G. S. Lakshmanan Iyer (1918 – 2 January 2011) was an Indian freedom fighter from

Gobichettipalayam Gobichettipalayam () is a town and municipality in Erode district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of Gobichettipalayam taluk. It is situated close to the centre of the South Indian Peninsula at above s ...

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 ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. He was imprisoned for more than five years during India's freedom struggle. He has been credited with having done a lot toward the improvement of the poor and oppressed, and he donated most of his assets to that cause. He distributed his land worth hundreds of crores in today's money to build houses for the oppressed. He involved his wife in

Satyagraha Satyāgraha (from ; ''satya'': "truth", ''āgraha'': "insistence" or "holding firmly to"), or "holding firmly to truth",' or "truth force", is a particular form of nonviolent resistance or civil resistance. Someone who practises satyagraha is ...

, who was also imprisoned along with him. He was the chairman of Gobichettipalayam municipality twice 952-1955 and 1986-1991 It was during his regime that Gobichettipalayam became the first city in India to ban the

Manual scavenging Manual scavenging is a term used mainly in India for "manually cleaning, carrying, disposing of, or otherwise handling, human excreta in an insanitary latrine or in an open drain or sewer or in a septic tank or a pit". Manual scavengers usually us ...

system. He freed

Dalits Dalit ( from meaning "broken/scattered") is a term used for Untouchability, untouchables and Outcast (person), outcasts, who represented the lowest stratum of the Caste system in India, castes in the Indian subcontinent. They are also called ...

from money debts, ensured that they lived in comfortable houses on clean, wide streets and built modern toilets. He died in January 2011 due to illness at the age of 93 and thousands of people gathered to pay their last respects. A documentary film namely" Oyamari" also produced about life of Lakshmana Iyer by writer S. Balamurugan. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zkKljuB4fwg&feature=share In 2018 the Governor of Tamil Nadu unveiled a statue of G.S. Lakshman Iyer in the district.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Iyer, G. S. Lakshman 1918 births 2011 deaths Indian independence activists from Tamil Nadu People from Erode district People from Gobichettipalayam Indian social reformers