N. M. R. Subbaraman (14 August 1905 – 25 January 1983) was an Indian freedom fighter and politician from Tamil Nadu. He was a member of Parliament from the Madurai constituency (1962–1967). He was also called "Madurai Gandhi" for his

Gandhian The followers of Mahatma Gandhi,one of the prominent figure of the Indian independence movement, are called Gandhians. Gandhi's legacy includes a wide range of ideas ranging from his dream of ideal India (or ''Rama Rajya)'', economics, environ ...

principles.

Biography

Subbaraman was born on 14 August 1905 to a wealthy

Saurashtra Brahmin The Saurashtra people, or Saurashtrians, are an Indo-Aryan ethno-linguistic Hindu Brahmin community of South India who speak the Saurashtra language, an Indo-Aryan Gujarati language, and predominantly reside in the Indian states of Tamil Na ...

family of Naatamai Malli Rayalu Iyer and Kaveri Ammal in

Madurai Madurai ( , , ), formerly known as Madura, is a major city in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District, which is ...

Madras Presidency The Madras Presidency or Madras Province, officially called the Presidency of Fort St. George until 1937, was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India and later the Dominion of India. At its greatest extent, the presidency i ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

. He studied at Sourashtra High School, Madurai and

Visva-Bharati University Visva-Bharati (IAST: ''Viśva-Bhāratī''), () is a public central university and an Institute of National Importance located in Shantiniketan, West Bengal, India. It was founded by Rabindranath Tagore who called it ''Visva-Bharati'', which ...

Santiniketan Shantiniketan (IPA: Help:IPA/Bengali, �antiniketɔn is a neighbourhood of Bolpur town in the Bolpur subdivision of Birbhum district in West Bengal, India, approximately 152 km north of Kolkata. It was established by Maharshi Devendra ...

. He joined 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 ...

and participated in

Indian independence movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events in South Asia with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British colonial rule. It lasted until 1947, when the Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed. The first nationalistic ...

at a young age. He was imprisoned for five years during the independence movement along with his wife Parvatavardhani.

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 ...

stayed at his bungalow during a visit to Madurai. As a member of the

Harijan Sevak Sangh Harijan Sevak Sangh, formerly All India Anti Untouchability League, is a non-profit organisation founded by Mahatma Gandhi in 1932 to eradicate untouchability in India, working for Harijan or Dalit people and upliftment of Depressed Class of I ...

, an organisation founded by Gandhi to remove

untouchability Untouchability is a form of social institution that legitimises and enforces practices that are discriminatory, humiliating, exclusionary and exploitative against people belonging to certain social groups. Although comparable forms of discrimin ...

from the Indian society, he worked for the advancement of the depressed classes. He, along with A. Vaidyanatha Iyer, organised a temple entry conference and helped the people of the depressed classes to enter

Meenakshi Amman Temple Arulmigu Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple, also known as Arulmigu Meenakshi Amman Thirukkovil, is a historic Hindu temple located on the southern bank of the Vaigai River in the temple city of Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is dedicated to the god ...

. He was involved in the

Bhoodan movement The Bhoodan movement (Land Gift movement), also known as the Bloodless Revolution, was a voluntary land reform movement in India. It was initiated by Gandhian Vinoba Bhave in 1951 at Pochampally village, Pochampally. The Bhoodan movement attem ...

and donated his 100 acres of land to the movement. He contributed to establishing the first

Gandhi Memorial Museum The National Gandhi Museum or Gandhi Memorial Museum is a museum located in New Delhi, India showcasing the life and principles of Mahatma Gandhi. The museum first opened in Mumbai, shortly after Gandhi's assassination in 1948. The museum relo ...

in Madurai. He won the

1937 Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Feb ...

and

1946 elections The following elections occurred in the year 1946. Africa * French legislative election, November 1946 (French Equatorial Africa) * French legislative election, November 1946 (Guinea) * 1946–1947 Moyen-Congo Representative Council election * ...

and served as the state legislator in the

. He was elected as a member of Parliament in the 1962 Lok Sabha election from

. He died on 25 January 1983 in Madurai. In 2005, to commemorate his 100th birthday, the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

issued a stamp with his image. In 2007, a women's college was named after him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Subbaraman, N. M. R. 1905 births 1983 deaths India MPs 1962–1967 Gandhians Indian National Congress politicians from Tamil Nadu Politicians from Madurai