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	\| predecessor2 = [[Raja of Bobbili]]		\| predecessor2 = [[Raja of Bobbili]]
	\| successor2 = [[Raja of Bobbili]]		\| successor2 = [[Raja of Bobbili]]
	\| birth_date = 12 April 1892		\| birth_date = 22 April 1892
	\| birth_place = [[Uthamapalayam]], [[Madras Presidency]], [[British India]]		\| birth_place = [[Uthamapalayam]], [[Madras Presidency]], [[British India]]
	\| death_date = {{Death date and age\|df=yes\|1974\|09\|25\|1892\|04\|12}}		\| death_date = {{Death date and age\|df=yes\|1974\|09\|25\|1892\|04\|12}}
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	[[Category:20th-century Indian lawyers]]		[[Category:20th-century Indian lawyers]]
	[[Category:20th-century Indian politicians]]		[[Category:20th-century Indian politicians]]
	~~[[Category:State funerals in India]]~~

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{{Short description|Minister, President}}{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=September 2018}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix = Sir
| name = Ponnambala Thiaga Rajan
| honorific-suffix =
| image = PTRajan_at_Meenatchi_Amman_Temple_Kumbabisegam1.jpg
| caption = P. T. Rajan in 1934| imagesize = 200px
| order1 = Member of Madras Legislative Assembly for Cumbum
| term_start1 = 1952
| term_end1 = 1957
| governor1 = [[Sri Prakasa]],<br />[[A. J. John, Anaparambil]]
| premier1 = [[Chakravarti Rajagopalachari]],<br />[[K. Kamaraj]]
| predecessor1 =
| successor1 =
| order2 = 8th
| office2 = Chief Minister of Madras Presidency
| term_start2 = 4 April 1936
| term_end2 = 24 August 1936
| governor2 = [[John Erskine, Lord Erskine]], [[Kurma Venkata Reddy Naidu]] (acting)
| monarch2 =
| primeminister2 =
| predecessor2 = [[Raja of Bobbili]]
| successor2 = [[Raja of Bobbili]]
| birth_date = 12 April 1892
| birth_place = [[Uthamapalayam]], [[Madras Presidency]], [[British India]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1974|09|25|1892|04|12}}
| death_place = [[Madurai]], [[Tamil Nadu]], [[India]]
| nationality = [[India]]n
| party = [[Justice Party (India)|Justice Party]]
| alma_mater = [[The Leys School]], [[Cambridge]],<br />
[[Jesus College, Oxford]]
| profession = [[Lawyer]]
| occupation = [[Politician]]
| spouse =
| children = [[P. T. R. Palanivel Rajan]]
}}
'''Sir Ponnambala Thiaga Rajan''' (22 April 1892 – 25 September 1974) was the [[List of chief ministers of Madras Presidency|Chief Minister of Madras Presidency]] from 4 April 1936, to 24 August 1936 (143 Days).<ref name="listofchiefministers1">{{Cite web|url=http://www.worldstatesmen.org/India_BrProvinces.htm#Madras|title=Provinces of British India|access-date=2008-10-20|publisher=World Statesmen}}</ref><ref name="listofchiefministers2">{{Cite web|url=http://www.tn.gov.in/tnassembly/cmlist-1920.htm|title=List of Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu|access-date=2008-10-20|publisher=Government of Tamil Nadu}}</ref> He was also the last President of the Justice Party. P. T. Rajan was born in a Thondaimandala mudaliar family in Uthamapalayam. His ancestors were from Kanchipuram. He attended [[The Leys School, Cambridge]] and later, Jesus College, Oxford. He graduated in history and law, and practiced as an advocate for some time before joining the Justice Party.

Rajan was elected to the Madras Legislative Council as a Justice Party candidate in 1920 and served as a legislator till his defeat in 1937. He held various offices such as the Minister of Public Works and then, the Chief Minister of Madras Presidency. From 1939 to 1944, Rajan supported Periyar but broke off and headed the rebel Justice Party till 1957. Rajan was elected to the Madras Legislative Assembly in 1952 and served as a legislator from 1952 to 1957. Rajan died in 1974 at the age of 82.

