Krishnammal Jagannathan She was born on June 16, 1926 in Pattiveeranpatti, Dindigul district, into a poor family. She studied in Madurai and graduated from The American College, Madurai, becoming the first woman graduate from Madurai. Krishnammal and her husband S. Jagannathan worked to secure land for landless farmers across villages. She was inspired by Vallalar Ramalinga Adigal and followed Gandhian ideals of compassion and social justice. Inspired by Mahatma Gandhi, she joined the Sarvodaya movement of Vinoba Bhave and participated in the Bhoodan Movement, distributing land to poor people in several regions including Bihar. They became active in Thanjavur district after the Keezhvenmani massacre of 1968, where 44 Dalits were burnt alive. She founded Land for Tillers’ Freedom (LAFTI) to secure land ownership for landless farmers. She helped register about 13,500 acres of land in the names of poor farmers. For her social service, she received many awards including the Padma Shri, Jamnalal Bajaj Award, Bhagwan Mahaveer Award, Right Livelihood Award (Alternative Nobel Prize), and the Opus Prize.
