S. P. Adithanar

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Si. Pa. Adithanar
Speaker of Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly
In office
1967–1968
Preceded byS. Chellapandian
Succeeded byPulavar K. Govindan
Member of Madras Legislative Council
In office
1947–1952
In office
1964–1967
Personal details
Born27 September 1905
British India
Died24 May 1981(1981-05-24) (aged 75)
Political partyKisan Mazdoor Praja Party (1952)
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (1967)
SpouseGovindammal
Children3, including Sivanthi
RelativesK. P. Kandasamy (son-in-law)
K. P. K. Kumaran (grandson)
Shiv Nadar (Nephew)
OccupationMedia proprietor Politician

Si. Balasubramania Athithan (also known as Si. Ba. Adithanar) 27 September 1905 – 24 May 1981), popularly called "Adithanar", was an Indian media proprietor, lawyer, politician, former minister and founder of the

Sivanthi Adithanar
(former Director of the Dina Thanthi group).

Early life

Adithanar was born on 27 September 1905 at

St. Joseph's College, Trichy. After obtaining a M. A, he went to Middle Temple, London to study law. He became a barrister in 1933 and practised in Singapore (during 1933–42) and later in his home town Srivaikuntam. He married Govindammal in 1933.[3][4][5]

Publishing career

Adithanar returned to India in 1942 when

Madras.[6] The paper was popular and it was said that people learned to read the Tamil language to read the newspaper.[7] The simplified language introduced by the paper helped it gain new readership.[8]

Other publications from Adithanar's Dina Thanthi group include the evening daily Maalai Murasu (lit. The Evening Drum), the weekly magazine Rani and the monthly novel imprint Rani Muthu.[4]

Political career

Adithanar started the "Tamil Rajyam" party in 1942. During 1947–52, he was a member of the

Sathankulam.[4][10]

Naam Tamilar party

In 1958, Adithanar founded the "We Tamils" (

Srivaikuntam. The party merged with the DMK in 1967.[4][13][14]

As Speaker of the Legislative Assembly

On 17 March 1967, Adithanar became the

Tanjore in 1968 and also took part in political activities in his constituency. Due to these activities, the opposition parties accused him of partisanship. He defended himself as:[15]

I am as much as a politician as leader of the opposition is and as such, I can not refrain myself from the party activities of the DMK with whose support and under whose symbol I have been elected to the Assembly. But it does not mean that I am partial and partisan.

Due to this controversy, Adithanar resigned as speaker on 12 August 1968.

As minister

Adithanar became the Minister for Cooperation in the

1971 elections and continued as the Minister for Cooperation.[4][16]

Later political life

The DMK split in 1972, with

1980 election from Srivaikuntam.[19]

Electoral performance in Assembly elections

Year Status Constituency Party Votes Runner-up/winner Party Votes
1957
 Winner
Sathankulam
 IND 33,636 S. Kandasamy INC 22,429
1962
 2nd
Tiruchendur
 Naam Tamilar 27,994 M. S. Selvarajan INC 39,994
1967
 Winner
Srivaikuntam
 DMK 41,828 R. Nadar INC 22,767
1971
 Winner
Srivaikuntam
 DMK 37,329 R. A. R. Annamalai NCO 27,724
1977
 2nd
Sathankulam
 IND 17,507 R. Jebamani JNP 18,362
1980
 3rd
Srivaikuntam
 IND 12,119 E. Ramasubramanian
ADMK
 26,502

Death and legacy

Adithanar died on 24 May 1981. In 2005, the then Tamil Nadu Chief Minister,

J. Jayalalitha announced that his home in Srivaikuntam, built in 1928, would be converted into a memorial. He is survived by two sons. B. Ramachandran Adityan (founder of Devi Weekly) and B. Sivanthi Adityan.[20][21] On his birthday every year, the S. P. Adithanar Senior Tamil Scholar Award of Rs. 300,000 and the S. P. Adithanar Literary Award of Rs. 200,000 are awarded to Tamil scholars and people who excel in literature by Adithanar's son and the current director of the Dina Thanthi group, Sivanthi Adithan.[7] A road in Chennai, connecting Egmore to Anna Salai, was named "Adithanar Salai" in his memory.[22]

Bibliography

  • Tamiḻp Pēraracu (lit. The Tamil empire) (1942)
  • Idhalalar Kaiyedu (lit. The Journalist's Handbook)

References

  1. ^ Robert Hardgrave. The of Tamil Nadu. University of California Press. p. 149.
  2. ISBN 978-0-230-20507-9
    .
  3. ^ "Memorials coming up for Adithanar, Ariyakudi Ramanuja Aiyangar". The Hindu. 28 September 2005. Archived from the original on 5 December 2007.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Tamilar Thanthai Si Pa Adithanar". Maalai Malar (in Tamil). 10 April 2009. Archived from the original on 29 April 2009.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  5. ^ a b Kaliyaperumal, M (1992). The office of the speaker in Tamilnadu : A study (PDF). Madras University. pp. Appendices. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 February 2012. Retrieved 7 January 2010.
  6. ^
    ISBN 978-1-85065-383-7
    .
  7. ^ a b "Adithanar awards for Tamil scholar, poet". The Hindu. 24 September 2004. Archived from the original on 14 October 2004.
  8. ^ "Adithanar 100: A Tribute". www.thinnai.com (in Tamil). 15 January 2004.
  9. ^ 1951/52 Madras State Election Results, Election Commission of India Archived 10 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ 1957 Madras State Election Results, Election Commission of India
  11. OCLC 36084635
    .
  12. ^ 1962 Madras State Election Results, Election Commission of India
  13. ^ Ross Barnett, Marguerite (1975). Electoral politics in the Indian states: party systems and cleavages. Manohar Book Service. p. 86.
  14. ^ 1967 Tamil Nadu Election Results, Election Commission of India
  15. ^ Kaliyaperumal, M (1992). The office of the speaker in Tamilnadu : A study (PDF). Madras University. pp. 92–96. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 July 2011.
  16. ^ 1971 Tamil Nadu Election Results, Election Commission of India
  17. ^ 1977 Tamil Nadu Election Results, Election Commission of India
  18. ^ "AIADMK hopes to benefit from local grievances". The Hindu. 24 February 2003. Archived from the original on 3 April 2003.
  19. ^ 1980 Tamil Nadu Election Results, Election Commission of India
  20. ^ "Memorials coming up for Adithanar, Ariyakudi Ramanuja Aiyangar". The Hindu. 28 September 2005. Archived from the original on 5 December 2007.
  21. ^ "Officials inspect Adithanar's house at Srivaikundam". The Hindu. 29 September 2005. Archived from the original on 4 November 2012.
  22. ^ "A tough ride for MTC buses on Adithanar Salai". The Hindu. 28 February 2001. Archived from the original on 7 November 2012.
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