Thevar Jayanthi

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Garlanding Pasumpon Muthuramalingam Thevar's statue in Madurai during the 2007 Thevar Jayanthi centenary

Thevar Jayanthi ("anniversary" or "celebration of a special occasion", lit. 'victory' or 'victorious'), celebrated on 30 October, is an annual commemoration of the birthday of

Thevar community in the southern districts of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India.[1] Although not an official public holiday, many schools and businesses in the area remain closed on the day.[2][3][4]

Background

Although Thevar was active in politics, it is mainly his spiritual discourse that explains his following after his death. Additionally, the fact that his date of birth and death lie close to each other has been interpreted as a sign of supernatural powers.[5]

Thevar Shrine

One of the main events on Thevar Jayanthi takes place at the

Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi installed the 16-foot-tall statue of Muthuramalinga Thevar at the intersection of Goripalayam in Madurai on 5 January 1974. He also constructed the memorial for Thevar at Pasumpon village.[6]

Thevar Jayanthi

In 1979, Chief Minister M. G. Ramachandran announced the birth anniversary of Thevar to be celebrated as a government event. On 19 October 1994, then Chief Minister Jayalalithaa installed a life-size bronze statue of Thevar at the Nandanam junction facing the arterial Anna Salai in Chennai.[7]

Golden Armour

Jayalalithaa garlands the Thevar statue at Nandanam
in 2004

Tamil Nadu opposition leader J. Jayalalithaa visited the Thevar memorial on 30 October 2010 during Gurupooja. Many from Pasumpon requested that she donate a gold armour for the statue. On 9 February 2014, J. Jayalalithaa, then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, donated gold armour to cover the 3.5-foot-tall statue of Thevar. The gold armour weighs 13 kg and is estimated to be worth Rs 4 crore. The armour is kept in a nationalized bank locker in Madurai, and will be taken out and handed over to the organizer of the memorial every year between 28 and 30 October to observe Thevar Jayanthi Celebrations.[8][9][10]

Political controversy

The All India Forward Bloc, the political party to which Pasumpon Muthuramalingam Thevar belonged, has demanded that Thevar Jayanthi be declared a public holiday in Tamil Nadu.[11]

The event is not entirely uncontroversial. The

CPI(ML) Liberation has charged that the Tamil Nadu government should stop sponsoring Thevar Jayanthi celebrations, claiming that the event is utilized by the Casteist forces.[12]

Thevars community is Largely concentrated in Tamil Nadu's southern districts of Madurai, Theni, Dindigul, Sivaganga, and Ramanathapuram, Thevars have been a politically influential community and also fall in the MBC category

2007 centenary celebrations

A Group of women adores the thevar statue at Madurai in 2007

On 30 October 2007, the birth centenary of Pasumpon Muthuramalingam Thevar was celebrated. TN Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi took part in the celebrations in Pasumpon village.[13] This was the first time in two decades that M. Karunanidhi participated in Thevar Jayanthi.[14] At the celebrations, Karunanidhi suggested that Madurai Airport be renamed after Pasumpon Muthuramalingam Thevar. These moves were seen as an attempt by Karunanidhi's Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party to challenge the supremacy of the rival All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) over the Thevar community. The AIADMK leader J. Jayalalithaa criticized Karunanidhi's participation in the Thevar Jayanthi centenary program, stating that he did not believe in Thevar's ideas. Moreover, she claimed that her previous government had allocated 30 million rupees for the Thevar Jayanthi centenary, but that Karunanidhi's government had spent only five million rupees.[14]

116th Thevar Jayanthi (30 October 2023)

On 30 October 2023, marking the 116th Thevar Jayanthi and the 61st Guru Pooja, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. K. Stalin led the observance by garlanding the statue of freedom fighter Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar at the Goripalayam junction in Madurai . He was accompanied by senior DMK ministers and leaders, including P. Moorthy, Palanivel Thiaga Rajan, Thangam Thennarasu, Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi, and Madurai Mayor Indrani Pon Vasanth . Following the tribute, the CM also laid foundation stones for flyover construction in Madurai and visited Pasumpon, honoring Thevar at his memorial in Ramanathapuram.

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Thevar Jayanthi.
  1. ^ "Security beefed up in Madurai for Thevar Jayanthi". Rediff.com. 28 October 1998. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
  2. ^ "Thevar Jayanthi processions peaceful". The Hindu. 31 October 2006. Archived from the original on 26 November 2011. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
  3. ^ "Thevar Jayanthi processions pass off peacefully". The Hindu. 31 October 2005. Archived from the original on 5 November 2012. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
  4. ^ "Thevar Jayanthi processions peaceful". The Hindu. 31 October 2007. Archived from the original on 31 October 2007. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
  5. ^
    ISBN 978-0-7619-9781-8
    . One factor that enhanced Thevar's charisma after his death was the fact that his date of birth was very close to that of his death. Though there was one day's difference between the two dates, people celebrate both on 30 October. People regarded this as a rare phenomenon and a sign of his supernatural powers.
  6. ^ "The Magnetism of Muthuramalinga Thevar, His Bond with Bose, And His Touch in Tamil Nadu Politics". news18. 30 October 2022. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
  7. ^ "AIADMK DMK vie to take credit for honouring Muthuramalinga Thevar". The Times of India. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
  8. ^ "Jayalalithaa gifts 13 kg gold armour for Thevar leader's statue". The Times of India. 10 February 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
  9. ^ "Gold Armour Gifted by Jayalalithaa Adorns Thevar Statue for Jayanthi". newindianexpress. 27 October 2014. Retrieved 27 October 2014.
  10. ^ "AIADMK treasurer receives Thevar's golden armour from bank". dtnext. 26 October 2023. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
  11. ^ "Mid term polls linked to Cong stand on US nuke pact: AIFB". webindia123.com. 9 October 2007. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
  12. ^ "Kerala : Land Reforms Undone". Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
  13. Oneindia.in
    . 30 October 2007. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
  14. ^ a b "New Icon, Old Wounds". All India Christian Council. 23 November 2007. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
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