AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi on Tuesday, pressing the demand for Bharat Ratna to be awarded posthumously to freedom fighter and social reformer Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar.
EPS handed over a petition during the meeting and later posted on X, “I handed over a letter on behalf of @AIADMKOfficial strongly urging that the highest award of the Indian nation, #BharatRatna, be conferred upon the divine son Pasumppon Aiya U. Muthuramalingam Thevar, who struggled for national liberation.”
The meeting lasted around 20 minutes, followed by a private 10-minute discussion between EPS and Shah. According to sources, EPS also requested that Shah avoid engaging with expelled AIADMK leaders or others in the name of party unification, signalling a firm stance on leadership control.
Who Was Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar?
Born in 1908, Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar was a prominent political figure and a close associate of Subhas Chandra Bose through the All India Forward Bloc. He played a crucial role in Tamil Nadu’s political and social movements from the late 1930s onwards.
Thevar strongly supported the 1939 Temple Entry Movement, which opened temple doors to Dalits, and contributed to the repeal of the draconian Criminal Tribes Act in 1946. Revered by the Mukulathor community—comprising Kallars, Maravars, and Ahambadiars—Thevar remains a symbol of social justice and resistance.
His legacy is honoured annually on October 30 as Thevar Jayanthi. Several institutions and memorials bear his name, including Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar College in Usilampatti and a memorial in his native village in Tamil Nadu.
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