Perunchithiranar (Tamil nationalist)

Perunchithiranar
Photograph of Perunchitthiranaar.
Born	Rajamanickam 10 March 1933 Samudram, Salem District, Madras Presidency, British India (now Tamil Nadu, India)
Died	11 June 1995(1995-06-11) (aged 62) Madras (now Chennai), Tamil Nadu, India
Other names	Durai Manickam Pavalareru Perunchithiranar
Occupation(s)	Writer, Poet, Thani Tamil activist.

Perunchithiranar (10 March 1933 – 11 June 1995) was a Tamil poet and Tamil nationalist known for his involvement in the Pure Tamil Movement. He is regarded as the father of the Tamil nation.

Early life

Perunchithiranar was born to Duraisami and Kunchammal in Samuthiram near Salem.

Education and Career

Perunchithiranar was educated in Salem and Attur. He went to Salem Municipal College, and studied under Tamil professor, Devaneya Pavanar.

He worked for the Thani Tamil Iyakkam (Template:Lang-ta) (Pure or Independent Tamil Movement). It is a linguistic-purity movement in Tamil literature which attempts to avoid loanwords from Sanskrit. He married Kamalam who was later known as Thamarai Ammaiyar. After his college education, he worked in postal department in Puducherry. In 1959, he transferred to Cuddalore where he started his Thenmozhi magazine. Perunchiththiranar published over a dozen Tamil books during his lifetime. His book Koyyakani was used as post-graduate text in the 1980s and another book Ayyai was used as undergraduate text in the 1970s at Madras University. He also founded and edited two more magazines, Tamilsittu and Tamil Nilam.

In 1965, Perunchithiranar was arrested for anti-Hindi remarks in his magazine. He was a rationalist, which reflected in his writings. He was imprisoned twice after the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi due to his continued support for Tamil Eelam.