E. V. R. Maniammai

E. V. R. Maniammai also known as Erode Venkatappa Ramasami Maniammai (10 March 1917 – 16 March 1978), was an Indian social activist and politician. She was the second wife (at the age of 32) of E. V. Ramasami (at the age of 70). She succeeded him as the president of the Dravidar Kazhagam upon his death in 1973.

E. V. R. Maniammai
President of the Dravidar Kazhagam
In office 25 December 1973 – 16 March 1978
Preceded by	E. V. Ramasami
Succeeded by	K. Veeramani
Personal details
Born	(1917-03-10)10 March 1917 Vellore, Madras Presidency, British India (present-day Tamil Nadu, India)
Died	16 March 1978(1978-03-16) (aged 61) Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India
Resting place	Periyar Ninaividam
Political party	Dravidar Kazhagam
Other political affiliations	Justice Party and INC
Spouse	E. V. Ramasami ​ ​ (m. 1948; died 1973)​
Occupation	Activist politician social reformer

Biography

Maniammai was born as Kanthimathi to Kanagasabai Mudaliar, who was a member of the Justice Party.^[1][2] Soon after her father's death, she joined the Dravidar Kazhagam founded by Periyar E. V. Ramasamy in 1942–43. Sources close to Periyar had indicated that Maniyammai, being a woman, could not be named his heir. So he took to the recourse of marrying her so that she could become his legal heir.^[3] His marriage with a much younger Maniammai and his appointment of her as his successor shocked many of his party leaders.^{[4][5][6][7][8][9]}

References

1. S. Muthiah (2008). Madras, Chennai: A 400-year Record of the First City of Modern India. Palaniappa Brothers. p. 413. ISBN 978-81-8379-468-8.
2. Nalankilli, Thanjai. "Periyar Drops a Bombshell". Tamil tribune. Archived from the original on 3 September 2016. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
3. "The September which split Dravidians: Periyar weds Maniyammai, DMK is born". Archived from the original on 10 August 2019. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
4. Balkrishna Vithal Bhosale (2004). Mobilisation of Backward Communities in India. Deep & Deep. p. 222. ISBN 978-81-7629-588-8.
5. Phil Zuckerman (2009). Atheism and Secularity [2 volumes]. ABC-CLIO. p. 143. ISBN 978-0-313-35182-2.
6. Atheistic Centre (1978). The Atheist. Atheistic Centre. p. 67-68. Archived from the original on 18 September 2023. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
7. Maṇiyammai, Ī.V.R.; Veeramani, K. (1987). An̲n̲ai Ī. Ve. Rā. Maṇiyammaiyārin̲ cintan̲ai muttukaḷ: an̲n̲aiyārin̲ kaṭṭuraikaḷ, pēccukaḷin̲ tokuppu. Periyār Cuyamariyātaip Piraccāra Nir̲uvan̲a Veḷiyīṭu. Archived from the original on 18 September 2023. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
8. Govindarajan, Vinita (8 March 2017). "International Women's Day: Remembering Maniammai, the woman leader who shouldered Periyar's legacy". Scroll.in. Archived from the original on 19 April 2023. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
9. "Periyar & Maniammai's Marriage – Though Irrelevant, Let's Talk About It, Shall We?". Feminism in India. 5 January 2021. Archived from the original on 19 April 2023. Retrieved 19 April 2023.