|first=Alice \|last=Thorner\|first2=Maithreyi\|last2=Krishna Raj\|year=2000\|title=Ideals, images, and real lives: women in literature and history\|publisher=Orient Blackswan\|isbn= 978-81-250-0843-9\|pages=241–250\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LO-ztHz3XTUC&pg=PA241}}</ref><ref name="anandi">{{cite journal\|first = S.\|last=Anandhi\|title =Representing Devadasis: 'Dasigal Mosavalai' as a Radical Text\|journal=Economic and Political Weekly\|volume=26\|issue=11/12\|pages=739–746\|date=March 1991\|jstor=4397430}}</ref><ref name="businessline">{{cite web\|first=Shubashree\|last=Desikan\|url=http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/life/2008/12/19/stories/2008121950050200.htm\|title=Grace under fire\|work= [[~~Business Line~~]]~~\|publisher=~~ [[~~The Hindu Group]]~~\|date =19 December 2008\|access-date=19 January 2010}}</ref><ref name="tngovt">{{cite web\|url =http://www.tn.gov.in/schemes/swnmp/social_welfare.pdf\|title=Moovalur Ramamirtham Ammayar ninaivu Marriage Assistance Scheme\|work=[[Government of Tamil Nadu]]~~\|access-date=19 January 2010}}</ref><ref name="frontline1">{{cite web\|first=Parvati\|last=Menon\|url=http://www.hindu.com/fline/fl1816/18160740.htm\|title=Of studies on Women\|work=[[Frontline (magazine~~)\|Frontline]]\|publisher=[[The Hindu Group]]\|date=4 August 2001\|access-date=19 January 2010}}</ref><ref name="frontline2">{{cite web\|first=S\|last=Viswanathan \|url=http://www.hindu.com/fline/fl2511/stories/20080606251101400.htm\|title=The Pioneers: Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddy\|work=[[Frontline (magazine)\|Frontline]]\|publisher=[[The Hindu Group]]\|date=4 May 2008\|access-date=19 January 2010}}</ref><ref name="sithannan">{{cite book\|first=V.\|last=Sithannan\|year=2006\|title=Immoral traffic: prostitution in India\|publisher=JEYWIN Publications\|isbn=978-81-905975-0-0\|pages=53\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pHXGypflBLIC&pg=PT53}}</ref><ref name="hindu1">{{cite newspaper\|last=PKR\|url=http://www.hindu.com/br/2009/11/10/stories/2009111050021301.htm\|title=Book Review \|work=[[The Hindu]]\|publisher=[[The Hindu Group]]\|date=10 November 2009\|access-date=19 January 2010}}</ref><ref name="chandrika">{{cite journal\|first = G.\|last=Chandhrika\|title =Of Men, Women and Morals: Gender, Politics and Social Reform in Colonial South India\|journal=Intersections: Gender and Sexuality in Asia and the Pacific\|issue=22\|date=October 2009\|url=http://intersections.anu.edu.au/issue22/ganapathy.htm\|access-date=19 January 2010}}</ref><ref name="translation">{{cite book\|first=Muvalar\|last= Ramamirthammal\|author2=Kalpana Kannabirān\|author3=Vasantha Kannabiran\|year=2003\|title=Muvalur Ramamirthammal's Web of deceit: Devadasi reform in colonial India\|publisher=[[Zubaan]]\|isbn= 978-81-86706-63-3\|pages=53\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-kSUx6Xbq1QC&pg=PA2}}</ref>		== Early life ==
			Ramamirtham was born in 1883 in [[Thiruvarur]], [[Madras Presidency]], and was brought up at [[Moovalur]], a village near [[Mayuram]] (now [[Mayiladuthurai\|Mayiladhuthurai]]).

