P Jeevanandham
Encyclopedia
P Jeevanandham , also called Jeeva, was a social reformer, political leader, litterateur and one of the pioneers of the communist and socialist movements in the state of Tamilnadu, India
.
He was not only a socio-political leader, but was also a cultural theoretician, an excellent orator, journalist and critic ; and above all, a relentless fighter for the deprived. A down-to-earth person with a clean record in public life, Jeevanandham was held in high esteem by ordinary people.
, in the then princely state of Travancore
(which is now in Kanyakumari District
of Tamilnadu) into an orthodox middle-class family on August 21, 1907.
The orthodox and religious background of his family exposed Jeevanandham to literature, devotional songs and the arts, early on in his life. He grew up in an era when caste-based rigidity was widely prevalent, and from early on in his life he resented the very idea of untouchability and could not tolerate his Dalit
friends being denied entry into temples and public places and being humiliated. Even as a schoolboy he became averse to Varnasrama Dharma, a Hindu religious code that stratifies society on caste lines and facilitates the practice of untouchability
. The national movement and Gandhi’s call to wear khadi and his stand against untouchability
influenced him to join the movement. He began wearing only khadi
from then on.
Jeevanandham took his Dalit
friends into the streets and public places were ,usually, entry was denied to them, which earned him the displeasure of his family and his orthodox caste members in his village. His father disapproved his behaviour and asked him to stop all things which were against their caste traditions. Jeevanandham said he would rather leave his home rather than following discriminatory practices and eventually did so.
struggle against upper-caste Hindus, where Dalits were barred from walking on the road leading to the temple at Vaikom
(in present day Kerala
state). He participated in a similar protest, demanding entry for Dalits into the famous Suchindrum temple at Suchindrum (in present-day Kanyakumari District
). He participated in more struggles, calls for which were given by the Indian National Congress
.
Later, when he joined an ashram run by Congress leader V.V.S. Iyer at Cheranmahadevi (in the present-day Tirunelveli District
), he found that Dalits and ‘upper-caste’ students were fed in separate halls. Jeevanandham supported Periyar’s protest against this practice, and not satisfied with a compromise offered by V.V.S. Iyer, he quit the ashram.
Jeevanandham, later, took charge of an ashram funded by a philanthropist in Siruvayal near Karaikkudi in the then Ramnad District. The purpose was to implement Gandhi’s constructive programme. The ashram life gave Jeevanandham an opportunity to read a lot of books. It was here that he had a meeting with Gandhi. When Gandhi sought to defend Varnasrama Dharma, Jeevanandham felt that it would be futile to expect Gandhi’s struggle to put an end to the practice once and for all.
When Periyar (Periyar E. V. Ramasamy
), on returning from a visit to the Soviet Union, spoke highly of its achievements and expressed his desire to propagate socialism, Jeevanandham, who was by then familiar with the egalitarian principle, felt elated. His hopes of getting the movement merged with the Congress Socialist Party were dashed when Periyar began dragging his feet. He, however, remained in the Congress. He was elected as a member of the All India Congress Committee
, a prestigious post in those days, and was also a member of the working committee of the State Congress unit. Later, when the Madras Provincial Congress Socialist Party was formed in 1937, Jeevanandham became its first secretary. He joined the Communist Party of India
(CPI) two years later along with P. Ramamurti, another veteran of the movement.
(which was a precursor to the Dravidian movement led by Periyar (Periyar E. V. Ramasamy
) and the Communist movement. Before enrolling himself as the first member of the united Communist Party of India
(CPI) in Tamilnadu, Jeevanandham was an active participant in these two earlier movements. His patriotism took him to the national movement ; his revulsion for untouchability
and caste-based discrimination led him to support the Self-Respect Movement
.
