Si. Pa. Adithanar | |
|---|---|
 Si. Pa. Adithanar | |
| Minister for Co-operation (Government of Tamil Nadu) | |
| In office 1968–1977 | |
| Preceded by | S. Madhavan |
| Member of Legislative Assembly | |
| In office 1967–1977 | |
| Preceded by | A. P. C. Veerabahu |
| Succeeded by | K. Sathu Selvaraj |
| Constituency | Srivaikuntam |
| In office 1957–1962 | |
| Preceded by | K. T. Kosalram |
| Succeeded by | K. T. Kosalram |
| Constituency | Sathankulam |
| In office 1952–1957 | |
| Preceded by | NA |
| Succeeded by | M. S. Selvaraj |
| Constituency | Tiruchendur |
| Speaker of Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly | |
| In office 1967–1968 | |
| Preceded by | S. Chellapandian |
| Succeeded by | Pulavar K. Govindan |
| Member of Madras Legislative Council | |
| In office 1947–1952 | |
| In office 1964–1967 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 27 September 1905 Kayamozhi,Madras Presidency,British India |
| Died | 24 May 1981(1981-05-24) (aged 75) |
| Political party | Kisan Mazdoor Praja Party (1952) Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (1967) |
| Spouse | Govindammal |
| Children | 3, includingSivanthi |
| Relatives | K. P. Kandasamy (son-in-law) K. P. K. Kumaran (grandson) Shiv Nadar (Nephew) |
| Occupation | Media proprietorPolitician |
Si. Balasubramania Athithan (also known asSi. Ba. Adithanar, born. 27 September 1905 – 24 May 1981), popularly called "Adithanar", was an Indian media proprietor, lawyer, politician, former minister and founder of theTamil daily newspaperDina Thanthi. He was the founder of the We Tamils (Tamil:நாம் தமிழர்) party. He served as a member of theMadras Legislative Council for two terms and as a member of theTamil Nadu Legislative Assembly for four terms. He was theSpeaker of the Assembly during 1967–68 and Tamil Nadu's minister for Cooperation in theM. Karunanidhi cabinets of 1969 and 1971. In his memory, two Tamil literary awards were created and are awarded annually by his son,Sivanthi Adithanar (former Director of theDina Thanthi group).
Adithanar was born on 27 September 1905 atKayamozhi inTiruchendur Taluk ofTuticorin district to Sivanthi Adithanar and Kanagam Ammayar as the heir of the Adityans, the highest aristocratic family among theNelamaikkarars.[1] His father, Sivanthi Adithanar, was a lawyer. Adithanar's sister, Vamasundari Devi, was mother of Indian businessmanShiv Nadar.[2] He completed his schooling atSrivaikuntam and joinedSt. Joseph's College, Trichy. After obtaining aM. A, he went toMiddle Temple, London to study law. He became abarrister in 1933 and practised in Singapore (during 1933–42) and later in his home town Srivaikuntam. He married Govindammal in 1933.[3][4][5]
Adithanar returned to India in 1942 whenSingapore fell to the Japanese. He established a Tamil weekly magazine,Tamizhan, and a daily newspaper,Thanthi, in November 1942. He set out to found a Tamil daily along the lines of the English tabloidDaily Mirror, inspired by theMirror's reach of a large audience. He establishedDina Thanthi (lit. The Daily Telegraph) fromMadurai in 1942 and it went on to become the flagship of his newspaper business. He expanded operations by opening additional editions inTirunelveli,Madras,Salem andTiruchirapalli in the 1940s. By bringing out local editions,Dina Thanthi helped deliver news on the same day to the people in southern districts of Tamil Nadu, who until then had to read day-old newspapers printed inMadras.[6] The paper was popular and it was said that people learned to read theTamil language to read the newspaper.[7] The simplified language introduced by the paper helped it gain new readership.[8]
Other publications from Adithanar'sDina Thanthi group include the evening dailyMaalai Murasu (lit. The Evening Drum), the weekly magazineRani and the monthly novel imprintRani Muthu.[4]
