1937 Provincial Election
Ahead of the 1937 elections to the assembly of the Madras Presidency, Thevar enlisted youths from the Mukkulathor communities to work for the Congress. His activities created worries for the Justice Party government, which forbade him to travel outside of the Ramnad district and to make speeches in public.
In February 1937 Thevar contested the assembly election himself, as a candidate in the Ramanathapuram constituency. He had a powerful opponent, the Raja of Ramnad. However, Thevar won a landslide victory with 11 942 votes against 6 057 for the Raja.
Following the election the Congress formed a government in the Presidency. Thevar had high hopes that the new Congress ministry would revoke the Criminal Tribes Act. But the new Chief minister, C. Rajagopalachari, did not fulfil those hopes.
Read more about this topic: U. Muthuramalingam Thevar
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