After joining the Communist Party of India
(CPI), along with his comrade P. Ramamurti , organising workers on Marxist lines became the principal activity of Jeevanandham and Ramamurti. In this they were assisted by leaders such as M.R. Venkatraman and B. Srinivasa Rao. They had already organized workers and formed unions in industrial towns such as Madurai
and Coimbatore
when they were functioning as socialists. Jeevanandham was in the forefront of efforts to build a strong labor movement based on Marxism. His oratory and writings helped him fulfill the task. But these leaders had to suffer police repression and undergo imprisonment several times. Jeevanandham visited sensitive areas and kept the workers’ fighting spirit alive. Alongside industrial workers, agricultural laborers and small farmers were also organized in Thanjavur and other districts. Jeevanandham and Ramamurti inspired thousands of people through powerful speeches.
Under the colonial rule, Marxist literature and propaganda were banned, and Marxist workers were frequently arrested on one pretext or the other. Jeevanandham was no exception. He even had an externment order against him and had to stay away from the then Madras province for a brief period
(CPI) was lifted, and all its leaders were released.
In the first general elections
in post independent India, Jeevanandham contested for a seat for the Legislative Assembly
from the Wasermanpet
constituency in Madras (present Chennai
), and won with a huge margin. P. Ramamurti, who was in jail then, was also elected with a comfortable majority, from a Madurai
constituency.
After being elected to the Legislative Assembly
, Jeevanandham put pressure on the government to initiate action on crucial issues. His speeches in the Assembly on issues relating to development schemes, reform measures and the language policy won due attention from the ruling Congress party and great admiration from people. His speech on the Official Language Bill echoed the feelings of the ordinary people in the State and revealed his vision on the cultural front. During this period, he also led many struggles, one of which was against the proposal to form Dakshina Pradesh comprising the four southern States. He thought this would be against the linguistic aspirations of the people in the four States. Although Jeevanandham lost in the subsequent elections, he continued his party work with the same zeal.
Jeevanandham also led agitations and was instrumental in merging the present-day Kanyakumari District
, which was then with the Travancore-Cochin
state, with the then Madras state (present Tamilnadu).
He was a supporter of pure usage of his native Tamil language
, which had, to an extent, become corrupted with the influence of Sanskrit
and other languages. He declared his name as "Uyirinban", a literal translation of the Sanskrit word "Jeevanandham". One of his major influences was the works of Tamil poet Subramania Bharthi, as also the persona and simple life-style of the poet. Jeevanandham was the first to take to cultural politics and cited his long struggle for nationalising Subramania Bharati’s songs and for fulfilling Tamils’ aspirations in respect of making Tamil a medium of instruction in schools and also making it an official language.
Jeevanandham was well-versed in Kambaramayanam
, the Tamil version of the Indian epic Ramayana
, which is considered a Tamil literary classic and consists of eloquent Tamil verses.
Jeevanandham was the founder of "Thamarai
", a Tamil literary magazine. The communist Tamil newspaper, ‘JanaSakthi’, was also begun with his commitment.
Periyar
encouraged Jeeva to translate Bhagat Singh’s classic essay “Why I am Atheist” in 1933. Jeeva translated it into Tamil, which was probably its first ever translation. It was so popular that there were 25 re-print editions till 2005. http://pay.hindu.com/ebook%20-%20ebfl20071005part7.pdf
In 1962, his health suffered a setback. Later in the year he visited the Soviet Union
. He took treatment there and returned by the end of the year. However, his health worsened weeks later. On January 18, 1963, he died at his modest home at Tambaram
, near Chennai
. About two lakh people attended his funeral and paid their last respects to one who had toiled all his life for the common man, who symbolised the simplicity of Gandhism and who had a Periyar-like zest for social equality and the Marxist spirit to fight exploitation.
The railway station at Vyasarpadi in Chennai
is named after Jeevanandham, as Vyasarpadi Jeeva
, as he lived in the area, for a period.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
He was not only a socio-political leader, but was also a cultural theoretician, an excellent orator, journalist and critic ; and above all, a relentless fighter for the deprived. A down-to-earth person with a clean record in public life, Jeevanandham was held in high esteem by ordinary people.
Early life
P Jeevanandham ('Sorimuthu' was his original name) was born in the village of BoothapandiBoothapandi
Boothapandi, Bhoothapandi, Bhoothapandy or Bhuthapondy is a panchayat town in Kanyakumari district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India....
