M. Alagappa Manickavelu Naicker (14 December 1896 – 25 July 1996) or simply, M. A. Manickavelu was an Indian politician of the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British E ...

and founder of the

Commonweal Party Commonweal Party was an Indian political party that existed in Tamil Nadu between 1951 and 1954. It was started by M. A. Manickavelu Naicker and claimed to represent the interests of the Vanniyar caste. It merged with Indian National Congress in 19 ...

. He served as the Minister of Revenue for the Madras state from 1953 to 1962. He also served as a member of the

Rajya Sabha The Rajya Sabha, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. , it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using si ...

from 1962 to 1964. During 1964-70 he was the Chairman (presiding officer) of the

Tamil Nadu Legislative Council Tamil Nadu Legislative Council was the upper house of the former bicameral legislature of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It began its existence as Madras Legislative Council, the first provincial legislature for Madras Presidency. It was in ...

Early life

Manickavelu was born to M. Alagappa Naicker on 14 December 1896. Alagappa belonged to numerically strong

Vanniyar The Vanniyar, also spelled Vanniya, formerly known as the Palli, are a Dravidian community or '' jāti'' found in the northern part of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. From the 19th century, peasant castes typically classified under Shudra ca ...

community of Tamil Nadu. Manickavelu graduated in

arts The arts are a very wide range of human practices of creative expression, storytelling and cultural participation. They encompass multiple diverse and plural modes of thinking, doing and being, in an extremely broad range of media. Both ...

and proceeded to qualify as a lawyer. Manickavelu entered politics early in life and became a member of the Swarajya Party faction of the Indian National Congress. In 1926, he was elected to the

Madras Legislative Council Tamil Nadu Legislative Council was the upper house of the former bicameral legislature of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It began its existence as Madras Legislative Council, the first provincial legislature for Madras Presidency. It was init ...

.Manickavelu served as a member of the Madras Legislative Council from 1926 to 1937.

Commonweal Party

In 1951, Naicker founded the

which represented Vanniyar interests in

Chingleput Chengalpattu, previously known as Chingleput, is a city and the headquarters of Chengalpattu district of the state Tamil Nadu, India. The town is located near to the industrial and IT hub. It is the headquarters of the district and is away fr ...

and

North Arcot North Arcot was a former district in Madras Presidency, acquired by the annexation of the Arcot State in 1855 when its Nawab died without issue. It had Chittoor as its headquarters (currently in Andhra pradesh). On 1 April 1911, the Chittoor d ...

districts. In 1951, he contested in the 1951 elections, the first held in independent India as a candidate of the Commonweal Party, an ally of the DMK, and was elected to the assembly once again. Naicker was appointed Minister of Land Revenue and served from 1953 to 1962. When Rajagopalachari stepped down as Chief Minister and was succeeded by Kamaraj, Naicker dissolved the Commonweal Party and merged his organisation with the Indian National Congress. He served as a member of the Madras Legislative Assembly till 1962 when he was elected to the upper house of India's Parliament, the Rajya Sabha. He served as a member of the Rajya Sabha from 1962 to 1964.

Death

Manickavelu Naicker died in Madras on 25 July 1996.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Manickavelu, Naicker 1896 births 1996 deaths Members of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Council Lok Sabha members from Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu ministers Madras MLAs 1952–1957

Early life

Commonweal Party

Death

See also

Notes

References