Meenambal Shivaraj, as she was popularly known in the Tamil ‘nation’, was a firebrand leader in the early thirties. Her father “Valla’ Madurai Pillai was a famous shipping magnate. This Dalit family stood in the forefront of the depressed classes movement during the first quarter of this century.
Shivaraj, a prominent lawyer at that time, married Minimal and both played a leading role in the Justice Party even before the “non-Brahmin” stalwarts like Periyar EVR joined it.
Author of “Periyar” title: It was Minimal who, while presiding over a women’s conference in Madras, gave the title ‘Periyar’ to EVR which the rest of the lot copied.
Shivaraj was a lawyer, law teacher, legislator, Mayor of Madras and above all he was a close confidant of Babasaheb Ambedkar. He was next only to Babasaheb in the movement of Untouchables, And Meenambal was steadfast in her commitment and contributed so much for the emancipation of Dalits. In turn, the Dalits in Madras city preferred to call their colonies as Shivarajpuram and Meenambalnagars. She belonged to the first-generation pioneers that led the Anti-Hindi agitations and fought ‘Hindu imperialism’,
Meenambal (90) was unwell for some time and the end came on Nov.30,92 (6 pm) at her residence in Kellys, Madras, and buried on Dec. 1,92.
Despite the blackout of this important news in our “national” napkin papers, thousands of Dalits gathered to offer their respects to the departed leader. TN Dalits lost in her an uncontaminated, ever-inspiring leader. This is the end of an Era.
