->Nitesh003 at 04:39, 31 October 2021

2021-10-31T04:39:25Z

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{{Short description|Indian politician}}
{{More citations needed|date=December 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=September 2019}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = K. A. Mathiazhagan
| image =
| caption = [[M. Karunanidhi]], [[C. N. Annadurai]] and [[K. A. Mathialagan]]
| birth_name =Kaniyur A. Somasundaram
| birth_date = {{birth date |1926|12|07|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Kaniyur, Tamil Nadu|Kaniyur]], [[Coimbatore]], [[Tamil Nadu]], [[India]]
| residence =
| death_date = {{death date and age|1983|08|17|1926|12|7|df=y}}
| death_place =
| office1 = [[Speaker (politics)|Speaker of Tamil Nadu legislative assembly]]
| term_start1 = 1971
| term_end1 = 1972
| constituency1 =
| predecessor1 =
| successor1 =
| office2 = [[Minister of Finance]] ([[Government of Tamil Nadu]])
| term_start2 = 1969
| term_end2 = 1970
| constituency2 =
| predecessor2 =
| successor2 =
| office3 = [[Minister (government)|Minister of Food, Revenue and Commercial Taxes]] ([[Government of Tamil Nadu]])
| term_start3 = 1967
| term_end3 = 1969
| constituency3 =
| predecessor3 =
| successor3 =
| spouse = Mrs. Raja Sundari Mathialagan
| children = Late Mrs. Aruna Seralathan, Mrs. Malarvizhi Udayakumar, Mrs. Theanmozhi Yatish and Mr. Udhaya Suriyan
| nationality = [[India]]n
| footnotes =
| date=
| year =
| source =
}}

'''K. A. Mathiazhagan''' was an Indian politician and Co-Founder of the [[Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam]] (DMK). He served as the Finance Minister, Minister of Food, Revenue and Commercial Taxes in the Tamil Nadu government and Speaker of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly.

== Biography ==
He was born on 7 December 1926 in [[Kaniyur, Tamil Nadu|Kaniyur]] in [[Coimbatore district]] (now [[Tiruppur district]]) as Somasunduram. He studied at the Boarding High School in [[Udumalpet]]. He graduated from [[Annamalai University]]. He also studied law and practiced as a lawyer. He was the younger brother of K. A. Murugesan, a Dravidar Kazhagam (DK) leader<ref>{{cite book | title=Mamanithar Mathialagan| language= ta| author=Dr.K.M.Selvaraj| year=2006| pages=18| publisher=Kaniyur pathipagam}}</ref> and the elder brother of [[K. A. Krishnaswamy]] who later on became a minister in the M.G.R. government.<ref name="who is who">{{Cite web |url=http://dspace.vidyanidhi.org.in:8080/dspace/bitstream/2009/4880/10/MAU-1992-055-Appendices.pdf |title=Tamil Nadu legislative assembly, who is who, 1971 |access-date=6 December 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721181413/http://dspace.vidyanidhi.org.in:8080/dspace/bitstream/2009/4880/10/MAU-1992-055-Appendices.pdf |archive-date=21 July 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last =Karunanidhi|first= M.| author-link = M. Karunanidhi| title=Reply to the memoranda presented to the President of India| year=1972| pages=10| url =https://books.google.com/books?client=firefox-a&cd=1&id=Um4KAQAAIAAJ&dq=k+a+mathialagan+brother&q=krishnasami#search_anchor}}</ref> Their family is called "The Kaniyur Family" or the "Kaniyur Kudumbam" and was referred to as the foremost family of the Dravidian Movement by C. N. Annadurai, as a recognition given to the family for their contributions to the Dravidian Movement.{{citation needed|date=November 2011}}. He died on 17 August 1983 and at the age of 57 years.

