User:NaanAvanlllai/Manalur Maniammal

Manalur Maniammai (born: Valambal) was a multifaceted freedom fighter, anti-caste activist, feminist, and class struggle advocate from the old Thanjavur district in Tamil Nadu, South India.

Early Life
Manalur Maniammai was born into a Brahmin family and was originally named Valambal by her parents. She lost her father at a young age. Due to family circumstances, she was married to a lawyer from Nagapattinam who was twenty years older than her at the age of nine. After ten years of marriage, she lost her husband and returned to her maternal home.

Public Life
Maniammai, who was interested in the Indian freedom struggle, joined the Congress after meeting Gandhi when he visited Thanjavur. Rising to the position of a provincial committee member, she led protests against bonded labor in her own region. She was ostracized by her family for fighting against caste-based servitude on her own farm. Over time, she realized that landlords gained more prominence in Congress after Gandhi. Drawn to the principles of communism through the Janasakthi magazine, she left Congress and became a full-time communist. She honed her political acumen under the guidance of leading communists like P. Srinivasarao and Manali Kandasamy, and rose to become an influential leader. Due to her protests against bonded labor and efforts to mobilize class alliances, she was targeted and severely injured in an assassination attempt but survived. She rejected traditional symbols of femininity, cutting her hair and dressing in a dhoti and shirt like men. Additionally, she learned silambam (a traditional martial art) for self-defense. Boldly traversing the Thanjavur region alone, she organized agricultural movements and participated in countless farmer protests.

Death
Maniammai passed away in 1953.

In Popular Culture
Writer Rajam Krishnan wrote a novel titled "Padaiyil Padhintha Adigalil" based on Maniammai's life.