Chennai: Many who personally know Rama Gopalan, the Hindu Munnani founder who passed away due to Covid-19 on Wednesday, hail him as a man of military qualities.
“Fondly known as Veera Thuravi (brave saint), he dedicated his entire life span for the welfare of the people of Tamilnadu and the unity of Hindus,” said a Hindu Munnani office-bearer.
Munnani State president Kadeswara C Subramaniam, said, “brave saint attained the lotus feet of God”.
He was admitted to the Sri Ramachandra Medical Centre at Porur a few days back. His first test report tested negative. But the second test returned positive. He breathed his last at around 4.15 pm on Wednesday without responding to treatment.
Sources said that he was a chronic heart patient and used to get admitted in the hospital for a few days for regular consultations evey six months. He recovered and got a fresh birth after an extremist attack in 1984.
Born on 19 September, 1927 at Sirkazhi in then Thanjavur district, he joined RSS in 1945 after completing diploma in AMIE. He quit the job in electricity department and became a full time RSS pracharak and went on to hold various posts in the organisation.
Even when the RSS was banned in 1948 and during the 1975 Emergency, he ensured the functioning of the organisation in Tamilnadu.
Taking to account the abnormal anti-Hindu sentiments that prevailed in the State, he formed the Hindu Munnani in 1980 on the path of RSS and toured the length and breadth of the State for the growth and development of the Munnani.
After a dastardly attack in 1984 at the Madurai railway station, he suffered a major scar on his head and neck and since then he had been wearing a saffron cap and saffron coloured dress to cover it up.
Hindu Munnani was famous for organising Vinayaka Chathurthi festivals every year by installing more than one lakh idols across the state, before immersing them in sea and other waterbodies.
Leaders, cutting across party lines, condoled the death of Rama Gopalan.