Rasammah Bhupalan
{{Short description|Malaysian freedom fighter, teacher and social activist (1927–2025)}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2016}}
Rasammah Bhupalan ({{langx|ta|இராசம்மா பூபாலன்}}, 1 May 1927 – 13 May 2025), also known as Rasammah Naomi Navarednam or F. R. Bhupalan, was a Malaysian independence and social activist of Tamil origin.
{{Infobox person
|honorific_prefix = Dato'
|name = Rasammah Bhupalan
|native_name = இராசம்மா பூபாலன்
|birth_date = {{birth date|1927|5|1|df=yes}}
|death_date = {{death date and age|2025|5|13|1927|5|1|df=yes}}
|death_place = Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
|also_known = FR Bhupalan, Rasammah Naomi Navarednam
}}
Bhupalan championed causes such as the anti-drug abuse movement, women's rights, education, and social justice causes.
Pre-independence
Rasammah was one of the earliest women involved in the fight for Malaysian (then Malaya) independence. She joined the Rani of Jhansi Regiment, the women's wing of the Indian National Army, to fight the British.Looking East to Look West: Lee Kuan Yew's Mission India By Sunanda K. Datta-Ray, p.71 She served in Burma during World War II.
Her death at the age of 98 was announced on 13 May 2025.{{Cite web |last=theSun |title=Education icon Rasammah Bhupalan dies at 98 |url=https://thesun.my/malaysia-news/education-pioneer-freedom-fighter-rasammah-bhupalan-passes-away-at-98-KC14072495 |access-date=2025-05-13 |website=thesun.my |language=en-MY}}
Women's rights
As founder president of the Women Teachers' Union, she fought for equal pay for women teachers and tried to bring disparate teachers' unions under an umbrella.
The former school principal was the first Asian representative of the World Confederation of Organisations of the Teaching Profession for two successive terms. She was also very active in the National Council of Women's Organisations (NCWO) and Pemadam.
Recognition
Bhupalan was a teacher in the Methodist Boys School Kuala Lumpur (MBSSKL) from 1959 to 1964 and was the principal of Methodist Girls School Kuala Lumpur (MGSKL) for 14 years from 1969 until she retired in 1982. On 21 November 2006, a book entitled Footprints on The Sands of Time, Rasammah Bhupalan: A Life of Purpose authored by Aruna Gopinath was launched by Culture, Arts and Tourism Minister Datuk Rais Yatim. On 11 November 2007, Bhupalan was among the few veteran teachers who were honored at MBSSKL's 110th Anniversary Celebration Dinner. The dinner was specially organized to honour all the former and current teachers of the school.
The biography, published with the support of the National Archives, the ministry and NCWO, is about the life of Rasammah seen in a historical context.
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
Sources
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20110608134618/http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=%2F2006%2F11%2F22%2Fnation%2F16097133&sec=nation Ministry in search of remarkable Malaysians], The Star, 22 November 2006
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20110521072500/http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=%2F2007%2F8%2F20%2Fnation%2F18609040&sec=nation Mothers of substance], The Star, 20 August 2007.
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20110521072537/http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/8/20/nation/18608907&sec=nation They dared to take up public office], The Star, 20 August 2007.
{{Indian National Army}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Bhupalan, Rasammah}}
Category:Indian National Army personnel
Category:Indian revolutionaries
Category:Indian women in World War II
Category:Indian women's rights activists
Category:Malayan collaborators with Imperial Japan