Hindu Mahajana Sangam

Gandhiji Ashram during the unveiling of the Gandhi statue (5 October 2008)


The Hindu Mahajana Sangam is an association of Indian workers. The name Mahajana comes from two words, maha meaning "great" and jana meaning people. So Mahajana can be described as "great people" in Tamil, though in Sanskrit, it is translated as "great vehicle". The Indian workers who arrived here were farmers back home. They preferred to call themselves Kootakadai, because they work as a kootam (gang or group), rather than calling themselves coolies or labourers.

The Hindu Mahajana Sangam was established in 1935 after following the first consecration of the Sri Muthu Mariamman Temple in Queen Street which was held in 1933. (The temple was renamed Arulmigu Mahamariamman Temple in 1980 by the Hindu Endowment Board.) It was established to take part in the management and development of the Sri Muthu Mariamman Temple, which was then managed by a few trustees appointed by the Board. One of these trustees was Mr K.V. Karuppiah Thandal, who became the inaugural secretary of the sangam.

The Hindu Mahajana Sangam was active in organising Hindu festivals such as the Thaipusam, Chitraparuvam and Navaratiri. Later, when the Board formed the Temple Management Committee, some members of the sangam were also appointed. The sangam also served as an avenue to discuss and address social problems affecting Indian workers. It set up a panchayat committee to solve these problems. The sangam started Tamil schools to educate the Tamil children, and was active in promoting cultural activities and religious practices.

The Hindu Mahajana Sangam acted as a union for the waterfront workers until 1950, when the Waterfront Workers Union was formed. This later became known as the Weld Quay Workers Union. In the early 1970s, when the Government established the Penang Labour Board, the Weld Quay Workers Union was amalgamated with the Prai Cargo Handlers and the Penang Stevedores Union to form the Penang Port Workers Union, with its office in King Street. The Hindu Mahajana Sangam operated out of 47 Church Street from 1935 until 1947, when it moved to 40 Church Street. Today it is based at the Gandhiji Ashram, a community hall at the foot of the Balathandayuthapani Temple near the Penang Botanic Gardens. The hall was built in late 1935 and was originally known as Madalayam or Kootakadai Maadam.

The sangam moved out of 40 Church Street in 1988 after the property was sold. It was then that it moved to its own building, the Gandhiji Ashram, at 674 Jalan Kebun Bunga.

Getting there

The nearest bus stop is along Jalan Kebun Bunga, which is served by Rapid Penang bus 10.

View Hindu Mahajana Sangam, Penang in a larger map

Acknowledgement

Penang Travel Tips thanks Mr Nelamegam Malairaja, President of the Hindu Mahajana Sangam, for assistance in compiling its history.

Private Guided Tours of Penang

If you are seeking private guided tours of Penang, message Penang Tour Guides at penangtourguides@gmail.com and enquire with them.

 Buy, rent or sell properties in Penang

Do you have a property for sale or to rent out? Are you looking to buy or rent a property? Get in touch with me. WhatsApp me (Timothy Tye) at 012 429 9844, and I will assign one of my property agents to serve you. I will choose the agent for you, according to your property needs. So when you message me, provide me some details of what you need, whether to sell, to buy, to rent or to rent out, and what type of property, is it condo, apartment, house, shop, office or land.

Adakah anda mempunyai hartanah untuk dijual atau disewakan? Adakah anda ingin membeli atau menyewa hartanah? Hubungi saya. WhatsApp saya (Timothy Tye) di 012 429 9844, dan saya akan menugaskan salah seorang ejen hartanah saya untuk berkhidmat kepada anda. Saya akan pilih ejen untuk anda, mengikut keperluan hartanah anda. Oleh itu, apabila anda menghantar mesej kepada saya, berikan saya beberapa butiran tentang apa yang anda perlukan, sama ada untuk menjual, untuk membeli, untuk disewakan atau untuk disewakan, dan jenis hartanah apakah itu kondo, pangsapuri, rumah, kedai, pejabat atau tanah.

您有待出售或出租的房产吗？ 您想购买或租赁房产吗？ 与我联系。 WhatsApp 我 (Timothy Tye) 012 429 9844，我将指派一名房地产经纪人为您服务。 我会根据您的房产需求，为您选择代理。 因此，当您给我发消息时，请向我提供一些您需要的详细信息，无论是出售、购买、出租还是出租，以及房产类型，是公寓、公寓、房屋、商店、办公室还是土地。

 New Properties in Penang

Looking to buy property in Penang? Get the e-brochures right here without having to visit or contact individual developers.

 Latest updates on Penang Travel Tips

 Share your travels and/or ask a travel-related question

Join the Penang Travel Tips Facebook Group to share photos, tips and anything related to your travels, or ask travel-related questions.

Map of Roads in Penang

Looking for information on Penang? Use this Map of Roads in Penang to zoom in on information about Penang, brought to you road by road.

Discover with Timothy

Let me take you to explore and discover Penang through my series of walking tours on YouTube. You may use these videos as your virtual tour guide. At the beginning of each video, I provide the starting point coordinates which you may key into your GPS, Google Maps or Waze, to be navigated to where I start the walk, and use the video as your virtual tour guide.

Disclaimer

Please use the information on this page as guidance only. The author endeavours to update the information on this page from time to time, but regrets any inaccuracies if there be any.

Songs about Penang

About this website

Hello and thanks for reading this page. My name is Timothy and my hobby is in describing places so that I can share the information with the general public. My website has become the go to site for a lot of people including students, teachers, journalists, etc. whenever they seek information on places, particularly those in Malaysia and Singapore. I have been doing this since 5 January 2003, for over twenty years already. You can read about me at Discover Timothy. By now I have compiled information on thousands of places, mostly in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, and I continue to add more almost every day. My goal is to describe every street in every town in Malaysia and Singapore.