Arunachalam Muruganantham

2021-12-21T06:15:38Z

14.192.220.232:

{{Indian name|Muruganantham|Arunachalam}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| honorific_prefix =
| name = Arunachalam Muruganantham
| image =
| image_upright =
| caption =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1961|10|12}}
| birth_place = [[Coimbatore]], [[Tamil Nadu]], [[India]]
| residence =
| nationality = [[Indian people|Indian]]
| other_names = Padman
| citizenship = Indian
| occupation = Inventor and social entrepreneur
| organization = [http://newinventions.in/ Jayaashree Industries]
| known_for = Invention of low cost sanitary pad making machine
| spouse = Shanthi
| partner =
| children =
| parents =
| relatives =
| awards = Padma Shri
}}

'''Arunachalam Muruganantham''' ('''Padman''') is a [[social entrepreneur]] from [[Coimbatore]] in [[Tamil Nadu]], [[India]]. He is the inventor of a low-cost sanitary pad-making machine and is credited for innovating grassroots mechanisms for generating awareness about traditional unhygienic practices around [[menstruation]] in rural India. His mini-machines, which can manufacture [[sanitary pad]]s for less than a third of the cost of commercial pads, have been installed in 23 of the 29 states of India in rural areas. He is currently planning to expand the production of these machines to 106 nations.<ref name="bbc">{{cite news |url=http://m.bbc.com/news/magazine-26260978 |title=The Indian sanitary pad revolutionary |work=BBC News |access-date=4 March 2014 |date=4 March 2014 |last1=Venema |first1=Vibeke |archive-date=22 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150222013847/http://m.bbc.com/news/magazine-26260978 |url-status=live }}</ref> The movie ''[[Period. End of Sentence.]]'' won the [[Academy Award]] for Best Documentary (Short Subject) for the year 2018. The 2018 Hindi film ''[[Pad Man (film)|Pad Man]]'' was made on his invention starring [[Akshay Kumar]] as him.

In 2014, he was included in [[Time (magazine)|''Time'' magazine]]'s list of [[100 Most Influential People in the World]].<ref>{{cite magazine |title=The 100 Most Influential People – Pioneers: Arunachalam Muruganantham |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |url=http://time.com/70861/arunachalam-muruganantham-2014-time-100/ |date=23 April 2014 |access-date=26 April 2014 |archive-date=9 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210309234656/https://time.com/70861/arunachalam-muruganantham-2014-time-100/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2016, he was awarded the [[Padma Shri]] by the [[Government of India]].<ref name="Padma Awards">{{cite web | url=http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/PadmaAwards_25012016.pdf | title=Padma Awards | publisher=Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India | date=2016 | access-date=3 January 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170803085913/http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/PadmaAwards_25012016.pdf | archive-date=3 August 2017 | url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Early life==
Muruganantham was born in 1961 . Muruganantham grew up in poverty after his father died in a road accident.<ref name=nif /> His mother worked as a farm laborer to help in his studies. However, at the age of 14, he dropped out of school.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.gqindia.com/content/pad-man-akshay-kumar-inspiration-arunachalam-muruganantham|title=Who is Arunachalam Muruganantham, the inspiration behind Akshay Kumar's Pad Man?|date=2017-12-23|work=GQ India|access-date=2020-05-07|language=en-US|archive-date=18 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200918232810/https://www.gqindia.com/content/pad-man-akshay-kumar-inspiration-arunachalam-muruganantham|url-status=live}}</ref> He supplied food to factory workers and took up various jobs as a machine tool operator, yam-selling agent, farm laborer, and welder, to support his family.<ref name=nif />