	She was ~~married to Suyambu Pillai~~, a ~~musician~~. She ~~had two sons~~ and ~~a daughter; only one~~ of her ~~sons~~, ~~Chellappa~~, ~~survived~~ to ~~adulthood~~. Ramamirtham ~~was an atheist~~.		==Activism==

			Originally a supporter of the [[Indian National Congress]] (INC), she became a member of [[Periyar E. V. Ramasamy\|'Periyar' E. V. Ramasamy]]'s [[Self-Respect Movement]] after the latter left the Congress in 1925.

			In 1930, she supported [[Muthulakshmi Reddi]]'s failed attempt to abolish the Devadasi system in the Presidency through legislation.{{citation needed\|date= September 2022}}

			In 1936, she authored a novel ''Dasigalin Mosavalai alladhu madhi pettra minor'' (lit. ''The'' ''[[Devadasi\|Dasis]]' Web of Deceit, or The [[Playboy lifestyle\|Playboy]] Grown Wise'') which exposed the plight of the [[Devadasi\|Devadasis]].{{citation needed\|date= September 2022}}

			She took part in the [[Anti-Hindi agitations of Tamil Nadu\|Anti-Hindi agitations of 1937-40]] and in November 1938, was jailed for six weeks for participating in the agitations.{{citation needed\|date= September 2022}}

			In 1949, she parted ways with Periyar,{{citation needed\|date= September 2022}} and became a supporter of the [[Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam]] (DMK) party started by Periyar's protégé [[C. N. Annadurai]].{{citation needed\|date= September 2022}} She remained a DMK supporter till her death in 1962.

			== Legacy ==
			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 her memory, the [[Government of Tamil Nadu]] in 1989 instituted the "Moovalur Ramamirtham Ammal Ninaivu Marriage Assistance Scheme," a social welfare scheme to provide financial assistance to poor women.<ref>{{cite book \|first=Sumathy\|last=Ramaswamy\|year=1997\|title=Passions of the tongue: language devotion in Tamil India, 1891-1970\|publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]]\|isbn=978-0-520-20805-6\|oclc=36084635\|url=http://www.escholarship.org/editions/view?docId=ft5199n9v7&chunk.id=ch5&toc.depth=1&toc.id=ch5&brand=eschol\|pages=Chapter 5}}</ref><ref name="sarkar">{{cite book\|first=Tanika\|last=Sarkar\|year=2008\|title=Women and social reform in modern India: a reader\|publisher=Indiana University Press\|isbn= 978-0-253-22049-3\|pages=395–403\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JLGBUEs74n4C&pg=PA397}}</ref><ref name="thorner">{{cite book\|first=Alice \|last=Thorner\|first2=Maithreyi\|last2=Krishna Raj\|year=2000\|title=Ideals, images, and real lives: women in literature and history\|publisher=Orient Blackswan\|isbn= 978-81-250-0843-9\|pages=241–250\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LO-ztHz3XTUC&pg=PA241}}</ref><ref name="anandi">{{cite journal\|first = S.\|last=Anandhi\|title =Representing Devadasis: 'Dasigal Mosavalai' as a Radical Text\|journal=Economic and Political Weekly\|volume=26\|issue=11/12\|pages=739–746\|date=March 1991\|jstor=4397430}}</ref><ref name="businessline">{{cite web\|first=Shubashree\|last=Desikan\|url=http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/life/2008/12/19/stories/2008121950050200.htm\|title=Grace under fire\|work= [[Business Line]]\|date =19 December 2008\|access-date=19 January 2010}}</ref><ref name="tngovt">{{cite web\|url =http://www.tn.gov.in/schemes/swnmp/social_welfare.pdf\|title=Moovalur Ramamirtham Ammayar ninaivu Marriage Assistance Scheme\|work=[[Government of Tamil Nadu]]\|access-date=19 January 2010}}</ref><ref name="frontline1">{{cite web\|first=Parvati\|last=Menon\|url=http://www.hindu.com/fline/fl1816/18160740.htm\|title=Of studies on Women\|work=[[Frontline (magazine)\|Frontline]]\|date=4 August 2001\|access-date=19 January 2010}}</ref><ref name="frontline2">{{cite web\|first=S\|last=Viswanathan \|url=http://www.hindu.com/fline/fl2511/stories/20080606251101400.htm\|title=The Pioneers: Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddy\|work=[[Frontline (magazine)\|Frontline]]\|date=4 May 2008\|access-date=19 January 2010}}</ref><ref name="sithannan">{{cite book\|first=V.\|last=Sithannan\|year=2006\|title=Immoral traffic: prostitution in India\|publisher=JEYWIN Publications\|isbn=978-81-905975-0-0\|pages=53\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pHXGypflBLIC&pg=PT53}}</ref><ref name="hindu1">{{cite news\|last=PKR\|url=http://www.hindu.com/br/2009/11/10/stories/2009111050021301.htm\|title=Book Review \|work=[[The Hindu]]\|date=10 November 2009\|access-date=19 January 2010}}</ref><ref name="chandrika">{{cite journal\|first = G.\|last=Chandhrika\|title =Of Men, Women and Morals: Gender, Politics and Social Reform in Colonial South India\|journal=Intersections: Gender and Sexuality in Asia and the Pacific\|issue=22\|date=October 2009\|url=http://intersections.anu.edu.au/issue22/ganapathy.htm\|access-date=19 January 2010}}</ref><ref name="translation">{{cite book\|first=Muvalar\|last= Ramamirthammal\|author2=Kalpana Kannabirān\|author3=Vasantha Kannabiran\|year=2003\|title=Muvalur Ramamirthammal's Web of deceit: Devadasi reform in colonial India\|publisher=[[Zubaan]]\|isbn= 978-81-86706-63-3\|pages=53\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-kSUx6Xbq1QC&pg=PA2}}</ref>

