Thirumudi N. Sethuraman ( ta, திருமுடி.ந.சேதுராமன்) (24 January 1923 - 23 December 1979) was an Indian politician. He participated in the

Indian independence movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947. The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged ...

. In 1946, he made a turning point in the history of the freedom movement in

Puducherry Puducherry or Pondicherry may refer to: * Puducherry (union territory), a union territory of India ** Pondicherry, capital of the union territory of Puducherry ** Puducherry district, a district of the union territory of Puducherry ** Puducherry t ...

(then called Pondicherry) by forming the French India National Congress along with J. Savarinathan, Ambadi Narayanan, Govinda Pathar and M. A. Annamalai. It was succeeded by

French India Students Congress The French India Students Congress was a student movement in French India, which fought for independence of the colony from French rule. The foundation of the French India Students Congress was preceded by the formation of the French India Nati ...

. He is often called as T. N. Sethuraman Chettiar by the affectionate people. He served as the Deputy Mayor of Pondicherry. In 1967, he was elected as the Member of Parliament from

Puducherry (Lok Sabha constituency) Puducherry Lok Sabha constituency covers the entire Union Territory of Puducherry. Pondicherry became a union territory after the implementation of the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution of India in 1962 and changed its name to Puduc ...

. He ran again in 1971, but lost to

Mohan Kumaramangalam Surendra Mohan Kumaramangalam ( ta, சுரேந்திர மோகன் குமாரமங்கலம்) (1 November 1916 — 30 May 1973) was an Indian politician and communist theorist who was a member of the Communist Party of I ...

. He was a scholar and a great philanthropist. He was a man of simplicity. He was the political guru for many of the present politicians of Puducherry. To honor him, a street was named after him.

Early life

Thirumudi N. Sethuraman was born in

to Nataraja Chettiar and Kusalambal Ammaiyar on 24 January 1923. His parents believed that he was born by the grace of the Lord at

Rameswaram Rameswaram (; also transliterated as Ramesvaram, Rameshwaram) is a municipality in the Ramanathapuram district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is on Pamban Island separated from mainland India by the Pamban channel and is about 40 kil ...

after his elder brother died at the age of 4. He was actually named 'Sethu Ramasamy' on the belief of the news that there was a Sethu Dam built by Lord Ram in Rameswaram. Later he was called 'Sethuraman' and 'Thirumudi' is his family name. He had a younger brother named 'Velmurugan' and younger sister named 'Rasambal'. Their family lived in the Traditional Chettinad House in Ananda Rangapillai Street of Puducherry where you could feel the presence of Lord Lakshmi and Lord Saraswati. His family was well known in the city. They were wealthy and famous in Puducherry. His ancestor Arumuga Chettiar and his descendants were in

Tharangambadi Tharangambadi (), formerly Tranquebar ( da, Trankebar, ), is a town in the Mayiladuthurai district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu on the Coromandel Coast. It lies north of Karaikal, near the mouth of a distributary named Uppanar of the Ka ...

and were having trade with Dutch. They were into trade of Dye, Tobacco, Soap etc. Their trade expanded to Mauritius. They had farmlands and two Bungalows in Mauritius. They have built a temple for Lord Shiva in Mauritius which is still existing. Later they gave their farmland for lease to 'Helios Malaka Company'. In meanwhile they got contact with French East India Company and shifted to Puducherry where they continued their business. One of them was 'Padangu Narayanasamy Chettiar', a philanthropist who was appreciated by M. Z. Savarayalounayagar in Recueil de chants tamouls. Favorite Pastime and recreation: Reading. Special interests: Archaeology, collection of antiquities. Travels abroad: Ceylon, U.S.S.R., Japan, Indonesia, Norway and Denmark.

Gallery

File:President_Rajendra_Prasad.jpg, With Ex-President Dr.

Rajendra Prasad Rajendra Prasad (3 December 1884 – 28 February 1963) was an Indian politician, lawyer, Indian independence activist, journalist & scholar who served as the first president of Republic of India from 1950 to 1962. He joined the Indian Nationa ...

File:President_Dr.S.Radhakrishnan.jpg, With Ex-President Dr.

Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (; 5 September 1888 – 17 April 1975), natively Radhakrishnayya, was an Indian philosopher and statesman. He served as the 2nd President of India from 1962 to 1967. He also 1st Vice President of India from 1952 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sethuraman, Thirumudi N. 1923 births India MPs 1967–1970 Indian National Congress politicians from Puducherry Lok Sabha members from Puducherry 1979 deaths People from Pondicherry Puducherry politicians Indian National Congress (Organisation) politicians