==Invention==
In 1998, he married Shanthi.<ref name="yt">{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4_MeS6SOwk&t=36s |title=Arunachalam Muruganantham: The first man to wear a sanitary napkin |website=[[YouTube]] |access-date=8 May 2020 |archive-date=26 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210826122724/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4_MeS6SOwk&t=36s |url-status=live }}</ref> Shortly after, Muruganantham discovered his wife collecting filthy rags and newspapers to use during her [[menstrual cycle]], as sanitary napkins made by [[multinational corporation]]s were expensive.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/indias-improbable-champion-for-affordable-feminine-hygiene/article4587288/ |title=India's champion for affordable feminine hygiene |access-date=30 June 2015 |archive-date=5 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190805082730/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/indias-improbable-champion-for-affordable-feminine-hygiene/article4587288/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="fastco">{{cite web |url=http://www.fastcoexist.com/1679008/an-indian-inventor-disrupts-the-period-industry |title=An Indian Inventor Disrupts The Period Industry |publisher=Fast Company |access-date=18 August 2012 |author=Sandhana, Lakshmi |date=9 August 2010 |archive-date=9 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170309131338/https://www.fastcoexist.com/1679008/an-indian-inventor-disrupts-the-period-industry |url-status=live }}</ref> Troubled by this, he started designing experimental pads.<ref name="hindu">{{cite news |title=A man in a woman's world |author=Akila Kannadasan |work=The Hindu |url=http://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/society/a-man-in-a-womans-world/article2875390.ece |date=13 February 2012 |access-date=25 April 2014 |archive-date=19 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180119134153/http://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/society/a-man-in-a-womans-world/article2875390.ece |url-status=live }}</ref> Initially, he made pads out of cotton, but these were rejected by his wife and sisters. Eventually, they stopped co-operating with him and refused to be the test subjects for his innovations. He realised that the raw materials cost {{INRConvert|10}}, but the end product sold for 40 times that price.<ref name="bbc" /> He looked for female volunteers who could test his inventions, but most were too shy to discuss their menstrual issues with him. He started testing it on himself, using a bladder with animal blood, but became the subject of ridicule when the "sanitary pad" was discovered in his village.<ref name="mea">{{cite news |title=One man's mission to improve women's lives |author=Letitia Rowlands |publisher=Ministry of External Affairs, Govt of India |url=http://www.mea.gov.in/bilateral-documents.htm?dtl/23081/One+mans+mission+to+improve+to+womens+lives |date=14 March 2014 |access-date=9 October 2021 |archive-date=24 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190824031938/http://www.mea.gov.in/bilateral-documents.htm?dtl%2F23081%2FOne+mans+mission+to+improve+to+womens+lives |url-status=live }}</ref> As menstruation was a [[taboo]] subject in India, it left him ostracized by his community and family.<ref name="independent">{{cite web |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/the-tampon-king-who-sparked-a-period-of-change-for-indias-women-7897093.html |title=The 'Tampon King' who sparked a period of change for India's women |work=The Independent |date=29 June 2012 |access-date=18 August 2012 |author=Buncombe, Andrew |archive-date=21 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190521205516/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/the-tampon-king-who-sparked-a-period-of-change-for-indias-women-7897093.html |url-status=live }}</ref> He distributed his products free to girls in a local medical college, hoping that they would give him feedback.

It took him two years to discover that the commercial pads used [[cellulose]] fibers derived from [[pine]] bark [[wood pulp]].<ref name=tehelka>{{cite news|title=The Pad That Does Not Whisper |author=PC Vinoj Kumar |publisher=[[Tehelka]] |url=http://archive.tehelka.com/story_main42.asp?filename=cr290809the_pad.asp |date=29 August 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140426201334/http://archive.tehelka.com/story_main42.asp?filename=cr290809the_pad.asp |archive-date=26 April 2014 }}</ref> The fibres helped the pads absorb while retaining shape.<ref name=nif /> Imported machines that made the pads cost {{INRConvert|35|m}}.<ref name=ted /> He devised a low-cost machine that could be operated with minimal training.<ref name="marysue">{{cite web |url=http://www.themarysue.com/tampon-king/ |title=Tampon King |publisher=The Mary Sue |date=29 June 2012 |access-date=18 August 2012 |author=Foxx-Gonzalez, Kellie |archive-date=28 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210228023352/https://www.themarysue.com/tampon-king/ |url-status=live }}</ref> He sourced the processed pine wood pulp from a supplier in [[Mumbai]], and the machines would grind, de-fibrate, press and sterilize the pads under [[ultraviolet|ultraviolet light]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://newinventions.in/linkview.aspx |title=New Inventions: Jayaashree Industries |access-date=18 August 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121121014259/http://newinventions.in/linkview.aspx |archive-date=21 November 2012}}</ref> before packaging them for sale. The machine costs {{INRConvert|65|k}}.<ref name="hindu" />

