A. M. Saravanam (1902 - 7 December 1975) was an Indian independence activist and

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

politician.

Early life

Saravanam was born in 1902 in

Ooty Ooty (; officially Udagamandalam (), Anglicisation, anglicized: Ootacamund , abbreviated as Udagai, ) is a town and municipality in the Nilgiris district of the Indian States and territories of India, state of Tamil Nadu. It is located north ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

, staying there until 8th grade. He was raised in a rural community. He later became an agro-businessman.

Political activity

He had a history of involvement in political struggle and joined Congress in 1932. He served from 1936 to 1956 and continued to serve in the Ooty Town Congress, and as both Secretary and President of Nilagiri District Congress. Ooty and Nilgiris district was the second capital of the British. Saravanam arranged

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethics, political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful Indian ...

's visit to Nilgiris in 1934, where he inaugurated the Sundara Gandhi Vinayagar Temple that had been built by local washermen. Saravanam was active in the Quit India movement. When

Subhash Chandra Bose Subhas Chandra Bose (23 January 1897 – 18 August 1945) was an Indian independence movement, Indian nationalist whose defiance of British raj, British authority in India made him a hero among many Indians, but his wartime alliances with ...

announced the

Jai Hind Jai Hind (, ) is a salutation and slogan that means "Hail India", "Long live India", or literally "Victory orIndia" as originally coined by Zain-ul Abideen Hasan, also known as Abid Hasan Safrani, an officer in Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's In ...

independence slogan in 1942, he named his son Jaihind Rajan, at a time when many people were afraid to use the slogan in public. He was imprisoned several times and spent many years incarcerated in Ooty,

Coimbatore Coimbatore (Tamil: kōyamputtūr, ), also known as Kovai (), is one of the major Metropolitan cities of India, metropolitan cities in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Noyy ...

Trichy Tiruchirappalli (), also known as Trichy, is a major tier II city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Tiruchirappalli district. The city is credited with being the best livable and the cleanest city of T ...

Vellore Vellore ( ), also spelled Velur, is a sprawling city and the administrative headquarters of Vellore district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Palar River and surrounded by the Javadi Hills in the northeastern ...

, and

Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...

. His wife Mareyayee Ammal was also active in freedom protests. He was involved in the Congress bargaining of relatives. Fearing his active involvement, the British arrested him and held him in a jungle inhabited by wild animals, 50 miles from Ooty from which he escaped. After

independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...

Kamaraj Kumaraswami Kamaraj (15 July 1903 – 2 October 1975), popularly known as Kamarajar was an Indian independence activist and politician who served as the Chief Minister of Madras from 13 April 1954 to 2 October 1963. He also served as the pr ...

offered him an MLC post that he rejected due to family circumstances. He was later appointed as a member of the Most Aboriginal Welfare Committee. He was approached by Congress as the district leader when the Congress barrage broke during the

Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and stateswoman who served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India from 1966 to 1977 and again from 1980 un ...

period. Saravanam launched and co-ran the Nilgiris District Laundry Workers Union. He was shocked after Kamaraj's death and passed away on 7 December 1975. He was awarded Prime Minister

's Copper Sword and Commendation Bond.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Saravanam A.M Indian Tamil people 1975 deaths 1902 births Activists from Tamil Nadu Indian National Congress politicians from Tamil Nadu Indian independence activists from Tamil Nadu