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{{short description|Indian revolutionary}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2016}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Kovai Subri Iyer
| image = Kamala and Kovai Subri portrait.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Portrait of Kovai Subri with his wife Kamala
| birth_name =
| birth_date = 20 April 1898
| birth_place =
| death_date = 1993
| death_place =
| movement = [[Indian Independence Movement]]
| organization=
| other_names =
| known_for =
| occupation = [[Revolutionary|Revolutionary leader]], [[freedom fighter]], [[political activist]]
}}

'''Kovai Subri''' (also '''K. Subramaniam''' and '''Soobri''') was a [[Tamil people|Tamil]] revolutionary and freedom fighter during the [[Indian Independence Movement]].<ref>{{cite web|title=The life of Kovai Subri|url=http://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/the-life-of-kovai-subri/article6839088.ece|work=The Hindu|date=30 January 2015 |accessdate=4 February 2015}}</ref>

==Early life==
Kovai Subri was born in [[Coimbatore]] in 1898. He was the fifth child of Parvathi and S.V.R. Krishna Iyer, an advocate in Coimbatore and was named Subramaniam, after the deity at [[Chennimalai]]. During his early years, Subri was drawn to the ideals of [[Gandhiji]] and decided to quit college to join the [[Indian Independence Movement]].

==Freedom Struggle==
At the age of 23, Subri joined the Town Congress Committee in Coimbatore as the secretary in 1921. Shortly afterwards, in 1923, he was imprisoned for a year for his participation in the [[Flag Satyagraha]] civil disobedience movement in [[Nagpur]]. In 1930, he joined the [[Salt March|Salt Satyagraha]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=Who's who of freedom fighters, [Tamil Nadu]|author=Govt. of Tamil Nadu|publisher=Stree Seva Mandir Press|year=1973|isbn=|location=Madras|pages=176}}</ref> He was later imprisoned on five more occasions and spent a total of 5 years of his life in prison. He would later go on to start a Khadi centre at [[Padiyur]] village in [[Uthukuli]].

Gandhiji affectionately referred to Subri as 'The loudspeaker' for his commanding voice as his translator for his public speeches during his tour of the Coimbatore and Nilgiris Districts.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Sacred Touch - An Autobiography|last=Avinashilingam|first=T. S.|publisher=Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan|year=1986|isbn=|location=|pages=111}}</ref> Gandhiji in an article in the [[Young India]] writes about Subri- "young and old, men and women dote on him. The secret is his childlike innocence and his spirit of service. He is a jewel of a young man. I would do anything if only to please Soobri.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.gandhiheritageportal.org/journals-by-gandhiji/young-india|title=Young India Journal Volume Number 8, Issue 12|last=Gandhi|first=M.K.|publisher=Navajivan Publishing House|year=1926|isbn=|location=|pages=115}}</ref>".

Noted freedom fighter, [[T. S. Avinashilingam Chettiar]], regarded Subri as one of his closest associates in the freedom struggle and the background of the movement in [[Coimbatore district]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Sacred Touch - An Autobiography|last=Avinashilingam|first=T. S.|publisher=Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan|year=1986|isbn=|location=|pages=79}}</ref>

==Muruga Ganam==
During his years in prison, Subri composed a collection of 426 devotional songs named [[Muruga Ganam]] in praise of [[Lord Muruga]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Remembering legends|url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-miscellaneous/tp-others/remembering-legends/article2623526.ece|work=The Hindu|date=12 November 2011 |accessdate=4 February 2015}}</ref> Muruga Ganam was first published in 1980, and a CD was later released by [[Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan]] in 2011.

==Political career==
As a member of the [[Indian National Congress|Congress Party]], Kovai Subri served as the Municipal Chairman of [[Coimbatore Municipality]] from 1938 to 1942. During his tenure, he was instrumental in creating the Gandhi Park in the RS Puram area of the city. He was later elected as the MLA of the [[Coimbatore City Constituency]] from 1947 to 1952.

Subri later joined the Liberal [[Swatantra Party]] when it was launched by [[Rajaji]] in 1959.

==Personal life==
On 14 November 1926, at the age of 28, Subri married Kamala (Kamalammal), the daughter of A. Natesa Iyer an advocate-cum teacher from [[Pollachi]]. Kamala joined Subri in his acts of civil disobedience and was arrested in 1930 along with their six-month-old daughter. Subri and Kamala died in 1993 exactly a week from each other.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Subri, Kovai}}
[[Category:Indian revolutionaries]]
[[Category:1898 births]]
[[Category:1993 deaths]]
[[Category:Indian independence activists from Tamil Nadu]]

Kovai Subri - Revision history

imported>AdellBarreto6 at 23:40, 7 February 2026