Kalyanasundaram Anbazhagan (19 December 1922 – 7 March 2020) was an Indian Tamil politician. He was a long-standing leader of the

Dravidian movement The Dravidian movement in British India started with the formation of the Justice Party on 20 November 1916 in Victoria Public Hall in Madras by C. Natesa Mudaliar along with T. M. Nair and P. Theagaraya Chetty as a result of a series of non- ...

and was the

General Secretary Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...

of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam party (DMK) for nine terms. He has held several cabinet ministerial portfolios in the Tamil Nadu government under

M. Karunanidhi Muthuvel Karunanidhi (3 June 1924 – 7 August 2018) was an Indian writer and politician who served as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for almost two decades over five terms between 1969 and 2011. He was popularly referred to as Kalaignar (Art ...

including Finance, Education and Health and Social Welfare. He was elected as a member of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly on nine occasions. He was earlier elected to the Lok Sabha the

lower house A lower house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house. Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has co ...

of India's Parliament from Tiruchengode and was also a member of the Madras Legislative Council. He served as the opposition leader of Tamil Nadu assembly from 2001 to 2006. He was popularly referred to as ''Perasiriyar'' (Professor), though he was a lecturer in Tamil in Pachaiyappa's College before resigning to contest elections in 1957.

Early life

Anbazhagan was born in Kattoor near Thiruvarur in Tanjore district (now Thiruvarur District) of

Madras Presidency The Madras Presidency, or the Presidency of Fort St. George, also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision (presidency) of British India. At its greatest extent, the presidency included most of southern India, including the ...

, British India on 19 December 1922 to M. Kalyanasundaranar and Swarnambal as Ramaiah. He changed his name to Anbazhagan and being influenced by the Pure Tamil Movement led by Tamil scholar Maraimalai Adigal. In 1942, he addressed a Justice Party meeting in Thiruvarur as a student after being requested by C. N. Annadurai and came into contact with

for the first time. He received his Master of Arts in Tamil from Annamalai University and joined Pachaiyappa's College as a lecturer in Tamil in 1944.

Political career

Anbazhagan resigned as a Lecturer at Pachaiyappa's College to contest elections and was elected from Egmore to the Madras Legislative Assembly in 1957. He was a member of the Madras legislative council between 1962–1967 and a close confidant of the DMK founder C. N. Annadurai. He was a member of Lok Sabha between 1967 and 1971. In 1971, he served as Social Welfare minister of Tamil Nadu. He had given up his M.L.A. position, representing Park Town constituency, in 1984 putting forward the Tamil Eelam issue. He was elected from Harbour constituency in 1996, 2001 and 2006. He served as the opposition leader of Tamil Nadu assembly from 2001 to 2006.

Personal life and death

Anbazhagan lived with his wife Santhakumari in Shanthi Colony, Anna Nagar, Chennai. In his later years, Anbazhagan was in poor health, which minimized his political activities and public appearances, with the last one being on his 97th birthday on 19 December 2019. On 24 February 2020, his health deteriorated and became "extremely critical and unstable", and he was admitted at Apollo Hospital in Chennai for treatment. He died there at 1:05 IST on 7 March 2020 due to complications of diabetes mellitus. The DMK declared a seven-day mourning after his death. His grandson A. Vetriazhagan is the current MLA from Villivakkam constituency.

Literary works

Anbazhagan has sound knowledge of Tamil poetry. Some of his published works include: *''Urimai vaazhvu'' *''Viduthalaik kavignar'' *''Pesum kalai valarpom'' *''Thamizh kadal'' *''Alai osai'' *''Thamizhar thirumanamum inamaanamum''

References

External links

Official biographical sketch in Parliament of India website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anbazhagan, K. Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam politicians 1922 births Dravidian movement Indian atheists 2020 deaths State cabinet ministers of Tamil Nadu People from Tiruvarur district India MPs 1967–1970 Lok Sabha members from Tamil Nadu Annamalai University alumni Leaders of the Opposition in Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu MLAs 1996–2001 Members of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Council Deaths from multiple organ failure Madras MLAs 1957–1962 Tamil Nadu MLAs 1985–1989