Adithanar started the "Tamil Rajyam" party in 1942. During 1947–52, he was a member of theMadras Legislative Council. He contested and won the1952 election fromTiruchendur as a candidate ofT. Prakasam'sKisan Mazdoor Praja Party.[9] He was elected as an independent candidate in the1957 election fromSathankulam.[4][10]
In 1958, Adithanar founded the "We Tamils" (நாம் தமிழர் கட்சி) party with the platform of forming a sovereign Tamil state. It wanted the creation of a homogeneousGreater Tamil Nadu incorporating Tamil-speaking areas of India andSri Lanka. The party's headquarters was named Tamiḻaṉ Illam (lit. The Home of the Tamilian). In 1960, the party organised statewide protests for the secession of Madras and the establishment of a sovereign Tamil Nadu. The protests were marked by the burning of maps of India (with Tamil Nadu left out). Adithanar was arrested for organising them. The party along withM. P. Sivagnanam'sTamil Arasu Kazhagam was also involved in the movement to change the name of the state fromMadras State toTamil Nadu.[11] Adithanar lost the1962 election from Tiruchendur[12] and was elected to the Legislative Council in 1964.[5] The WT contested the1967 election as an ally of theDravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) under the DMK's "Rising Sun" symbol. It elected four members to the Assembly, including Adithanar, who won fromSrivaikuntam. The party merged with the DMK in 1967.[4][13][14]
On 17 March 1967, Adithanar became thespeaker of the assembly defeating theSwatantra Party candidate K. S. Kothandaramiah, by 153 votes to 21. While he was the speaker he attended the DMK political conference held atTanjore in 1968 and also took part in political activities in his constituency. Due to these activities, the opposition parties accused him of partisanship. He defended himself as:[15]
I am as much as a politician as leader of the opposition is and as such, I can not refrain myself from the party activities of the DMK with whose support and under whose symbol I have been elected to the Assembly. But it does not mean that I am partial and partisan.
Due to this controversy, Adithanar resigned as speaker on 12 August 1968.
Adithanar became the Minister for Cooperation in theM. Karunanidhi cabinet, which took power in February 1969. He was re-elected from Srivaikuntam in the1971 elections and continued as the Minister for Cooperation.[4][16]
The DMK split in 1972, withM. G. Ramachandran forming theAnna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (ADMK). Adithanar supported the ADMK.[6] He contested and lost the1977 election[17] as an ADMK supported independent fromSathankulam.[18] He also lost the1980 election from Srivaikuntam.[19]
| Year | Status | Constituency | Party | Votes | Runner-up/winner | Party | Votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1957 | Winner | Sathankulam | IND | 33,636 | S. Kandasamy | INC | 22,429 |
| 1962 | 2nd | Tiruchendur | Naam Tamilar | 27,994 | M. S. Selvarajan | INC | 39,994 |
| 1967 | Winner | Srivaikuntam | DMK | 41,828 | R. Nadar | INC | 22,767 |
| 1971 | Winner | Srivaikuntam | DMK | 37,329 | R. A. R. Annamalai | NCO | 27,724 |
| 1977 | 2nd | Sathankulam | IND | 17,507 | R. Jebamani | JNP | 18,362 |
| 1980 | 3rd | Srivaikuntam | IND | 12,119 | E. Ramasubramanian | ADMK | 26,502 |
Adithanar died on 24 May 1981. In 2005, the then Tamil Nadu Chief Minister,J. Jayalalitha announced that his home in Srivaikuntam, built in 1928, would be converted into a memorial. He is survived by two sons. B. Ramachandran Adityan (founder ofDevi Weekly) and B. Sivanthi Adityan.[20][21] On his birthday every year, theS. P. Adithanar Senior Tamil Scholar Award of Rs. 300,000 and theS. P. Adithanar Literary Award of Rs. 200,000 are awarded to Tamil scholars and people who excel in literature by Adithanar's son and the current director of theDina Thanthi group,Sivanthi Adithan.[7] A road inChennai, connectingEgmore toAnna Salai, was named "Adithanar Salai" in his memory.[22]
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