, in the then princely state of Travancore
Travancore
Kingdom of Travancore was a former Hindu feudal kingdom and Indian Princely State with its capital at Padmanabhapuram or Trivandrum ruled by the Travancore Royal Family. The Kingdom of Travancore comprised most of modern day southern Kerala, Kanyakumari district, and the southernmost parts of...
(which is now in Kanyakumari District
Kanyakumari District
Kanyakumari District ) is a district of Tamil Nadu state, India and is the southernmost land area of mainland India.The district is the second most urbanised district in Tamilnadu, next only to Chennai and ahead of Coimbatore. It also has the highest literacy and education levels in the...
of Tamilnadu) into an orthodox middle-class family on August 21, 1907.
The orthodox and religious background of his family exposed Jeevanandham to literature, devotional songs and the arts, early on in his life. He grew up in an era when caste-based rigidity was widely prevalent, and from early on in his life he resented the very idea of untouchability and could not tolerate his Dalit
Dalit
Dalit is a designation for a group of people traditionally regarded as Untouchable. Dalits are a mixed population, consisting of numerous castes from all over South Asia; they speak a variety of languages and practice a multitude of religions...
friends being denied entry into temples and public places and being humiliated. Even as a schoolboy he became averse to Varnasrama Dharma, a Hindu religious code that stratifies society on caste lines and facilitates the practice of untouchability
Untouchability
Untouchability is the social practice of ostracizing a minority group by segregating them from the mainstream by social custom or legal mandate. The excluded group could be one that did not accept the norms of the excluding group and historically included foreigners, nomadic tribes, law-breakers...
. The national movement and Gandhi’s call to wear khadi and his stand against untouchability
Untouchability
Untouchability is the social practice of ostracizing a minority group by segregating them from the mainstream by social custom or legal mandate. The excluded group could be one that did not accept the norms of the excluding group and historically included foreigners, nomadic tribes, law-breakers...
influenced him to join the movement. He began wearing only khadi
Khadi
The term khādī or khaddar means cotton. khādī is Indian handspun and hand-woven cloth. The raw materials may be cotton, silk, or wool, which are spun into threads on a spinning wheel called a charkha. It is a versatile fabric, cool in the summer and warm in the winter...
from then on.
Jeevanandham took his Dalit
Dalit
Dalit is a designation for a group of people traditionally regarded as Untouchable. Dalits are a mixed population, consisting of numerous castes from all over South Asia; they speak a variety of languages and practice a multitude of religions...
friends into the streets and public places were ,usually, entry was denied to them, which earned him the displeasure of his family and his orthodox caste members in his village. His father disapproved his behaviour and asked him to stop all things which were against their caste traditions. Jeevanandham said he would rather leave his home rather than following discriminatory practices and eventually did so.
Gandhian and Congress Worker
Jeevanandham started his political life basing himself on Gandhian ideas. In 1924, he participated in the famous VaikomVaikom
Vaikom is a taluk and also its capital town, situated in the North-West of Kottayam in Kerala, India. Its western border is the Lake Vembanad, and is crossed by various estuaries of the River Muvattupuzha. It lies between Ernakulam and Kottayam...
struggle against upper-caste Hindus, where Dalits were barred from walking on the road leading to the temple at Vaikom
Vaikom
Vaikom is a taluk and also its capital town, situated in the North-West of Kottayam in Kerala, India. Its western border is the Lake Vembanad, and is crossed by various estuaries of the River Muvattupuzha. It lies between Ernakulam and Kottayam...
(in present day Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
state). He participated in a similar protest, demanding entry for Dalits into the famous Suchindrum temple at Suchindrum (in present-day Kanyakumari District
Kanyakumari District
Kanyakumari District ) is a district of Tamil Nadu state, India and is the southernmost land area of mainland India.The district is the second most urbanised district in Tamilnadu, next only to Chennai and ahead of Coimbatore. It also has the highest literacy and education levels in the...
