Sardar Vedaratnam Pillai (25 February 1897 – 24 August 1961) was an Indian freedom-fighter, a leader of the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...

and a famous philanthropist who served as an MLA for three terms over a period of 14 years. He is known for his heroic contributions in the salt march of Vedaranyam in 1930, alongside

C. Rajagopalachari Chakravarti Rajagopalachari (10 December 1878 – 25 December 1972), popularly known as Rajaji or C.R., also known as Mootharignar Rajaji (Rajaji'', the Scholar Emeritus''), was an Indian statesman, writer, lawyer, and independence activis ...

. Following the influence of Gandhiji, Vedaratnam opted to boycott foreign cloth (''Swadehsi'') and strictly make and wear pure cotton clothing, and encouraged those around him to do the same. He was also passionate about the Freedom Struggle, in which spent much time protesting and even getting arrested for doing so.Varadarajan, R. (2000). Sardar of the salt satyagraha. The Hindu. Retrieved from http://www.thehindu.com/2000/08/25/stories/0225000q.htm In the year 1931, Vedaratnam was conferred with the title of ‘Sardar’ at the meeting of the

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

Agriculturists and labourers at

Tirunelveli Tirunelveli (, ta, திருநெல்வேலி, translit=Tirunelveli) also known as Nellai ( ta, நெல்லை, translit=Nellai) and historically (during British rule) as Tinnevelly, is a major city in the Indian state of Tami ...

, for his exploits in the Vedaranyam Salt March. He was multi-lingual and patronized many native arts. In 1946, he founded the Kasturba Gandhi Kanya Gurukulam which is a rural, charitable women's welfare organization situated in Vedaranyam. This orphanage, since then, has continued its services of feeding, sheltering and educating many helpless girl children.

Legacy

The rural women welfare organization that he founded has provided succour to thousands of poor girl children over the years and is fully functional to this day. Many visitors from various countries have paid visits to Gurukulam and have appreciated their services. Vedaratnam won three elections to be Member of the Legislative Assembly of Madras State, which is now known as Tamil Nadu. All of the compensation that he earned in this position, he donated to Shri Ramakrishna Mission.Indian Freedom Fighters: Sardar A. Vedaratnam Pillai, Vedaraniam, Tamil Nadu. (2006). Retrieved 9 November 2018, from http://www.sb.fsu.edu/~soma/Publications/Personal/SAV-VTS-Web.html He also served as the lone Secretary for the Tanjore District Congress Committee for ten years.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vedaratnam, Sardar Indian philanthropists 1897 births 1961 deaths Indian independence activists from Tamil Nadu People from Nagapattinam district Indian social reformers Gandhians