Name Sasi Perumal | Spouse Makilam Ammal (m. ?–2015) | |
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Died July 31, 2015, Kanyakumari district | ||
Ayutha ezhuthu debate on will sasi perumal s death abolish alcohol 31 07 15
Sasi Perumal (Tamil: சசி பெருமாள்) (c. 1955 – 31 July 2015) was a Gandhian activist and anti-liquor activist from Salem, Tamil Nadu. He had been protesting for the enforcement of prohibition in Tamil Nadu for over four decades. He died near Marthandam in Kanyakumari after staging a demonstration atop a BSNL tower for the removal of a TASMAC outlet near a church at Unnamalaikkadai.
Contents
- Ayutha ezhuthu debate on will sasi perumal s death abolish alcohol 31 07 15
- Gnani regarding the death of Gandhian and social activist Sasi Perumal
- Protests
- Death
- Private life
- References
Gnani regarding the death of Gandhian and social activist Sasi Perumal
Protests
Sasi Perumal started his anti-liquor crusade after prohibition was lifted in Tamil Nadu in 1971. He ran awareness meetings, at first in his village and in the surrounding areas. Later, he shifted his base to the city of Salem. He was often spotted there near the statues of Mahatma Gandhi and K. Kamaraj, wearing a Gandhi cap and holding the India national flag, exhorting people not to drink alcohol.
He had staged many protests with his National Peoples Federation, including a 33-day hunger strike in 2013, and a long fast in 2014 at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, demanding nationwide prohibition.
Death
Sasi Perumal died on 31 July 2015 while staging a protest for the shifting of a TASMAC outlet in Unnamalaikadai, a panchayat town in Kanyakumari district. He had climbed atop a mobile phone tower where he collapsed.
His death sparked a series of violent protests in Tamil Nadu. On 3 August 2015, MDMK general secretary Vaiko was charged with rioting after a demonstration in his native village, Kalingapatty. On 5 August, a 40-year-old TASMAC employee was killed when a kerosene bottle was thrown in his shop. With State Assembly elections due in 2016, many political parties including the DMK have pronounced themselves in favour of prohibition.
Private life
Sasi Perumal was born S. K. Perumal in a farming family. He changed his name to Sasi in memory of Tamil actor Sasikumar who died in 1974. He had two sons from a first marriage and a daughter with his second wife Makilam Ammal.