). He participated in more struggles, calls for which were given by the Indian National Congress
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
.
Later, when he joined an ashram run by Congress leader V.V.S. Iyer at Cheranmahadevi (in the present-day Tirunelveli District
Tirunelveli District
Tirunelveli District is a district of Tamil Nadu state in southern India. The city of Tirunelveli is the district headquarters. A unique feature of this district is that it encompasses all five geographical traditions of Tamil Literature; kurinji , mullai , marudham , neithal and palai...
), he found that Dalits and ‘upper-caste’ students were fed in separate halls. Jeevanandham supported Periyar’s protest against this practice, and not satisfied with a compromise offered by V.V.S. Iyer, he quit the ashram.
Jeevanandham, later, took charge of an ashram funded by a philanthropist in Siruvayal near Karaikkudi in the then Ramnad District. The purpose was to implement Gandhi’s constructive programme. The ashram life gave Jeevanandham an opportunity to read a lot of books. It was here that he had a meeting with Gandhi. When Gandhi sought to defend Varnasrama Dharma, Jeevanandham felt that it would be futile to expect Gandhi’s struggle to put an end to the practice once and for all.
When Periyar (Periyar E. V. Ramasamy
Periyar E. V. Ramasamy
Erode Venkata Ramasamy , affectionately called by his followers as Periyar , Thanthai Periyar or E. V...
), on returning from a visit to the Soviet Union, spoke highly of its achievements and expressed his desire to propagate socialism, Jeevanandham, who was by then familiar with the egalitarian principle, felt elated. His hopes of getting the movement merged with the Congress Socialist Party were dashed when Periyar began dragging his feet. He, however, remained in the Congress. He was elected as a member of the All India Congress Committee
All India Congress Committee
The All India Congress Committee is the Presidium or central decision-making assembly of the Indian National Congress Party. It is composed of members elected from State-level Pradesh Congress Committees and can have as many as a thousand members...
, a prestigious post in those days, and was also a member of the working committee of the State Congress unit. Later, when the Madras Provincial Congress Socialist Party was formed in 1937, Jeevanandham became its first secretary. He joined the Communist Party of India
Communist Party of India
The Communist Party of India is a national political party in India. In the Indian communist movement, there are different views on exactly when the Indian communist party was founded. The date maintained as the foundation day by CPI is 26 December 1925...
(CPI) two years later along with P. Ramamurti, another veteran of the movement.
Communist Years (Pre-Indian Independence)
The last 25 years of colonial rule saw the emergence of two movements in Tamilnadu – the Self-Respect MovementSelf-Respect Movement
The Self-Respect Movement was founded in 1925 by Periyar E. V. Ramasamy in Tamil Nadu, India. The movement has the aim of achieving a society where backward castes have equal human rights, and encouraging backward castes to have self-respect in the context of a caste based society that...
(which was a precursor to the Dravidian movement led by Periyar (Periyar E. V. Ramasamy
Periyar E. V. Ramasamy
Erode Venkata Ramasamy , affectionately called by his followers as Periyar , Thanthai Periyar or E. V...
) and the Communist movement. Before enrolling himself as the first member of the united Communist Party of India
Communist Party of India
The Communist Party of India is a national political party in India. In the Indian communist movement, there are different views on exactly when the Indian communist party was founded. The date maintained as the foundation day by CPI is 26 December 1925...
(CPI) in Tamilnadu, Jeevanandham was an active participant in these two earlier movements. His patriotism took him to the national movement ; his revulsion for untouchability
Untouchability
Untouchability is the social practice of ostracizing a minority group by segregating them from the mainstream by social custom or legal mandate. The excluded group could be one that did not accept the norms of the excluding group and historically included foreigners, nomadic tribes, law-breakers...
and caste-based discrimination led him to support the Self-Respect Movement
Self-Respect Movement
The Self-Respect Movement was founded in 1925 by Periyar E. V. Ramasamy in Tamil Nadu, India. The movement has the aim of achieving a society where backward castes have equal human rights, and encouraging backward castes to have self-respect in the context of a caste based society that...
