In the history of Bharat, many greats have had their contributions obscured by the bipolar dynamics of our history. The politics of history dictate who is spoken about, how much, and who is never named. Many of us wouldn’t have heard the story of two ‘obscured’ greats with the same name, confused even by the handful of people who think they know him/them.
In this essay, we will learn about P. M. Madurai Pillai and his contributions to Bharata and Dharma. The other great is M. C. Madurai Pillai, whose contribution is innumerable, too. Often, these two are confused for one another. Many even think it is one person. Therefore, we must dispel these misgivings and bring to light the great contributions of these stalwarts.
P. M. Madurai Pillai was born in Madras on 26 December 1858 and is fondly referred to as Rangoon Madurai Pillai because he made his name in that distant town in Burma. His father, Markandamoorthi, was a wealthy businessman in Madras, and his mother, Ammaniammal, was a homemaker. He did his early education at SPG School, Vepery (now St. Paul’s, Chennai). He was sent to Rangoon, where his family had business interests, for further studies. After finishing high school at St. Paul’s High School in Rangoon, he returned to Madras to complete his education at Madras Christian College.
He started his career as an executive assistant to the 3rd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos, then the Governor of Madras. He then worked in Burma for an organisation called Rangoon Strong Steel. Learning the ropes of trading, exports, and imports, he started his own export-import company – Dubash Steveteren Exports and Imports. He grew his business so much that he bought a mercantile ship in 1912 and named it Meenakshi, after his daughter.
He was one of the most prominent businessmen in Rangoon. With interests across Europe, he was well-travelled and longed for a day when Indians enjoyed a quality of life like those in European nations. From 1880, he served as the Commissioner of the Rangoon Corporation, an appointment he held for the next 30 years. He was also appointed an Honorary Magistrate of Rangoon in 1885.
On the social front, he was one of the leading lights of the Adi Dravida Mahajana Sangam and its chief Patron. He sponsored countless weddings of the poor Dalit and Adivasi people. He donated a portion of his earnings to temples and Dharma-related activities yearly. The Christian Missionaries used pamphlets to spread their religion. Noticing this, Sri Madurai Pillai adopted the same means to spread Dharma by using this medium to tell Indic stories and Puranas.
He was one of the great people who advocated education as the means of liberation and the end of the ills of caste segregation. He donated a lot of money to education-related activities and is said to have funded the start of a school and its running. He was also a prominent donor of a hospital serving the poor and the needy of North Madras, Raja Sir Ramaswamy Mudaliar Lying-in Hospital (RSRM Lying-in-Hospital). His charitable acts were so great that more than 50 Tamil poets came together to publish a book called Madurai Prabandam on him.
In today’s political world, we see a majority of Dalit leaders propagating a victimhood complex to keep their voter base under the cloud of assumed oppression. They cleverly twist the words of Babasaheb Ambedkar, blackout great leaders such as M. C. Rajah, Swami Sahajananda, Rettamalai Srinivasan, M. C. Madurai Pillai and P. M. Madurai Pillai etc. We find three things when we search, discover, and read these leaders.
All these leaders thought education was the be-all and end-all for removing all social inequalities.
Some of these leaders came from a very affluent background. Their previous generation, too, was aware of the value of education; therefore, they placed a lot of importance on going to school and college to finish their education. So, the story of complete oppression because of an imaginary Hindu religious text asking them to be is false.
Sanatana Dharma was ingrained into each person in Bharata, irrespective of caste and creed. You cannot be more Hindu than M. C. Rajah, Swami Sahajananda, Rettamalai Srinivasan, M. C. Madurai Pillai, and P. M. Madurai Pillai, etc. The service they have done to society and Sanatana Dharma is immeasurable.
This great man, P. M. Madurai Pillai, lived among us only for 55 short years and passed away on 15 July 1913. He lived his life as per the saying of Thiruvalluva Nayanar.
வையத்துள் வாழ்வாங்கு வாழ்பவன் வான்உறையும்
தெய்வத்துள்வைக்கப் படும்.
Vaiyathul Vaalvaangu Vaalpavan VaanUrayum
Theivathul Veikkap Padum.
– Tirukkural, Chapter 5, Kural 50
The householder who liveth as he ought to live will be looked upon as a God among men.
– The Kural or The Maxims of Thiruvalluvar by VVS Iyer.
Notes and References
1 Some background about the bipolar dynamics of the history of Bharat can be found in this old article – https://www.pgurus.com/was-ambedkar-anti-hindu/#google_vignette
2 Two people who have spoken about P. M. Madurai Pillai with utmost clarity are writer Anbu Ponnoviam and contemporary scholar and writer Ma. Venkatesan
3 Danish Missionaries funded the start of a school for the Natives and a seminary through SPCK (Society for Propagation of Christian Knowledge) called The Malabar Charity School. It was then taken over by the Society for Propagation of Gospel (SPG) to be called the SPG School. Later, the school was separated from the seminary and became the Vepery Grammar School. The school is now called St. Paul’s High School
4 I am not clear if this is the correct spelling. It could be Stevedon or Steveten, too. I would be happy if someone could correct me. Parayar Sambavar Thalam, Online (2017)
Raja Baradwaj is a marketing communications professional who is currently working with a leading technology multi-national company. He is an avid reader, a history buff, cricket player, writer, Sanskrit & Dharma Sastra student.
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