			== In popular culture ==
			Ramamirtham is portrayed by [[Vennira Aadai Nirmala]] in the biopic [[Periyar (2007 film)\|''Periyar'']] (2007).

	==References==		==References==
	{{Reflist\|2}}		{{Reflist}}

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->ElliAWB: Reverted edits by Ebbedlila (talk) to last version by Rosalina2427. requested at ANI

2021-10-02T18:15:11Z

Reverted edits by Ebbedlila (talk) to last version by Rosalina2427. requested at ANI

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2021-08-15T21:47:33Z

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{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2012}}
{{Infobox person
|name = Moovalur Ramamirtham
|image =
|caption =
|birth_date = 1883
|birth_place =Thiruvarur, [[Madras Presidency]], [[British India]]
|death_date = 1962
|death_place =
|other_names =
|movement = [[Dravidian movement]], [[Tamil Nationalism]]
|organisation = [[Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam|DMK]]
|awards =
}}

'''Moovalur Ramamirtham''' ({{lang-ta|மூவலூர் ராமாமிர்தம்}}) (1883–1962) was a [[Tamil people|Tamil]] social reformer, author, and political activist of the [[Dravidian Movement]], who worked for the abolition of the ''Devadasi'' system in the [[Madras Presidency]]. Born in Thiruvarur, she was brought up at Moovalur, a village near Mayiladhuthurai.