.
After joining the Communist Party of India
Communist Party of India
The Communist Party of India is a national political party in India. In the Indian communist movement, there are different views on exactly when the Indian communist party was founded. The date maintained as the foundation day by CPI is 26 December 1925...
(CPI), along with his comrade P. Ramamurti , organising workers on Marxist lines became the principal activity of Jeevanandham and Ramamurti. In this they were assisted by leaders such as M.R. Venkatraman and B. Srinivasa Rao. They had already organized workers and formed unions in industrial towns such as Madurai
Madurai
Madurai is the third largest city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. It served as the capital city of the Pandyan Kingdom. It is the administrative headquarters of Madurai District and is famous for its temples built by Pandyan and...
and Coimbatore
Coimbatore
Coimbatore , also known as Kovai , is the second largest city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is a major commercial centre in Tamil Nadu and is known as the "Manchester of South India"....
when they were functioning as socialists. Jeevanandham was in the forefront of efforts to build a strong labor movement based on Marxism. His oratory and writings helped him fulfill the task. But these leaders had to suffer police repression and undergo imprisonment several times. Jeevanandham visited sensitive areas and kept the workers’ fighting spirit alive. Alongside industrial workers, agricultural laborers and small farmers were also organized in Thanjavur and other districts. Jeevanandham and Ramamurti inspired thousands of people through powerful speeches.
Under the colonial rule, Marxist literature and propaganda were banned, and Marxist workers were frequently arrested on one pretext or the other. Jeevanandham was no exception. He even had an externment order against him and had to stay away from the then Madras province for a brief period
Political Life (After Indian Independence)
After Indian Independence, the ban on the Communist Party of IndiaCommunist Party of India
The Communist Party of India is a national political party in India. In the Indian communist movement, there are different views on exactly when the Indian communist party was founded. The date maintained as the foundation day by CPI is 26 December 1925...
(CPI) was lifted, and all its leaders were released.
In the first general elections
Madras legislative assembly election, 1952
The first legislative assembly Election to the Madras state on the basis of universal adult suffrage was held in March 1952. This was the first election held in Madras state after the Indian Independence...
in post independent India, Jeevanandham contested for a seat for the Legislative Assembly
Legislature of Tamil Nadu
The Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly is the sole house of the unicameral Tamil Nadu Legislature. The Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly alone has powers to legislate laws covering state subjects in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It has a strength of 235 members of whom 234 are democratically elected...
from the Wasermanpet
Washermanpet (State Assembly Constituency)
Washermanpet was assembly constituency in Tamil Nadu. The elections conducted in the constituency and winners are listed below. It exsited from 1952 to 1967 elections.- Madras State :...
constituency in Madras (present Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
), and won with a huge margin. P. Ramamurti, who was in jail then, was also elected with a comfortable majority, from a Madurai
Madurai North (State Assembly Constituency)
Madurai North is a legislative assembly constituency in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Elections and Winners from this constituency are listed below.-Extent of Assembly Constituency:*Madurai South Taluk ....
constituency.
After being elected to the Legislative Assembly
Legislative Assembly
Legislative Assembly is the name given in some countries to either a legislature, or to one of its branch.The name is used by a number of member-states of the Commonwealth of Nations, as well as a number of Latin American countries....
, Jeevanandham put pressure on the government to initiate action on crucial issues. His speeches in the Assembly on issues relating to development schemes, reform measures and the language policy won due attention from the ruling Congress party and great admiration from people. His speech on the Official Language Bill echoed the feelings of the ordinary people in the State and revealed his vision on the cultural front. During this period, he also led many struggles, one of which was against the proposal to form Dakshina Pradesh comprising the four southern States. He thought this would be against the linguistic aspirations of the people in the four States. Although Jeevanandham lost in the subsequent elections, he continued his party work with the same zeal.
Jeevanandham also led agitations and was instrumental in merging the present-day Kanyakumari District
Kanyakumari District
Kanyakumari District ) is a district of Tamil Nadu state, India and is the southernmost land area of mainland India.The district is the second most urbanised district in Tamilnadu, next only to Chennai and ahead of Coimbatore. It also has the highest literacy and education levels in the...
