Moovalur Ramamirtham

Moovalur Ramamirtham (Tamil: மூவலூர் ராமாமிர்தம்) (1883–1962) was a Tamil social reformer, author, and political activist of the Dravidian Movement, who worked for the abolition of the Devadasi system in the Madras Presidency. Born in Thiruvarur, she was brought up at Moovalur, a village near Mayiladhuthurai. She was the author of the 1936 novel Dasigalin Mosavalai alladhu madhi pettra minor (lit. Devadasis' web of deceit or the minor grown wise) which exposed the plight of the Devadasis. Originally a supporter of the nationalist Indian National Congress, she became a member of Periyar E. V. Ramasamy's Self-Respect Movement after Periyar left the Congress in 1925. In 1930, she supported Muthulakshmi Reddi's failed attempt to abolish the Devadasi system in the Presidency through legislation. She took part in the Anti-Hindi agitations of 1937-40 and in November 1938, was jailed for six weeks for participating in the agitations. The public awareness created by her novel and her continuous campaign to abolish the Devadasi system, were instrumental in the passage of the Madras Devadasi (Prevention of Dedication) Act or the Devadasi Abolition Bill, which outlawed the practice in 1947. In 1949, she parted ways with Periyar.