ABSTRACT
Ma.Po. Civañāṉam’s The Unity Envisioned by Vaḷḷalār (Vaḷḷalār kaṇṭa orumaippāṭu) was easily the most popular, widely read book on Ramalingar to emerge in the second half of the 20th century. Civañāṉam (1906–1995), better known as Ma.Po.Ci, was a Tamil politician, orator, and nationalist. His study of Ramalingar, which concludes the reception history of the latter in this chapter of the book, aims to integrate Ramalingar into a historiography of Indian nationalism which foregrounds national yet spiritual heroes. In such a master narrative, therefore, the emphasis is on Ramalingar’s credentials as a pan-Indian socio-religious reform figure. In Ma.Po.Ci’s account that threads together ethnic Tamil pride, Dravidian nationalism, and a pan-Indian patriotism, Ramalinga Swamigal comes to stand for a quintessentially modern and Dravidian sainthood.