== Political life ==
When [[C. N. Annadurai]] split from the DK and went on to form the DMK, Mathiazhagan became one of the founding leaders of the DMK along with Annadurai, [[V. R. Nedunchezhiyan]], [[E. V. K. Sampath]] and [[N. V. Natarajan]]. Mathialagan along with the other four founding leaders is famously referred to as the "Aimberum Thalaivargal" after the mummunai struggle in 1950's (Five Great Leaders or Heads). He went on to become one of the early influential members of the DMK.<ref>{{cite book | title=Historical dictionary of the Tamils| url=https://archive.org/details/historicaldictio00rama| url-access=limited| author=Vijaya Ramaswamy| year=2007| pages=[https://archive.org/details/historicaldictio00rama/page/n130 60]| publisher=Scarecrow Press, Inc.}}</ref> He was elected to the [[Tamil Nadu legislative assembly]] from [[Thousand Lights (State Assembly Constituency)|Thousand Lights constituency]] as a DMK candidate in the [[1962 Tamil Nadu state assembly election|1962]], [[1967 Tamil Nadu state assembly election|1967]], and [[1971 Tamil Nadu state assembly election|1971]] elections.<ref>[http://eci.nic.in/eci_main/StatisticalReports/SE_1962/StatRep_Madras_1962.pdf 1962 Madras State Election Results, Election Commission of India]</ref><ref>[http://eci.nic.in/eci_main/StatisticalReports/SE_1967/Statistical%20Report%20Madras%201967.pdf 1967 Tamil Nadu Election Results, Election Commission of India]</ref><ref>[http://eci.nic.in/eci_main/StatisticalReports/SE_1971/StatReport_TN_71.pdf 1971 Tamil Nadu Election Results, Election Commission of India]</ref>

=== Electoral history ===
{| width="95%" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" border="1" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: 2px #000000 solid; font-size: x-big; font-family: verdana"
! style="background-color:#CCCCCC; color:black"|Election
! style="background-color:#CCCCCC; color:black"|Constituency
! style="background-color:#CCCCCC; color:black"|Winner
! style="background-color:#CCCCCC; color:black"|Votes
! style="background-color:#CCCCCC; color:black"|Party
! style="background-color:#CCCCCC; color:black"|Runner-up
! style="background-color:#CCCCCC; color:black"|Votes
! style="background-color:#CCCCCC; color:black"|Party
! style="background-color:#CCCCCC; color:black"|Status
|--
|[[1962 Madras legislative assembly election|1962]]
|[[Thousand Lights (State Assembly Constituency)|Thousand lights]]
|K. A. Mathiazhagan
|27,984
|[[Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam|DMK]]
|Indrani Changalvarayan
|25,609
|[[Indian National Congress|INC]]
|Won
|--
|[[1967 Tamil Nadu state assembly election|1967]]
|[[Thousand Lights (State Assembly Constituency)|Thousand lights]]
|K. A. Mathiazhagan
|39,518
|[[Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam|DMK]]
|M. Sivaraj
|25,370
|[[Indian National Congress|INC]]
|Won
|--
|[[1971 Tamil Nadu state assembly election|1971]]
|[[Thousand Lights (State Assembly Constituency)|Thousand lights]]
|K. A. Mathiazhagan
|38,891
|[[Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam|DMK]]
|N. M. Mani Varma
|27,332
|[[Indian National Congress (Organisation)|NCO]]
|Won
|}

