Immanuvel Devendrar (9 October 1924 – 11 September 1957), who later took the name Immanuel Sekaran, was a

civil rights activist Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...

, former soldier and a party worker for the

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 ...

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.

Early life

Immanuvel Devendrar was born in Sellur,

Mudukulathur Mudukulathur is a Town panchayat in the Ramanathapuram district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu Demography India census, Mudukulathur had a population of 13,130 with males and females each constituting 50% of the population. The town had an ...

, Tamil Nadu on 9 October 1924 to Vedhanayagam Kudumbar, a school teacher.

Politics

He took part in the Quit India movement from the age of 18 and was imprisoned for three months because of it. In 1945, he enlisted in the

British army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

and, upon his discharge, he returned to his native

Ramanathapuram district Ramanathapuram District, also known as Ramnad District, is one of the 38 administrative districts of Tamil Nadu state in southern India. The old Ramanathapuram District consists of Present day Virudhunagar and Sivagangai districts, it touches th ...

to work for the Indian National Congress party (INC). His time in the army had caused him to question the oppression of the

Pallar The Pallar, who prefer to be called Mallar, are an agricultural community from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka. The Pallars traditionally inhabited the fertile wetland area referred to as ''Marutham'' in the literary ...

caste in his district, which was particularly alarming. Sekaran worked to improve the education, rights and representation of the Devendra's/Pallars. He tried to mobilise them to demand equality. The INC saw him as a useful opposition to Pasumpon Mutharamalingam Thevar, who had defected from the party to join the

Forward Bloc The All India Forward Bloc ( AIFB) is a left-wing nationalist political party in India. It emerged as a faction within the Indian National Congress in 1939, led by Subhas Chandra Bose, and was strongest in West Bengal. The party re-established ...

. The party thought that he might be a worthy future member of the Legislative Assembly and groomed him for that end. It was for this reason that he converted to the Hindu religion and took the name Immanuel Sekaranar.

Assassination

Background

The Devendra's were often in dispute with the

Thevar The Mukkulathor people, who are also collectively known as Thevar, are a community or group of communities native to the central and southern districts of Tamil Nadu, India. They comprise the Agamudayar, Kallar, and Maravar communities that s ...

caste and the relationship between the communities became fraught following a by-election in 1957.

Incident

Devandrar was ambushed and murdered by a group of Thevars for his activity on 11 September 1957.

Aftermath

Thevar was accused and responsible for the death. Thevar was in fact arrested but later released without charge. The

1957 Ramnad riots The Ramnad riots or the Mudukulathur riots were a series of violent clashes that occurred between July and September 1957 in the Ramnad district and in southern Tamil Nadu, India. The violence was between Maravars supporting the Forward Bloc, a ...

, in which 42 Devendra's were killed, occurred as a consequence of Immanuvel Devendrar's murder, but approx. 20 supporters of U. Muthuramalingam Thevar and 30 Devendra's died according to

data, not counting the injured personnel.

Legacy

Every year, The Devendrar's Birth day is greatly celebrated as Immanuel Gurupoojai by the people of devendra kula vellala community in and around Ramanathapuram and Sivaganga district. Also his death anniversary is mourned annually as Devendrar memorial day by Devendra Kula community people in his memorial tomb near Paramakudi, Ramanathapuram District of Tamil Nadu.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Devendrar, Immanuvel 1924 births 1957 deaths People from Ramanathapuram district Indian Tamil people Activists from Tamil Nadu Assassinated activists Indian National Congress politicians from Tamil Nadu Indian independence activists from Tamil Nadu Murder in India Caste-related violence in India People murdered in India