Rajan's son [[Palanivel Rajan]] served as a minister of the [[Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam]] and speaker of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly from 1996 to 2001. Rajan's grandson Dr. [[Palanivel Thiagarajan|Palanivel Thiaga Rajan]] (son of [[P. T. R. Palanivel Rajan|Palanivel Rajan]]) is the finance minister of Tamil Nadu from May 2021.

== Early life ==

Ponnambala Thiaga Rajan<ref name="southindiancelebp54">[[#South Indian Celebrities|South Indian Celebrities]], Pg 54</ref> was born in 1892 in [[Theni]] and belonged to the [[Kondaikatti Vellalar]]<ref>{{cite book|title=South India|author=Christopher John Baker, D. A. Washbrook|publisher=Springer, 1976|page=174|quote=Similarly, the principal Kondaikatti-Thondamandala-Vellala association included among its leaders M. Subramania Mudaliar and his nephew P.T. Rajan from Madura, whom local political tactics had taken into the Justice Party.}}</ref> community. He was educated at [[The Leys School|Ley's School]],<ref name="timesofindiadir">{{cite book | title=The Times of India Directory and Year Book, Including Who's who| year=1977| publisher=Bennett, Coleman & Co.| page=982}}</ref> [[Cambridge]] and graduated in history <ref name="82nd_birthday_p237">{{cite book | title=Sir P. T. Rajan's Eighty Second Birthday Souvenir, 1973| last=Rajan| first=P. T.|author2=K. Paramasivam| year=1973| publisher=Justice Party| page=237}}</ref> from [[Jesus College, Oxford|Jesus College]], [[Oxford University]]<ref name="timesofindiadir" /><ref name="cambridge">{{cite book | title=The Cambridge Illustrated History of the British Empire| url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780521432115| url-access=registration| last=Marshall| first=Peter James| year=1996| publisher=Cambridge University| isbn=978-0-521-00254-7| page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780521432115/page/365 365]}}</ref> in 1915.<ref name="oxfordcalendar">{{cite book | title=Oxford University Calendar| year=1927| publisher=University of Oxford| page=802}}</ref> He later studied law at the Inner Temple and was called to the Bar in 1917<ref name="timesofindiadir" /> and practised as an advocate<ref name="timesofindiadir" /><ref name="cambridge" /> before joining the [[Justice Party (India)|Justice Party]] in the early 1920s.

== Political career ==

Rajan stood as a Justice Party candidate in the 1920 elections and was elected as a member of the [[Madras Legislative Council]]. He was also instrumental in getting [[W. P. A. Soundrapandian Nadar]] nominated to the Madras Legislative Council as a Justice Party nominee.<ref name="political_development_in_india">{{cite book | title=The Modernity of Tradition: Political Development in India| last=Rudolph| first=Susanne Hoeber| year=1984| publisher=University of Chicago| isbn=978-0-226-73137-7| page=48}}</ref>

=== In government ===

In 1930, when the Justice Party returned to power after a gap of 4 years, Rajan was appointed Minister of Public Works. He served as a minister in the governments of [[P. Munuswamy Naidu]] and the [[Ramakrishna Ranga Rao|Raja of Bobbili]].<ref name="encyclopediapoliticalpartiesp150">[[#Encycylopedia of Political Parties|Encyclopedia of Political Parties]], Pg 150</ref> On 4 April 1936, he succeeded the Raja of Bobbili as the Chief Minister of Madras Presidency and held the post till 24 August 1936, when the Raja of Bobbili once again became the chief minister.<ref name="listofchiefministers2" /> He was knighted on 1 February 1937.<ref>[https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/34365/supplement/1 London Gazette, 1 February 1937]</ref>

In 1939, he joined [[Periyar E. V. Ramasamy|Periyar]] and wholeheartedly supported his demand for secession from India.<ref name="georgejoseph">{{cite book | title=George Joseph, the Life and Times of a Kerala Christian Nationalist| last=Ghevergese Joseph| first=George| year=2003| publisher=Orient Blackswan| isbn=978-81-250-2495-8| page=231}}</ref> However, he broke off with a few others in 1944 when Periyar renamed the Justice Party as [[Dravidar Kazhagam]]. He was against the Principles of Periyar as Atheism and also since Periyar converted the political party into a non-political social organization.<ref name="georgejoseph" /><ref name="encylopediaofdalits">{{cite book | title=Encyclopaedia of Dalits in India| last=Rajawat| first=Mamta| year=2005| publisher=Anmol Publications PVT Ltd| isbn=978-81-261-2084-0| page=245}}</ref><ref name="madrasdistrictgazetteer">{{cite book|title=Madras District Gazetteers|first=B. S.|last=Baliga|page=136|publisher=Government of Madras|year=1957}}</ref>

