Katharbatcha Muthuramalingam: syncretic name of an MLA in Tamil Nadu

Among the DMK leaders who met party president and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin at Chennai on Monday (November 24, 2025) as part of the Udanpirappe Vaa programme was Katharbatcha Muthuramalingam, the MLA representing the Ramanathapuram constituency. His distinctive combination of a Muslim and a Hindu name has long attracted public curiosity, even inspiring a Tamil film Kathar Basha Endra Muthuramalingam featuring actor Arya in the lead role. Whenever Speaker M. Appavu calls his name in the Assembly, it invariably prompts questions, with many wondering whether the MLA had converted to Islam.

“We have carried the name ‘Katharbatcha’ for three generations. My father was Katharbatcha Vellaisamy Devar, my name is Katharbatcha Muthuramalingam, and my son is Batcha,” said Katharbatcha Muthuramalingam, who also serves as the secretary of the DMK’s Ramanathapuram district unit.

He explained that his grandmother, Meerakkal, was a cousin of Indirani, the mother of the late Forward Bloc leader Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar. “Thevar had a special affection for Muslims, as he was nurtured by a Muslim wet nurse, Santha Beevi, after the death of his mother. He also studied in a school run by Christian missionaries,” said Mr. Muthuramalingam, a native of Melaramanathi in Kamuthi taluk, Ramanathapuram district.

The family’s longstanding association with Muslims, coupled with their deep faith in Islam, played a defining role in the naming tradition. Meerakkal, who had been childless for many years, prayed at the Nagore Dargah. “After my father was born, he was named ‘Katharbatcha’, as he was regarded as a blessing from Nagore Andavar. The family later added ‘Vellaisamy Devar,’ the name of Muthuramalinga Thevar’s grandfather,” he explained.

Mr. Muthuramalingam noted that Ramanathapuram has always been a bastion of Hindu–Muslim harmony. Philanthropist Seethakathi, for instance, was a close friend and adviser to Kizhavan Sethupathy, the ruler of Ramanathapuram.