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 Tamil Nadu|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. 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.<ref>{{cite book |first=Sumathy|last=Ramaswamy|year=1997|title=Passions of the tongue: language devotion in Tamil India, 1891-1970|publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]]|isbn=978-0-520-20805-6|oclc=36084635|url=http://www.escholarship.org/editions/view?docId=ft5199n9v7&chunk.id=ch5&toc.depth=1&toc.id=ch5&brand=eschol|pages=Chapter 5}}</ref><ref name="sarkar">{{cite book|first=Tanika|last=Sarkar|year=2008|title=Women and social reform in modern India: a reader|publisher=Indiana University Press|isbn= 978-0-253-22049-3|pages=395–403|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JLGBUEs74n4C&pg=PA397}}</ref><ref name="thorner">{{cite book|first=Alice |last=Thorner|first2=Maithreyi|last2=Krishna Raj|year=2000|title=Ideals, images, and real lives: women in literature and history|publisher=Orient Blackswan|isbn= 978-81-250-0843-9|pages=241–250|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LO-ztHz3XTUC&pg=PA241}}</ref><ref name="anandi">{{cite journal|first = S.|last=Anandhi|title =Representing Devadasis: 'Dasigal Mosavalai' as a Radical Text|journal=Economic and Political Weekly|volume=26|issue=11/12|pages=739–746|date=March 1991|jstor=4397430}}</ref><ref name="businessline">{{cite web|first=Shubashree|last=Desikan|url=http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/life/2008/12/19/stories/2008121950050200.htm|title=Grace under fire|work= [[Business Line]]|publisher= [[The Hindu Group]]|date =19 December 2008|access-date=19 January 2010}}</ref><ref name="tngovt">{{cite web|url =http://www.tn.gov.in/schemes/swnmp/social_welfare.pdf|title=Moovalur Ramamirtham Ammayar ninaivu Marriage Assistance Scheme|work=[[Government of Tamil Nadu]]|access-date=19 January 2010}}</ref><ref name="frontline1">{{cite web|first=Parvati|last=Menon|url=http://www.hindu.com/fline/fl1816/18160740.htm|title=Of studies on Women|work=[[Frontline (magazine)|Frontline]]|publisher=[[The Hindu Group]]|date=4 August 2001|access-date=19 January 2010}}</ref><ref name="frontline2">{{cite web|first=S|last=Viswanathan |url=http://www.hindu.com/fline/fl2511/stories/20080606251101400.htm|title=The Pioneers: Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddy|work=[[Frontline (magazine)|Frontline]]|publisher=[[The Hindu Group]]|date=4 May 2008|access-date=19 January 2010}}</ref><ref name="sithannan">{{cite book|first=V.|last=Sithannan|year=2006|title=Immoral traffic: prostitution in India|publisher=JEYWIN Publications|isbn=978-81-905975-0-0|pages=53|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pHXGypflBLIC&pg=PT53}}</ref><ref name="hindu1">{{cite newspaper|last=PKR|url=http://www.hindu.com/br/2009/11/10/stories/2009111050021301.htm|title=Book Review |work=[[The Hindu]]|publisher=[[The Hindu Group]]|date=10 November 2009|access-date=19 January 2010}}</ref><ref name="chandrika">{{cite journal|first = G.|last=Chandhrika|title =Of Men, Women and Morals: Gender, Politics and Social Reform in Colonial South India|journal=Intersections: Gender and Sexuality in Asia and the Pacific|issue=22|date=October 2009|url=http://intersections.anu.edu.au/issue22/ganapathy.htm|access-date=19 January 2010}}</ref><ref name="translation">{{cite book|first=Muvalar|last= Ramamirthammal|author2=Kalpana Kannabirān|author3=Vasantha Kannabiran|year=2003|title=Muvalur Ramamirthammal's Web of deceit: Devadasi reform in colonial India|publisher=[[Zubaan]]|isbn= 978-81-86706-63-3|pages=53|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-kSUx6Xbq1QC&pg=PA2}}</ref>

She was married to Suyambu Pillai, a musician. She had two sons and a daughter; only one of her sons, Chellappa, survived to adulthood. Ramamirtham was an atheist.

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramamirtham, Moovalur}}
[[Category:1883 births]]
[[Category:1962 deaths]]
[[Category:Dravidian movement]]
[[Category:Tamil activists]]
[[Category:Tamil-language writers]]
[[Category:Women in Tamil Nadu politics]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian women politicians]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian politicians]]
[[Category:19th-century Indian women]]
[[Category:19th-century Indian people]]
[[Category:Women writers from Tamil Nadu]]
[[Category:Indian social reformers]]
[[Category:Indian women activists]]
[[Category:Indian National Congress politicians from Tamil Nadu]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian women writers]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian writers]]
[[Category:Indian women's rights activists]]
[[Category:Activists from Tamil Nadu]]