== Tamil Nadu minister ==
He served as a minister of Food, Revenue and Commercial Taxes in [[C. N. Annadurai]]'s administration from 6 March 1967 to 10 February 1969.<ref name="refannual">{{cite book | year= 1968| title=India, a reference annual| publisher= Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting| pages=447| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XE7VAAAAMAAJ}}</ref> He also served as Minister of Finance in [[M. Karunanidhi]]'s administration after the Annadurai's death. In September 1970 he resigned from the cabinet, citing moral and ethical issues after charges of corruption, involving the purchase of a bungalow, were brought upon him by the opposition. These charges were later on proved to be false.<ref>{{cite book | title=Mamanithar Mathialagan| language= ta| author=Dr.K.M.Selvaraj| year=2006| pages=56| publisher=Kaniyur pathipagam}}</ref> It is claimed in some quarters{{Who|date=December 2009}}, that these charges were leveled against him because he was considered to be a threat to Karunanidhi's leadership.<ref name="Duncan">{{cite journal | title=Factions and Filmstars: Tamil Nadu Politics since 1971| author=Duncan Forrester| journal=Asian Survey| year=1976| volume=16|issue=3| pages=283–296| jstor=2643545| doi=10.1525/as.1976.16.3.01p01703}}</ref>

== Speaker ==
He served as the Speaker of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly from 1971 to 1972.<ref name="india_speakerslist">{{cite web|title=Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly: Details of terms of successive Legislative Assemblies constituted under the Constitution of India |url=http://www.assembly.tn.gov.in/archive/list/assemblies-overview.htm |publisher=Government of Tamil Nadu |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006083126/http://www.assembly.tn.gov.in/archive/list/assemblies-overview.htm |archive-date=2014-10-06 }}</ref><ref name="tamilnadu_speakerslist">{{cite web|title=Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly: Details of terms of successive Legislative Assemblies constituted under the Constitution of India|publisher=Government of India|url=http://legislativebodiesinindia.nic.in/STATISTICAL/tamilnadu.htm|access-date=3 April 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090409221838/http://legislativebodiesinindia.nic.in/STATISTICAL/tamilnadu.htm|archive-date=9 April 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[M. G. Ramachandran]] was expelled from the DMK on 10 October 1972 and founded the party [[Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam]] (AIADMK). Mathiazhagan, the then speaker of the Tamil Nadu assembly, became an open supporter of Ramachandran.<ref>[http://dspace.vidyanidhi.org.in:8080/dspace/bitstream/2009/4880/5/MAU-1992-055-4.pdf Chapter IV Office of the Speaker, Tamil Nadu legislative assembly] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721181440/http://dspace.vidyanidhi.org.in:8080/dspace/bitstream/2009/4880/5/MAU-1992-055-4.pdf |date=2011-07-21 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.expressindia.com/news/columnists/full_column.php?content_id=67021| title=Executive dunnit: When the executive uses compliant speakers to subvert the will of the House| publisher=The Indian Express| date=24 March 2005| access-date=9 December 2009}}</ref>

In 1972, he echoed the popular sentiment of that time, that the government had lost its credibility with the people, while being the speaker of the house. A rarity considering the fact that he was speaking the truth against his own party and by default jeopardising his own political future. This was followed by a constitutional drama which happened in late 1972 in the house. On 14 November, Mathiazhagan advised the then chief minister, M.Karunanidhi, to dissolve the house and face the electorate if the government was to earn its lost credibility. Unable to take the bitter truth, Karunanidhi caused the adjournment of the house against all norms. Mathiazhagan and Ramachandran, the leader of the AIADMK in the assembly, filed a writ petition questioning the validity of the whole action . On 2 December, when the assembly was re convened, both Speaker and Deputy Speaker were presiding over the proceedings and both were cancelling each other's actions. After hours of confusion Speaker Mathiazhagan left the house, adjourning the house. At this juncture, Karunanidhi, based on a motion authored in the name of V.R.Nedunchelian, declared that K.A.Mathiazhagan was removed from the post of the Speaker.

He returned to DMK in 1974 and acted as deputy chairperson of planning commission of Tamil Nadu in the Kalaingar government. He acted as deputy general secretary of DMK till his last day.
== Notes ==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mathiazhagan, K. A.}}
[[Category:1926 births]]
[[Category:1983 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Tiruppur district]]
[[Category:Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam politicians]]
[[Category:Speakers of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly]]

K. A. Mathiazhagan - Revision history

->Nitesh003 at 04:39, 31 October 2021