Madurai Vaidyanatha Iyer Biography 
Madurai Vaidyanatha Iyer was a social activist and freedom fighter from Madurai, Tamil Nadu. He was also known by the names - A. Vaidyanatha Iyer and Iyer. Known for his movements for the lower sectors of Indian society in the first half of the 20th century, a time when Indian society was ruled by social evils, Vaidyanatha Iyer played a significant role in the temple entry movement in Madras Presidency in 1939. He also participated in Non-Cooperation Movement 1922, followed by Vedaranyam Salt Satyagraha (1930) and the Quit India Movement of 1942. A postage stamp was issued in his memory in 1999.
Born into an Iyer family in Thanjavur in then Madras Presidency in 1890, his early days were spent in his Madurai. He was born into a Tamil Brahmin family to Arunachalam Iyer and Lakshmi Ammal in Thanjavur. He schooled at Madurai Sethupathi High School. A brilliant student in studies, he got second rank in SSLC exams state wide and topped in Mathematics. Iyer completed his FA in Madura College, again topping in mathematics and securing the fourth rank at the state level. After BA at Madras Presidency College in 1914, he served as Mathematics teacher in Pudukkottai Maharaja’s school and many other schools, later as a lawyer and finally settled at Madurai.
He got married at the age of 18 after his FA exams, to 9 year old Akilandam. He was also a qualified lawyer. Inspired by Gandhi’s principles he plunged into nationalised movement. But he is known to be a prominent figure associated with temple entry movement in Madras Presidency in the late 1930s. He served as the President of the Tamil Nadu Harijan Seva Sangh and was a close friend of C. Rajagopalachari. He along with a group of Harijans entered the Meenakshi temple at Madurai, which was against the state laws then. Later Rajagopalachari passed Temple Entry Authorization and Indemnity Act allowing the entry of Shanars and Dalits to temples, thus protecting his dearest friend from legal action. Later he entered into politics and served as Member of Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly.
Published: N/A
Updated: January 28, 2016
