On 9 July, 1949, a 70-year-old Periyar, E V Ramasamy, married the 32-year-old Maniammai. This marriage caused outrage and was said to have caused a split in the organisation founded by Periyar.
Amol Palekar's movie Anaahat (2003), a Marathi film (Anaahat means Eternity), poses several questions about Niyog Pratha and emphasises on a woman's choice to explore her sexual freedom.