ConflictNational and Dravidian movements
Perungamanallur police firing
Police fired on Piramalai Kallar villagers at Perungamanallur near Madurai who resisted registration under the Criminal Tribes Act.
Under the Criminal Tribes Act, Piramalai Kallar men in the Madurai region were fingerprinted and required to report to police stations at night. Resistance to these registrations reached a climax in 1920. When villagers at Perungamanallur near Sedapatti refused to register, armed police were sent to the village and opened fire, killing more than ten people. A memorial pillar in the village commemorates those killed and the episode is remembered as a symbol of resistance to the Act.


