Thillaiyadi Valliammai(Feb 22,1898 -Feb 22,1914)

Thillaiyadi Valliammai was a South African Tamil Woman who worked with Mahatma Gandhi in her early years when she developed her nonviolent methods in South Africa fighting its apartheid regime

She was born to R. Munuswamy Mudaliar and Mangalam, a young immigrant couple from a small village called Thillaiyadi in Nagapattinam  near Mayiladuthurai,Tamil Nadu, India 

Thillaiyadi Valliammai's parents migrated to Johannesburg,South Africa and Thillaiyadi Valliammaigrew in an environment that was rather hostile to Indians

Mohandas Gandhi began his protest march against the discrimination of Indians and other South Africans. Young Vallimmai and her mother joined this march of women from Transvaal to Natal, which was prohibited by the government of South Africa.

Valliammai, 16 years of age was arrested by the South African police while she was in the protest march and spent three months in Jail.

She heard some South African prison officers yelling at her, `why don`t you people register and become South Africans instead of Indians. Your India doesn`t even have a flag and it is not even a country. What are you really fighting for.`

If having a flag is what would give form to India, then here it is, she said, tearing off her saffron-white-green sari and she waved it triumphantly, MY FLAG! MY MOTHERLAND

Mahathma Gandhi met her and asked: Do you not regret having been to jail? Look at you! If going back to jail again would add to the cause, I would do it again she replied.

She gave us our National flag (Gandhi designed the flag with the same 3 colours as her sari), a greater resolve (in his own words) to Gandhi`s freedom fight, undying fiery guts to women and a soul full of strength for her, our country.