Tholkappiyan Thirumavalavan (born Ramasamy Thirumavalavan on 17 August 1962), better known as Thol. Thirumavalavan, is an Indian politician and activist from Tamil Nadu. He is a Member of Parliament in the Lok Sabha representing Chidambaram. He has been the leader and president of the political party Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi since 1990.
Thirumavalavan studied criminology and law, and worked for a time in the forensic department of the Government of Tamil Nadu. He rose to prominence in the 1990s as a Bahujan leader, and his political platform centres on Ambedkarite and Dravidian philosophies, and ending caste-based discrimination and caste system. He is also a critic of Hindu nationalism, which he believes would homogenise Tamil society and lead to Tamils losing their identity. He has also expressed support for Tamil nationalist movements in Sri Lanka, including the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, a militant secessionist group banned in India. He has authored a few books, and also acted in few Tamil films.
Thirumavalavan contested the 1999 and 2004 Indian general elections unsuccessfully from the Chidambaram constituency. In between, he was elected as the member of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly in the 2001 assembly elections from Mangalore. Subsequently, he has won the 2009, 2019, and 2024 Indian general elections from Chidambaram, while losing in 2014. He also contested in the 2016 assembly elections from Kattumannarkoil and lost.
Thirumavalavan's confrontation with Pattali Makkal Katchi and its founder Ramadoss has resulted in frequent clashes between Dalits and the Vanniyars. While both of them reconciled their differences and worked together for a period in 2004 to 2009, when they were part of the same electoral alliance, both parties have often accused each other of instigating violence against the other community.
Early life and education Thirumavalavan received his Bachelor's degree in Chemistry at Presidency college Chennai, and Master's degree in Criminology. He later pursued Law at Madras Law College. He was awarded his PhD by the Manonmaniam Sundaranar University in 2018, based on his thesis "Religious conversion of Meenakshipuram Dalits – a victimological study".
Early activism When he was studying at Madras Law College, Thirumavalavan got interested in the Sri Lankan Tamil nationalist movement, after hearing a speech of Suba Veerapandian, whom he met later.
In 1988, when working for the government's Forensic Department in the southern city of Madurai, he met Malaichamy, the Tamil Nadu state convenor of the Dalit Panthers Iyyakkam (DPI), an organisation that fought for the rights of Dalits. Following Malaichamy's death, Thirumalavan was elected as the leader of the DPI on 21 January 1990. He designed a new flag for the party and changed its name to Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (Liberation Panthers Party). As part of his work, he began visiting Dalit villages in the Madurai region, and began learning about the problems faced by Dalits. According to him, the killing of two Dalits in the region in 1992, made him take up the fight for their cause. His aggressive speeches gained him significant recognition. Against the background of increasing Dalit participation in politics, he emerged as one of major Dalit leaders in Tamil Nadu, with a significant support base particularly in the southern districts of Tamil Nadu. In early 1997, he was suspended from his government job on account of his increased political activity. He resigned from his job formally in August 1999.Wyatt 2009, p. 129
Political career The DPI did not participate in the electoral process until the to contest the 1999 Indian general election. The decision of contesting the election in 1999 was considered controversial within the party. Thirumavalavan allied with G. K. Moopanar's Tamil Maanila Congress as a part of an alternative front to the ones led by Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), the two prominent parties in Tamil Nadu. The party contested in the Chidambaram and Perambalur parliamentary constituencies. Thirumavalavan lost from Chidambaram to E. Ponnuswamy from the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK). He later alleged in one of his interviews on 22 February 2000 that the ruling DMK administration used the police force to detain the cadres of his party.Wyatt 2009, pp. 118–119 It also led to the continued rivalry between his party and the PMK, which represented Dalits and Vanniyars respectively, and was marked by violence from both the parties.
In the 2001 Tamil Nadu assembly elections, the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) allied with the DMK and contested in seven seats. Since the PMK joined the AIADMK-led alliance, the VCK chose to join the opposite alliance. Though the DMK-led alliance also had the Bharathiya Janata Party (BJP), with which VCK had ideological differences and was criticised earlier by Thirumavalavan, he still joined the alliance. He was elected from Mangalore constituency to the legislative assembly, contesting on the symbol of the DMK.Wyatt 2009, p. 120 He resigned his position from the assembly on 3 February 2004, citing difference with the alliance partners, especially the DMK.Bhūẏām̐ 2007, pp. 60–61 He contested once again from Chidambaram in the 2004 general elections, in alliance with the Janata Dal (United), and lost to Ponnuswamy of the PMK again.
In 2004, Thirumavalavan briefly joined hands with Ramadoss, the founder of PMK, in a Tamil language protection movement named "Tamil Paathukappu Iyakkam".Wyatt 2009, pp. 122–123 VCK later joined the AIADMK alliance for the 2006 assembly elections, and was recognised as a registered political party by the Election Commission of India on 2 March 2006.Wyatt 2009, p. 116 VCK contested in nine seats in Tamil Nadu and two seats in Pondicherry, and won two seats. The party broke the alliance with AIADMK in 2006, and allied with the DMK for the local elections, and won five municipalities. In the 2009 general election, Thirumavalavan allied with DMK and was elected to Lok Sabha in his third attempt from the Chidhambaram constituency. On 31 August 2009, he was appointed to the committee on commerce and consultative committee on ministry of social justice and empowerment.
