The Life and Work of Moovalur Ramamirtham Ammaiyar

Moovalur Ramamirtham Ammaiyar spent almost her entire life fighting against the devadasi system in Tamil Nadu, a practice that dedicated young girls to temples, where they were meant to be available for the sexual needs of priests and landowners. Sold off by her parents, and brought up to dedicate herself as a dasi, she managed to escape this fate and make a life for herself. Her battle against the devadasi system was met with considerable resistance, not only by those with vested interests in keeping the devadasis inside temples, but often by the devadasis themselves. But Moovalur persisted, taking her cause, and its wider ramifications into the broader politics of the Congress party, and later the Self-Respect Movement. Despite this, in the annals of recent Tamil history, she was hardly known, until the publication, in 2006 of Moovalur Ramamirtham: Vazhvum Paniyum (translated here as The Life and Work of Moovalur Ramamirtham Ammaiyar). Put together through interviews with her surviving relatives and fragments garnered from a handwritten manuscript, this is the first book to document the ‘braveheart’ of Dravidian history, Moovalur Ramamirtham Ammaiyar.

B JEEVASUNDARI is a feminist researcher, writer and media person. She has contributed to various Tamil magazines including Pikika Children’s Magazine, Police News, Puthiya Paarvai, Araam Thinai, Kumudham Snegithi and Penne Nee. Moovalur Ramamirtham: Vazhvum Paniyum (The Life and Work of Moovalur Ramamirtham Ammaiyar) is the result of her independent research. She has also edited a book entitled, Thaneer – Santhaikalla Makkalukke. Her articles on women’s independence and violence against women have been compiled into volumes entitled, Penn enum Pagadaikkai and Kurallatra Bommaigal. Her abiding interest in movies has resulted in a set of serialised essays, ‘Raisgai Paarvai’ which have been published in the film critics magazine called Kaatchi Pizhai. The collection was later published as a book and received an award for the best feminist book. She has also received the Chinna Kuthoosi Award for her essays, and has translated many children’s books into Tamil.

V BHARATHI HARISHANKAR is vice chancellor of Avinashilingam Institute for Home Science and Higher Education for Women. Previously, she was the founding Head of the Department of Women’s Studies, University of Madras. Her research interests include postcolonial literatures, literary theory, translation studies and web-based pedagogies. She has taught courses, guided research, and has written over 120 publications including research articles, books, edited volumes and textbooks in all these areas. She has co-authored three books on teaching translation. Her notable translations include Shanmugasundaram’s Nagammal and Thamizachi Thangapandian’s Birthing Hut and Other Stories. Her interest in Moovalur Ramamirtham Ammaiyar stems from the project on devadasis that she has worked on for the National Commission for Women.