Maniammai Biography 
Maniammai was an activist, social worker and rationalist leader from Tamil Nadu. She was the wife of iconic leader Periyar E. V. Ramasamy and supported him throughout his journey. They had a very good age gap of 38 years, and often faced criticism from other leaders for their marriage. But after his death in 1973, she succeeded him as the leader of the Dravidar Kazhagam. She married him at the age of 32. A role model and inspiring figure to many, she is considered as the first woman political leader from Tamil Nadu. She died in 1978 aged 61.
Maniammai was born on 10 March 1917 in Vellore of Madras Presidency in British India. Her birth name is Gandhimathi. Her father Kanagasabai Mudaliar was a party member of the Justice Party. Following her father’s death in early 1940s, she joined Dravidar Kazhagam, founded by Periyar E. V. Ramasamy soon after his quit Indian National Congress citing Brahmin dominance in the party. She became Periyar's personal assistant taking care of him, after her father’s death. Her father too was a party worker. Periyar was a widower in the late 60s with no children when Maniammai joined as his personal assistant.
Around 5 years later, in the late 1940s, she married much older Periyar, the leader of the party to the shock of many. Many leaders and members of the party couldn’t digest the marriage news and also Periyar’s announcement as appointing Maniammai as his political successor. She was only a new member to the party, when Periyar trusted her and gave her the political powers including nominating Maniammai a trustee of party funds and his political heir. Periyar explained that the marriage was to make Maniammai his legal heir and nothing more.
Many senior members of the party who had stayed with him for a long time couldn’t digest the news and protested, while a few stayed with him. Among those protestors, the leading figure was Periyar's disciple C. N. Annadurai who started his own political party Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, following the array of incidents. After the death of her husband in 1973 aged 94, she became the leader of the party. She passed away 5 years later in 1978 aged 61.
Published: N/A
Updated: May 13, 2018