[[File:India - Faces - Rural women driving their own change 1 (2229752965).jpg|thumb|200px|Rural women meeting as members of self-help groups (SHGs)]]

In 2006, he visited [[Indian Institute of Technology Madras|IIT Madras]] to show his idea and receive suggestions. They registered his invention for the [[National Innovation Foundation]]'s Grassroots Technological Innovations Award; it won the award.<ref name="nif">{{cite news|url=http://nif.org.in/innovation/mini_sanitary/10|title=MINI SANITARY NAPKIN MAKING MACHINE A. Muruganantham|author=National Innovation Foundation|author-link=National Innovation Foundation|access-date=9 June 2016|archive-date=17 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190417060951/http://nif.org.in/innovation/mini_sanitary/10|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="hindu" /> He obtained seed funding and founded Jayaashree Industries, which now markets these machines to rural women across India.<ref name="economic">{{cite web |url=http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-01-18/news/30639078_1_sanitary-napkins-rags-menstruating-women |title=Blood, sweat & a few tears: Arunachalam Muruganantham's lessons for consumer product firms |work=The Economic Times |date=18 January 2012 |access-date=18 August 2012 |author=Kumar, Vikas |archive-date=15 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160315223611/http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-01-18/news/30639078_1_sanitary-napkins-rags-menstruating-women |url-status=live }}</ref> The machine has been praised for its simplicity and cost-effectiveness, and his commitment to social aid has earned him several awards.<ref name="independent" /> Despite offers from several corporate entities to [[commercialize]] his venture, he has refused, and continues to provide these machines to [[Self-help group (finance)|self-help groups (SHGs)]] run by women.<ref name="independent" /><ref name="guardian">{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2012/jan/22/sanitary-towels-india-cheap-manufacture |title=India's women given low-cost route to sanitary protection |work=The Guardian |date=21 January 2012 |access-date=18 August 2012 |author=Sandhana, Lakshmi |archive-date=31 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190831035142/https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2012/jan/22/sanitary-towels-india-cheap-manufacture |url-status=live }}</ref>

Muruganantham's invention is widely praised as a key step in changing women's lives in India.<ref name="think">{{cite web |url=http://www.thinkchangeindia.org/2012/01/31/enabling-access-through-low-cost-sanitary-pads-jayashree-industries/ |title=Enabling Access through Low-cost Sanitary Pads: Jayashree Industries |publisher=Think Change India |date=31 January 2012 |access-date=18 August 2012 |author=Ramdoss, Santhosh |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120702065017/http://www.thinkchangeindia.org/2012/01/31/enabling-access-through-low-cost-sanitary-pads-jayashree-industries/ |archive-date=2 July 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name=economist>{{cite news |title=Social entrepreneurship in India : Cut from a different cloth |newspaper=The Economist |url=https://www.economist.com/news/business/21586328-building-business-around-solving-chronic-female-health-care-problem-cut-different |date=14 September 2013 |access-date=24 August 2017 |archive-date=13 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160413031300/http://www.economist.com/news/business/21586328-building-business-around-solving-chronic-female-health-care-problem-cut-different |url-status=live }}</ref> The machine creates jobs and income for many women, and affordable pads enable many more women to earn their livelihood during menstruation.<ref name="jezebel">{{cite web |url=http://jezebel.com/5922361/meet-indias-tampon-king |title=Meet India's 'Tampon King' |publisher=Jezebel |date=29 June 2012 |access-date=18 August 2012 |author=Baker, Katie J.M. |archive-date=11 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160611094645/http://jezebel.com/5922361/meet-indias-tampon-king |url-status=live }}</ref> In addition to his own outreach, Muruganantham's work has also inspired many other entrepreneurs to enter this area,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.changemakers.com/healthbiz/entries/promoting-menstrual-hygiene-rural-areas-use-ivrs-techno |title=Promoting hygiene |access-date=14 September 2013 |archive-date=2 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191202081021/https://www.changemakers.com/healthbiz/entries/promoting-menstrual-hygiene-rural-areas-use-ivrs-techno |url-status=live }}</ref> including some who propose to use waste banana fibre or bamboo for the purpose.<ref name=economist />