=== As President of Justice Party ===

Rajan along with a few dissidents floated a new Justice Party and claimed that their organisation was the original Justice Party.<ref name="georgejoseph" /><ref name="madrasdistrictgazetteer" /><ref name="sociologyofpolitics">{{cite book|title=Sociology of Politics: Tradition and Politics in India|url=https://archive.org/details/sociologyofpolit0000bhas|url-access=registration|first=R.|last=Bhaskaran|publisher=Asia Publishing House|year=1967|pages=[https://archive.org/details/sociologyofpolit0000bhas/page/47 47]}}</ref> [[B. Ramachandra Reddi]], who was President of the Madras Legislative Council between 1930 and 1937 was tentatively elected Party President<ref name="politicaleconomyp172">{{cite book|title=Political economy of India: a study of land reforms policy in Andhra Pradesh|author=B. A. V. Sharma|pages=172|publisher=Light and Life Publishers|year=1980}}</ref> but resigned in 1945 and was succeeded by Rajan.<ref name="madrasdistrictgazetteer" /><ref name="salem_ethnohistory">{{cite book | title=Salem City: An Ethnohistory (1792–1992)| last=Nārāyaṇan̲| first=Ka Ilakkumi |author2=T. Gangadharan |author3=N. Chandrasekar | year=1999| pages=90| publisher=Vysya college}}</ref> The Justice Party did not contest in the 1946 Assembly elections <ref name="plasseytopartition">{{cite book|title=From Plassey to Partition: A History of Modern India|pages=349|first=Śekhara|last=Bandyopādhyāẏa|publisher=Orient Blackswan|ISBN=978-81-250-2596-2|year=2004}}</ref> but participated in the 1951 elections, the first as a part of independent India.<ref name="1951elections">{{cite web|title=Statistical report on General Election 1951 to the Legislative Assembly of Madras|url=http://www.eci.gov.in/StatisticalReports/SE_1951/STATISTICALREPORTS_51_MADRAS.pdf|format=PDF|publisher=Election Commission of India|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070217065636/http://www.eci.gov.in/StatisticalReports/SE_1951/STATISTICALREPORTS_51_MADRAS.pdf|archive-date=2007-02-17}}</ref><ref name="thehindu_1951elections">{{cite news|title=Not good practice|first=V. K.|last=Ramachandran|work=[[The Hindu]]|url=http://www.hindu.com/2004/04/24/stories/2004042402151000.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040620140158/http://www.hindu.com/2004/04/24/stories/2004042402151000.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=20 June 2004|date=24 April 2004|location=Chennai, India}}</ref> The Justice Party contested nine seats as an unrecognised state-level party of which the party won one.<ref name="1951elections" /> Rajan stood from Madurai North as well as Cumbum.<ref name="1951elections" /> While Rajan lost badly from Madurai North winning only 11% of the total votes polled and finished third, he won by a margin of 11,359 votes from Cumbum.<ref name="1951elections" /><ref name="thehindu_1951elections" /> The Justice Party did not contest in the 1957 Assembly elections and was eventually dissolved.<ref name="1957elections">{{cite web|title=Statistical report on General Election 1957 to the Legislative Assembly of Madras|url=http://www.eci.gov.in/StatisticalReports/SE_1957/StatRep_Madras_1957.pdf|format=PDF|publisher=Election Commission of India|access-date=1 January 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070217065415/http://www.eci.gov.in/StatisticalReports/SE_1957/StatRep_Madras_1957.pdf|archive-date=17 February 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Rajan contested as an independent from Uthamapalayam in the 1957 Assembly elections and polled 24,256 votes losing to K. Pandiaraj of the Indian National Congress by a margin of 6,303 votes.<ref name="1957elections" /> Rajan did not contest any more elections after the defeat.

