Rao Sahib Vellore Iyyasamy Munuswamy Pillai (23 February 1889 – 14 December 1953) also spelled as Munisami Pillai, was an Indian businessman, politician, Scheduled Caste activist and activist of the Indian independence movement who served as the Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development in the government of

C. Rajagopalachari Chakravarti Rajagopalachari (10 December 1878 – 25 December 1972), popularly known as Rajaji or C.R., also known as Mootharignar Rajaji (Rajaji'', the Scholar Emeritus''), was an Indian statesman, writer, lawyer, and independence activis ...

from 1937 to 1939.

Early life

Munuswamy Pillai was born in a poor(Inter caste married) family in

Ootacamund Ooty (), officially known as Udhagamandalam (also known as Ootacamund (); abbreviated as Udhagai), is a city and a municipality in the Nilgiris district of the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located north west of Coimbatore and ...

Nilgiris district The Nilgiris district () is one of the 38 districts in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Nilgiri ( en, Blue Mountains) is the name given to a range of mountains spread across the borders among the states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Ker ...

in 1889. Due to his adverse financial circumstances, Munuswamy Pillai could afford little formal education and was forced to take up a job as a

clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keeping, filing, staffing service ...

at the age of twenty. After a successful stint as a clerk, Munuswamy Pillai set up his own business in 1925.

Public life

Munuswamy Pillai was nominated 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 ...

in 1926 representing the depressed classes. Under the presidency of V. I. Munusamy Pillai 'The All India DC Congress' (2nd Conference) was held at Nagpur in May 1932. He supported the policies 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 served as Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development in Rajaji's cabinet from 1937 to 1939.

Later life

Munuswamy Pillai retired from public life following the resignation of the Congress ministry in 1939. He returned to politics and was later elected to the

Indian Constituent Assembly The Constituent Assembly of India was elected to frame the Constitution of India. It was elected by the 'Provincial Assembly'. Following India's independence from the British rule in 1947, its members served as the nation's first Parliament as ...

from Madras in 1946. In the Constituent Assembly of India on 22 July 1947 for the adoption of the National Flag he said, "It is not to be the Flag of the rich or the wealthy but it is to be the Flag of the depressed, oppressed and submerged classes all over our country." He contested and lost the 1952 parliamentary elections from

Tindivanam Tindivanam is a town and a municipality in Viluppuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the second largest town in Villupuram District after the headquarters town Villupuram. Important roads from north to south (NH 45) Tami ...

as an Indian National Congress candidate.ECI report on 1951 election
/ref> He died on 14 December 1953 at the 63. A special resolution was passed by the

Madras Legislative Assembly The Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly is the unicameral legislature of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It has a strength of 234 members of whom are democratically elected using the First-past-the-post system. The presiding officer of the Assembl ...

condoling his death.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pillai, V. I. Munuswamy 1889 births 1953 deaths People from Ooty 20th-century Indian businesspeople Businesspeople from Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu politicians Indian independence activists from Tamil Nadu