K. A. Mathiazhagan

K. A. Mathiazhagan was an Indian politician and Co-Founder of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). He served as the Finance Minister, Minister of Food, Revenue and Commercial Taxes in the Tamil Nadu government and Speaker of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly.

K. A. Mathiazhagan
Speaker of Tamil Nadu legislative assembly
In office
1971–1972
Minister of Finance (Government of Tamil Nadu)
In office
1969–1970
Minister of Food, Revenue and Commercial Taxes (Government of Tamil Nadu)
In office
1967–1969
Personal details
Born
Kaniyur A. Somasundaram

(1926-12-07)7 December 1926
Kaniyur, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India
Died17 August 1983(1983-08-17) (aged 56)
NationalityIndian
Spouse(s)Mrs. Raja Sundari Mathialagan
ChildrenLate Mrs. Aruna Seralathan, Mrs. Malarvizhi Udayakumar, Mrs. Theanmozhi Yatish and Mr. Udhaya Suriyan

Biography

He was born on 7 December 1926 in Kaniyur in Coimbatore district (now Tiruppur district) as Somasunduram. He studied at the Boarding High School in Udumalpet. He graduated from Annamalai University. He also studied law and practiced as a lawyer. He was the younger brother of K. A. Murugesan, a Dravidar Kazhagam (DK) leader[1] and the elder brother of K. A. Krishnaswamy who later on became a minister in the M.G.R. government.[2][3] Their family is called "The Kaniyur Family" or the "Kaniyur Kudumbam" and was referred to as the foremost family of the Dravidian Movement by C. N. Annadurai, as a recognition given to the family for their contributions to the Dravidian Movement.. He died on 17 August 1983 and at the age of 57 years.

Political life

When C. N. Annadurai split from the DK and went on to form the DMK, Mathiazhagan became one of the founding fathers of the DMK along with Annadurai, V. R. Nedunchezhiyan, E. V. K. Sampath and N. V. Natarajan. Mathialagan along with the other four founding fathers is famously referred to as the "Aimberum Thalaivargal" (Five Great Leaders or Heads). He went on to become one of the early influential members of the DMK.[4] He was elected to the Tamil Nadu legislative assembly from Thousand Lights constituency as a DMK candidate in the 1962, 1967, and 1971 elections.[5][6][7]

Electoral history
Election Constituency Winner Votes Party Runner-up Votes Party Status
1962 Thousand lights K. A. Mathiazhagan 27,984 DMK Indrani Changalvarayan 25,609 INC Won
1967 Thousand lights K. A. Mathiazhagan 39,518 DMK M. Sivaraj 25,370 INC Won
1971 Thousand lights K. A. Mathiazhagan 38,891 DMK N. M. Mani Varma 27,332 NCO Won

Tamil Nadu minister

He served as a minister of Food, Revenue and Commercial Taxes in C. N. Annadurai's administration from 6 March 1967 to 10 February 1969.[8] He also served as Minister of Finance in M. Karunanidhi's administration after the Annadurai's death. In September 1970 he resigned from the cabinet, citing moral and ethical issues after charges of corruption, involving the purchase of a bungalow, were brought upon him by the opposition. These charges were later on proved to be false.[9] It is claimed in some quarters, that these charges were leveled against him because he was considered to be a threat to Karunanidhi's leadership.[10]

Speaker

He served as the Speaker of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly from 1971 to 1972.[11][12] M. G. Ramachandran was expelled from the DMK on 10 October 1972 and founded the party Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK). Mathiazhagan, the then speaker of the Tamil Nadu assembly, became an open supporter of Ramachandran.[13][14]

In 1972, he echoed the popular sentiment of that time, that the government had lost its credibility with the people, while being the speaker of the house. A rarity considering the fact that he was speaking the truth against his own party and by default jeopardising his own political future. This was followed by a constitutional drama which happened in late 1972 in the house. On 14 November, Mathiazhagan advised the then chief minister, M.Karunanidhi, to dissolve the house and face the electorate if the government was to earn its lost credibility. Unable to take the bitter truth, Karunanidhi caused the adjournment of the house against all norms. Mathiazhagan and Ramachandran, the leader of the AIADMK in the assembly, filed a writ petition questioning the validity of the whole action . On 2 December, when the assembly was re convened, both Speaker and Deputy Speaker were presiding over the proceedings and both were cancelling each other's actions. After hours of confusion Speaker Mathiazhagan left the house, adjourning the house. At this juncture, Karunanidhi, based on a motion authored in the name of V.R.Nedunchelian, declared that K.A.Mathiazhagan was removed from the post of the Speaker.

Notes
  1. Dr.K.M.Selvaraj (2006). Mamanithar Mathialagan (in Tamil). Kaniyur pathipagam. p. 18.
  2. "Tamil Nadu legislative assembly, who is who, 1971" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2009.
  3. Karunanidhi, M. (1972). Reply to the memoranda presented to the President of India. p. 10.
  4. Vijaya Ramaswamy (2007). Historical dictionary of the Tamils. Scarecrow Press, Inc. pp. 60.
  5. 1962 Madras State Election Results, Election Commission of India
  6. 1967 Tamil Nadu Election Results, Election Commission of India
  7. 1971 Tamil Nadu Election Results, Election Commission of India
  8. India, a reference annual. Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. 1968. p. 447.
  9. Dr.K.M.Selvaraj (2006). Mamanithar Mathialagan (in Tamil). Kaniyur pathipagam. p. 56.
  10. Duncan Forrester (1976). "Factions and Filmstars: Tamil Nadu Politics since 1971". Asian Survey. 16 (3): 283–296. doi:10.1525/as.1976.16.3.01p01703. JSTOR 2643545.
  11. "Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly: Details of terms of successive Legislative Assemblies constituted under the Constitution of India". Government of Tamil Nadu. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014.
  12. "Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly: Details of terms of successive Legislative Assemblies constituted under the Constitution of India". Government of India. Archived from the original on 9 April 2009. Retrieved 3 April 2009.
  13. Chapter IV Office of the Speaker, Tamil Nadu legislative assembly Archived 2011-07-21 at the Wayback Machine
  14. "Executive dunnit: When the executive uses compliant speakers to subvert the will of the House". The Indian Express. 24 March 2005. Retrieved 9 December 2009.
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