Subsequently, he has won the 2019, and 2024 Indian general elections from Chidambaram, while losing in 2014. He also contested in the 2016 assembly elections from Kattumannarkoil and lost.
Positions held +YearPositionInstitution2001–2004MemberTamil Nadu Legislative Assembly2009Member15th Lok Sabha2019Member17th Lok Sabha2024Member18th Lok Sabha
Electoral Performance
General Elections Year ConstituencyParty Votes % OpponentOpponent Party Opponent Votes % Result Margin % 2024Chidambaram 505,084 43.28 M. Chandrahasan 401,530 34.40 103,554 8.68 2019 500,229 43.52 P. Chandrasekar 497,010 43.24 3,219 0.28 2014 301,041 27.97 M. Chandrakasi 429,536 39.91 −128,495 −11.94 2009 428,804 49.30E. Ponnuswamy 329,721 37.96 99,083 11.41 2004 255,773 34.41 343,424 46.20 −87,651 −11.79 1999 225,768 31.17 345,331 47.68 −119,563 −16.51
Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly Year ConstituencyParty Votes % OpponentOpponent Party Opponent Votes % Result Margin % 2016 Kattumannarkoil 48,363 29.28 N. Murugumaran 48,450 29.33 −87 −0.05 2001 Mangaloree 64,627 47.87 S. Puratchimani 62,772 46.49 1,855 1.37
Political views Thirumalavan's politics are based on Ambedkarite and Dravidian philosophies, and a retheorization of Tamil nationalism, which seeks to end the caste system. As per him, the oppression of Dalits is institutionalised in India, and although the Dravidian parties, which dominate the politics of Tamil Nadu, are ideologically against the caste system, he argues that they have in practice drifted away from the original ideals of the Dravidian movement. Their policies, he says, have mainly benefited the backward class, has led to an increase in the oppression of Dalits, with these castes replacing the Brahmins as the oppressor, and Dalits cannot not expect much help from these parties. The solution, according to him, lies in Tamil nationalism, and the caste oppression can only be ended by building resistance from below, through appealing to Tamil sentiments, as happened in the early days of the Dravidian movement under Periyar. He says that the caste oppression will disappear if a Tamil nationalist government is formed in Tamil Nadu. In 2009, he welcomed an announcement of the state government to implement a three percent reservation in educational institutes for the Dalits.
Thirumavalavan's views have led him to support the Tamil secessionist groups in Sri Lanka, including the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, a militant secessionist group who are formally banned as a terrorist organisation in India. He has criticised India for assisting the Sri Lankan army during the Sri Lankan military operations against the LTTE, and has called upon the Tamil Nadu state government to take steps to safeguard the interest of Sri Lankan Tamils. On 15 January 2009, he went on a hunger strike in Chennai for the cause of Sri Lankan Tamils. After four days, he called off the fast, saying that it had had no effect on the Indian government, and calling for a hartal in its place. He was later part of a ten member team that visited the war-affected areas and transitional centres in Vavuniya on 11 October 2009. The delegation visited various parts of Jaffna district and held a meeting at the Jaffna Public Library.
Thirumavalvan has criticised the Hindu society for, in his views, being built on the basis of caste and obeying the Manusmriti. He is a staunch critic of Hindu nationalism and Hindutva, which according to him, is the essence of the oppressive Indian state. He argues that Hindutva has worked to homogenise Tamil society through religion, which has led to Tamils losing their identity, and ethnic Tamil nationalism is essential to combat this. He has opposed the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh for their agenda, and opposed the Citizenship Amendment Act in 2019. He views these organizations and their ideology as being against the ideas of secularism and social justice, and the idea of a Hindu Rashtra goes against the Indian Constitution and would lead to continuation of caste hierarchies. He believes that Sanatan Dharma rejects equality, freedom and brotherhood, and these organisations want to divide people on religious lines to implement the Manu Dharma. In 2021, he claimed that it is his policy to expose to people, the intentions of the BJP which seeks to gain political advantage by cultivating casteism in Tamil soil, inciting religious hatred and division.
Film career Thirumavalavan made a guest appearance as a Tamil militant leader in the Sri Lankan Tamil film Anbu Thozhi (2007), directed by L. G. Ravichandran. He was cast in the lead role of a film titled Kalaham, directed by Kalanjiyam, which was later shelved. He also appeared in a song in Mansoor Ali Khan's Ennai Paar Yogam Varum (2007). In 2011, he played the role of a politician in Minsaram.
Filmography Year Film Role Notes 2007 Anbu Thozhi Karuppu Guest appearance Ennai Paar Yogam Varum Singer Special appearance 2011 Minsaram Thamizharasan
Works
Aththumeeru (Transgress), Tamizhargal Hindukkala? (Are the Tamils, Hindus?) Eelam Enral Puligal, Puligal Enral Eelam (Eelam means Tigers, Tigers means Eelam) Hindutuvathai Veraruppom (We Shall Uproot Hindutva) Saadhiya Sandharpavaadha Aniyai Veezhtuvom (We Shall Defeat the Casteist Opportunist Alliance). Two of his books have been published in English by Stree-Samya Books, Kolkata: Talisman: Extreme Emotions of Dalit Liberation (political essays written for 34 weeks in the India Today magazine's Tamil edition) and Uproot Hindutva: The Fiery Voice of the Liberation Panthers (contains 12 of his speeches).