Pattukkottai Alagiri (23 June 190028 March 1949), popularly known as Anjanenjan Alagiri, was an Indian

social reform Reformism is a type of social movement that aims to bring a social or also a political system closer to the community's ideal. A reform movement is distinguished from more radical social movements such as revolutionary movements which reject t ...

er. He was a prominent leader in

Self-Respect Movement The Self-Respect Movement is a popular human rights movement originating in South India aimed at achieving social equality for those oppressed by the Indian caste system, advocating for lower castes to develop self-respect. It was founded in ...

. and

Dravidar Kazhagam Dravidar Kazhagam is a social movement founded by E. V. Ramasamy, 'Periyar' E. V. Ramasamy. Its original goals were to eradicate the ills of the existing caste and class system including untouchability and on a grander scale to obtain a "Dra ...

Early life

Pattukkottai Alagiri was born on 23 June 1900 to Vasudeva Naidu and Kannamma, in Karukkakurichi,

Keeramangalam Keeramangalam is a panchayat town in Pudukkottai District in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located in Alangudi taluk. 81 feet statue of Meinindranaadha swami(Lord Shiva) & 7.25 feet statue of the chief poet "Nakkeerar" are situated at ...

in the state of

Pudukkottai State Pudukkottai was a kingdom and later a princely state in British India, which existed from 1680 until 1948. The Thondaman dynasty, Kingdom of Pudukkottai was founded in about 1680 as a feudatory of Ramnad estate, Ramnad and grew with subsequent ...

. He belonged to the Gavara Naidu community. Her father served in the

British Indian Army The Indian Army was the force of British Raj, British India, until Indian Independence Act 1947, national independence in 1947. Formed in 1895 by uniting the three Presidency armies, it was responsible for the defence of both British India and ...

. He was a descendant of the Royal Family of

Kandy Kandy (, ; , ) is a major city located in the Central Province, Sri Lanka, Central Province of Sri Lanka. It was the last capital of the Sinhalese monarchy from 1469 to 1818, under the Kingdom of Kandy. The city is situated in the midst of ...

. He attended American College Higher Secondary School 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 ...

. He had participated in the

first world war World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Personal life

Alagiri is married to Ethirajamma in 1927. The couple had two sons, Ramamoorthy, Dilip Alagiri and three daughters, Diana, Baby and Pushparani. * * His brother in law K. G. Sukku Rajasinha, great grandson of

Sri Vikrama Rajasinha Sri Vikrama Rajasinha (Sinhala language, Sinhala:ශ්‍රී වික්‍රම රාජසිංහ, Tamil language, Tamil:ஸ்ரீ விக்கிரம ராஜசிங்கன் Telugu language, Telugu:శ్రీ వి� ...

, the last king of

Politics

On 3 June 1938, the first anti-Hindi protest was held in

Saidapet Saidapet, also known as Saidai, is a neighbourhood in Chennai, India, situated in the northern banks of the Adyar River and serves as an entry point to Central Chennai. It is surrounded by West Mambalam in the North, C.I.T Nagar in the North-Ea ...

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 ...

, led by

Maraimalai Adigal Maraimalai Adigal (15 July 1876 – 15 September 1950) was a Tamil Saivite writer, orator and father of the Tanittamil Iyakkam movement. He authored more than 100 books, including works on original poems and dramas and notable research works o ...

. Pattukottai Azhagirisamy, the chief propagandist of the

, led a march all over the state in protest against the

imposition of Hindi Hindi imposition is a form of linguistic imperialism in which the use of Modern Standard Hindi is preferred in Indian states that do not use or desire to use Hindi as a regional language. The term is rooted in the anti-Hindi agitations of Tamil ...

. He conferred the title of "Kalaignar" on

Karunanidhi Muthuvel Karunanidhi (3 June 1924 – 7 August 2018), also known as Kalaignar (Artist), was an Indian writer and politician who served as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for almost two decades over five terms between 1969 and 2011. He had the ...

and conferred the title of "Nadigavel" on

M. R. Radha Madras Rajagopalan Radhakrishnan (14 April 1907 – 17 September 1979), better known as M. R. Radha, was an Indian actor and politician active in Tamil plays and films. He was given the title "Nadigavel" (King of Acting) by Pattukkottai ...

Honours

* The

Tamil Nadu Government The Government of Tamil Nadu () is the administrative body responsible for the governance of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Chennai is the capital of the state and houses the state executive, legislature and head of judiciary. Under the Const ...

constructed a memorial hall for Pattukkottai Alagiri. *

Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation Ltd. - (TNSTC) is a government owned public transport bus operator in Tamil Nadu, India. It operates Intercity bus services to cities within Tamil Nadu, and from Tamil Nadu to its neighbouring states. It al ...

, Vellore Division is named the Pattukottai Azhagiri Transport Corporation after him. * A statue has been erected in

Pattukkottai Pattukkottai is a major town in Thanjavur district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and also important town in Delta districts and Commercial town of Thanjavur, Thiruvarur and Pudukkottai district Coastal areas. The town came to prominence th ...

in his honor which is often used as a focal point for public. *

named his son M. K. Alagiri after him. * Pattukkottai Alagiri's birth anniversary is celebrated as a government function. * The

has named a bus stand after him. * The

has named Alagiri Nagar, Thiruvarur after him. * Pattukottai Alagiri Matriculation Higher Secondary School,

Papanasam Papanasam is a Panchayati raj in India, panchayat town in Thanjavur district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located from Thanjavur and from Kumbakonam. The name literally translates to "Destruction of Sins" in the Tamil language. It ...

, is named after him. * S. A. Ganesan named his son Alagiri after him.

Death

He died of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

on 28 March 1949. On 30 March 1949,

Periyar Erode Venkatappa Ramasamy (17 September 187924 December 1973), commonly known as Periyar, was an Indian social activist and politician. He was the organizer of the Self-Respect Movement and Dravidar Kazhagam and is considered the architect o ...

wrote a tribute to Pattukkottai Alagiri on Viduthalai newspaper.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alagiri, Pattukkottai 1900 births 1949 deaths Telugu people Tamil people of Telugu descent Indian social reformers