==In popular culture==
Muruganantham has become well known as a social entrepreneur.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.livemint.com/Leisure/HiQ8DYz7ZJM6rMWIHpQRsO/Dharamshala-International-Film-Festival-Preview--Menstrual.html |title=Dharamsala film festival |access-date=30 June 2015 |archive-date=2 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191202063455/https://www.livemint.com/Leisure/HiQ8DYz7ZJM6rMWIHpQRsO/Dharamshala-International-Film-Festival-Preview--Menstrual.html |url-status=live }}</ref> He has given lectures at many institutions including [[IIT Bombay]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ecell.in/esummit/speakers/more/ |title=Esummit speakers, IITB |access-date=30 June 2015 |archive-date=29 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191029021156/https://www.ecell.in/esummit/speakers/more/ |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Indian Institute of Technology Madras|IIT Madras]], [[IIM Ahmedabad]], [[IIM Bangalore]],<ref name=tehelka/> [[Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani – Goa Campus]] and [[Harvard University]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.harvardindiaconference.com/speaker/arunachalam-murugunatham/ |title=Harvard India Conference |access-date=30 June 2015 |archive-date=26 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140426202324/http://www.harvardindiaconference.com/speaker/arunachalam-murugunatham/ |url-status=live }}</ref> He has also given a [[TED (conference)|TED talk]].<ref name=ted>{{cite web |url=http://www.ted.com/talks/arunachalam_muruganantham_how_i_started_a_sanitary_napkin_revolution.html |title=TED Bangalore talk by A. Muruganantham |access-date=30 June 2015 |archive-date=24 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140224025903/http://www.ted.com/talks/arunachalam_muruganantham_how_i_started_a_sanitary_napkin_revolution.html |url-status=live }}</ref> His story was the subject of a prize-winning documentary by Amit Virmani, ''[[Menstrual Man]]'',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.menstrualman.com |title=Pad Man |access-date=30 June 2015 |archive-date=24 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190824151751/http://www.menstrualman.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=The first man to wear a sanitary napkin|url=http://www.inktalks.com/discover/177/arunachalam-muruganantham-the-first-man-to-wear-a-sanitary-napkin-inktalks|website=INKTalks|access-date=28 January 2016|archive-date=30 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190430050238/http://www.inktalks.com/discover/177/arunachalam-muruganantham-the-first-man-to-wear-a-sanitary-napkin-inktalks|url-status=live}}</ref> and the film ''[[Phullu]]'' (2017) directed by ''[[Abhishek Saxena]]''. Director [[R. Balki]] cast [[Indian people|Indian]] actor [[Akshay Kumar]] as Laxmikant Chauhan in a film based on Muruganantham's life, titled ''[[Pad Man (film)|Pad Man]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/bollywood/padman-first-look-after-building-toilets-akshay-kumar-takes-on-menstrual-hygiene/story-i8NW2x2wVen8gLnJRYgxEP.html|title=''Pad Man'' first look: After building toilets, Akshay Kumar takes on menstrual hygiene|work=[[Hindustan Times]]|access-date=23 August 2017|archive-date=21 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171221072654/http://www.hindustantimes.com/bollywood/padman-first-look-after-building-toilets-akshay-kumar-takes-on-menstrual-hygiene/story-i8NW2x2wVen8gLnJRYgxEP.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

''Movies:''

* ''[[Menstrual Man]]'' (2013)
* ''[[Phullu]]'' (2017)
* [[Pad Man (film)|''Pad Man'']] (2018)
* ''[[Period. End of Sentence.]]'' (2018)

==See also==
* [[Menstrual taboo]]
* [[Women in India]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://interactive.aljazeera.com/aje/shorts/india-menstruation-man/ Story of Arunachalam Muruganantham]
* [http://www.indoscopy.com/2013/10/Low-cost-sanitary-napkin-by-arunachalam-muruganantham.html Innovation for society betterment by Arunachalam Muruganantham]
* {{TED speaker}}

{{Padma Shri Award Recipients in Social Work}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Muruganantham, Arunachalam}}
[[Category:20th-century Indian inventors]]
[[Category:Indian social entrepreneurs]]
[[Category:Women's health]]
[[Category:People from Coimbatore]]
[[Category:1962 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Shri in social work]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian businesspeople]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Tamil Nadu]]
[[Category:21st-century Indian businesspeople]]
[[Category:Social workers from Tamil Nadu]]
[[Category:21st-century Indian inventors]]

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Arunachalam Muruganantham