Thamizhavel Go. Sarangapani, ( ta, தமிழவேள் கோ. சாரங்கபாணி, 19 April 1903 – 16 March 1974) or ''Kosa'' as he was also known, a Tamil writer and publisher, was born in
Thiruvarur
Thiruvarur () also spelt as Tiruvarur is a town and municipality in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of Thiruvarur district and Thiruvarur taluk. The temple chariot of the Thyagaraja temple, weighing and m ...
,
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...
, on 20 April 1903. He received a good education and was effectively bi-lingual in
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nativ ...
and
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
. At 21, he went to
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
to work as a bookkeeper, eventually becoming the manager at his firm.
Sarangapani was deeply influenced by
E. V. Ramasami
Erode Venkatappa Ramasamy (17 September 1879 – 24 December 1973), revered as Periyar or Thanthai Periyar, was an Indian social activist and politician who started the Self-Respect Movement and Dravidar Kazhagam. He is known as the 'F ...
(better known as Periyar) and his
Self-Respect Movement in Tamil Nadu. He was committed to
rationalism
In philosophy, rationalism is the epistemological view that "regards reason as the chief source and test of knowledge" or "any view appealing to reason as a source of knowledge or justification".Lacey, A.R. (1996), ''A Dictionary of Philosophy ...
and the ideal of a modern,
progressive society. Sarangapani established direct contact with the Self-Respect Movement in India when he became the agent in
British Malaya (then including Singapore) for the distribution of its magazine, ''
Kudi Arasu''. These links were strengthened in 1929 and 1954, when he helped to arrange Periyar's visits to Singapore and Malaya to spread his message to local Tamils.
Sarangapani was also active as a Tamil writer and publisher in his own right. In 1929 he set up the magazine ''Munnetram'' (Progress), and in 1935 he launched ''
Tamil Murasu
''Tamil Murasu'' ( ta, தமிழ் முரசு) is a Singapore-based Tamil-language newspaper. Launched in 1935 by Thamizhavel G. Sarangapani, Tamil Murasu is Singapore's only Tamil-language newspaper. It is one of the sixteen newspape ...
'', which remains Singapore's only daily Tamil newspaper. He was also a founder of the Tamils Reform Association, and served as its Chairman and Secretary at various points. Through his publications and the Association, Sarangapani promoted the importance of education, as well as denouncing the
Hindu caste system
The caste system in India is the paradigmatic ethnographic example of classification of castes. It has its origins in ancient India, and was transformed by various ruling elites in medieval, early-modern, and modern India, especially the Mug ...
, superstitions and
alcoholism
Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomi ...
.
Sarangapani was also a champion of the Tamil language in Singapore. He was part of campaigns to make Tamil one of the four
official languages of Singapore, as well as having it taught in Singapore schools from the primary to tertiary level. He also helped set up the Department of Indian Studies at the
University of Malaya
The University of Malaya ( ms, Universiti Malaya, UM; abbreviated as UM or informally the Malayan University) is a public research university located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is the oldest and highest ranking Malaysian institution of highe ...
in Singapore. Sarangapani also urged Tamils to embrace Singapore as their home. Former Singapore President
Sellapan Ramanathan has noted that
In 1937, he married Lim Boon Neo, with whom he had six children (four sons and two daughters). When he died on 16 March 1974, tributes were paid to him in Tamil Nadu, the land of his birth, in
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
and in Singapore. In 2004, Sarangapani's birth centenary was marked in
Chennai
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
, by tributes from leading Tamil poets, and a seminar on his life and achievements.
References
* http://tamilnation.co/hundredtamils/sarangapany.htm
https://roots.sg/learn/stories/g-sarangapany/story
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sarangapani, Thamizhavel G.
1903 births
1974 deaths
Singaporean journalists
Singaporean writers
Indian emigrants to Singapore
Singaporean Hindus
Singaporean people of Tamil descent
Tamil journalists
20th-century Indian journalists