Kothandarama Natesa Iyer or S. K. Natesa Iyer
/ref> (1887 - 7 November 1947) was a Sri Lankan journalist, trade union leader and politician of Indian Tamil origin, had pioneered the labour movement in the plantations in the early 1930s.
Early life
Natesa Iyer was a Tamil Brahmin
Tamil Brahmins are an ethnoreligious community of Tamil-speaking Hindu Brahmins, predominantly living in Tamil Nadu, though they number significantly in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka, in addition to other regions of India, as wel ...
from Thanjavur
Thanjavur (), also Tanjore, Pletcher 2010, p. 195 is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is the 11th biggest city in Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is an important center of South Indian religion, art, and architecture. Most of the Gr ...
who spent his early life as a clerk in Madras city. In 1920, moved to Ceylon in order to edit a Ceylonese Tamil newspaper ''Desanesan'' owned by Arunachalam and E. V. Rathnam of the Ceylonese National Congress.
Political activities
Natesa Iyer joined the Ceylon Labour Union and soon became its Vice-President. He was elected to the Ceylonese Legislative Council and served as its member. However, soon afterwards, disputes broke out between the Tamil and Ceylonese members of the Ceylon Labour Union and A. E. Goonesinha, the President of the Union accused Indian Tamils for all the country's ills. Natesa Iyer quit the party in protest against Goonesinghe's attitude.
After quitting the Ceylon Labour Union, Natesa Iyer founded the All Ceylon Estate Labour Federation and started an English-language journal called "The Indian Estate Labourer".
In 1936, Natesa Iyer was elected to the State Council of Ceylon from the Hatton
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assembly constituency and served as a member of the council from 1936 to 1947. He was the first member of the Indian Tamil community to be appointed to the council.
References
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External links
*India/Pakistan Asia Time
*Malayaga Tamilarin Aanma Natesa Iyer - By R.Kurinjivendan http://www.dinamani.com/edition/story.aspx?SectionName=Tamil%20Mani&artid=154736&SectionID=179&MainSectionID=179
1887 births
1947 deaths
Indian emigrants to Sri Lanka
Indian Tamil journalists of Sri Lanka
Indian Tamil politicians of Sri Lanka
Indian Tamil trade unionists of Sri Lanka
Members of the Legislative Council of Ceylon
Members of the 2nd State Council of Ceylon
People from Thanjavur district
Sri Lankan Hindus
Workers' rights activists
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