, which was then with the Travancore-Cochin
Travancore-Cochin
Travancore-Cochin or Thiru-Kochi is a former state of India . It was created on 1 July 1949 by the merger of two former princely states, the kingdoms of Travancore and Cochin....
state, with the then Madras state (present Tamilnadu).
Tamil Nationalism and Literary Works
Jeeva played a key role in achieving the demands for naming the then Madras state as Tamilnadu and making Tamil its official language.He was a supporter of pure usage of his native Tamil language
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
, which had, to an extent, become corrupted with the influence of Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
and other languages. He declared his name as "Uyirinban", a literal translation of the Sanskrit word "Jeevanandham". One of his major influences was the works of Tamil poet Subramania Bharthi, as also the persona and simple life-style of the poet. Jeevanandham was the first to take to cultural politics and cited his long struggle for nationalising Subramania Bharati’s songs and for fulfilling Tamils’ aspirations in respect of making Tamil a medium of instruction in schools and also making it an official language.
Jeevanandham was well-versed in Kambaramayanam
Kambaramayanam
Ramavataram , popularly referred to as Kamba Ramayanam , is a Tamil epic that was written by Kamban during the 12th century. Based on Valmiki's Ramayana in Sanskrit, the story describes the life of King Rama of Ayodhya...
, the Tamil version of the Indian epic Ramayana
Ramayana
The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...
, which is considered a Tamil literary classic and consists of eloquent Tamil verses.
Jeevanandham was the founder of "Thamarai
Thamarai
Thamarai is a Tamil poet, lyricist, writer and former journalist. She is best known for writing lyrics for Tamil films only in Tamil language, often even in very purest Tamil...
", a Tamil literary magazine. The communist Tamil newspaper, ‘JanaSakthi’, was also begun with his commitment.
Periyar
Periyar E. V. Ramasamy
Erode Venkata Ramasamy , affectionately called by his followers as Periyar , Thanthai Periyar or E. V...
encouraged Jeeva to translate Bhagat Singh’s classic essay “Why I am Atheist” in 1933. Jeeva translated it into Tamil, which was probably its first ever translation. It was so popular that there were 25 re-print editions till 2005. http://pay.hindu.com/ebook%20-%20ebfl20071005part7.pdf
Later years
Jeeva led a busy and hectic life : taking classes on Marxism for party workers, advising students to equip themselves to meet the nascent republic’s development needs, addressing literary fora on topics such as the greatness of poet Subramania Bharati, explaining the flaws in the government’s language policy at meetings of intellectuals, and addressing factory gate meetings in support of workers on strike. In between, he would be writing editorials for the party daily or discussing strategies for resolving industrial disputes.In 1962, his health suffered a setback. Later in the year he visited the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. He took treatment there and returned by the end of the year. However, his health worsened weeks later. On January 18, 1963, he died at his modest home at Tambaram
Tambaram
Tambaram is a suburb of Chennai situated 27 km south of the city in Tamil Nadu, India. It is an urban node. Tambaram is a hub to all major destinations in south Tamil Nadu as it lies on the busy Chennai–Trichy national highway. The highway and the railway line from Chennai Egmore to...
, near Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
. About two lakh people attended his funeral and paid their last respects to one who had toiled all his life for the common man, who symbolised the simplicity of Gandhism and who had a Periyar-like zest for social equality and the Marxist spirit to fight exploitation.
Trivia
The Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation(TNSTC), Erode Division is named after Jeeva Transport Corporation in modern days.The railway station at Vyasarpadi in Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
is named after Jeevanandham, as Vyasarpadi Jeeva
Vyasarpadi Jeeva
Vyasarpadi Jeeva station is the oldest station of South India. The first train to Arcot started from this station. The old ruins still remain 200 metres away from the current station as a cabin room. This place acts as the junction and four rail routes branch from here. The Southern line goes to...
, as he lived in the area, for a period.