== Political activism and ideology ==

P. T. Rajan, as a leading non-Brahmin leader, supported the appointment of non-Brahmin trustees to temples in Tamil Nadu.<ref name="tyagaraja_cult">{{cite book | title=The Tyāgarāja cult in Tamilnāḍu: A Study in Conflict and Accommodation| last=Ghose| first=Rajeshwari| year=1996| publisher=Motilal Banarsidass| ISBN=978-81-208-1391-5| page=350}}</ref> In the early 1950s, through his efforts, the present panchaloha idol of Lord Iyappan was installed at Sabarimalai and a procession was taken all over [[Madras state]].<ref name="faces_of_murukan">{{cite book | title=The Many Faces of Murukan̲: The History and Meaning of a South Indian God| last=W. Clothey| first=Fred|author2=A. K. Ramanujan| year=1978| publisher=Walter De Gruyter| isbn=978-90-279-7632-1| page=201}}</ref><ref name="palanivelrajan_obituary1">{{cite news|title=Madurai mourns its colossal boss|url=http://www.hindu.com/2006/05/21/stories/2006052106160400.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070514063306/http://www.hindu.com/2006/05/21/stories/2006052106160400.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=14 May 2007|first=S. Vijay|last=Kumar|date=21 May 2006|work=[[The Hindu]]|location=Chennai, India}}</ref> A road in [[K. K. Nagar, Chennai]] has been named in his memory as "Sir P.T. Rajan Road".<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20121104103820/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2010-11-19/chennai/28231429_1_road-restoration-work-anna-main-road-metrowater-official Gravediggers on the prowl on KK Nagar roads]</ref>

== Family ==

P. T. Rajan's uncle M. T. Subramania Mudaliar of Uthamapalayam was a member of the Dravidian Association and one of the early leaders of the Non-Brahmin Movement. He was always consulted with regard to the choice of Ministers by early Chief Ministers such as the Raja of Panagal.<ref name="encyclopediaofpoliticalpartiesp128">[[#Encyclopedia of Political Parties|Encyclopedia of Political Parties]], Pg 128</ref>

P. T. Rajan's son [[P. T. R. Palanivel Rajan|Palanivel Rajan]] was a politician of the [[Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam]].<ref name="palanivelrajan_obituary1" /> He served as the Speaker of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly from 1996 to 2001<ref name="palanivelspeaker">{{Cite web|url=http://www.tn.gov.in/tnassembly/assembly96/archives/assembly96.htm|title=Tamil Nadu 11th Assembly 1996–2001|access-date=2008-10-22|publisher=Government of Tamil Nadu}}</ref> and In 2006, he served as the Minister for Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments in the Government of [[M. Karunanidhi]] briefly before his death on 20 May 2006.<ref name="palanivelrajan_obituary1" /><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.hindu.com/2006/05/21/stories/2006052107730100.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060721095557/http://www.hindu.com/2006/05/21/stories/2006052107730100.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=21 July 2006|title=P.T.R.Rajan Passes Away|date=21 May 2006 |work=[[The Hindu]]| location=Chennai, India}}</ref> Rajan's grandson Dr. [[Palanivel Thiagarajan|Palanivel Thiaga Rajan]] (son of [[P. T. R. Palanivel Rajan|Palanivel Rajan]]) is the finance minister of Tamil nadu from 07.05.2021.
== Criticism ==

Rajan's lavish spendings as Minister for Development under the Munuswamy Naidu regime at the height of the [[Great Depression]] along with those of others, invited the wrath of the [[News media|media]].

The newspaper ''India'' reported in the 25 March 1932 edition:

{{quotation|When the country is on fire, when the axe of retrenchment has fallen on the poor and when the people are experiencing intense suffering under the heavy burden of taxation, the Madras ministers have started on their tours immediately after passing of the Budget. The tour of Honourable Mr. P. T. Rajan causes us heart-burning. We have to feel sorry that the Ministers have been reduced to such a deplorable state. Mr. Rajan is going to Hindupur today which is at a distance of 400 miles from Madras for laying the foundation stone for a Taluk Board School. For this trivial affair, the Minister is squandering the money of the poor tax payer<ref name="colonialeconomy185">{{cite book | title=A Colonial Economy in the Great Depression, Madras (1929–1937)| last=Manikumar| first=K. A.| year=2003| publisher=Orient Blackswan| isbn=978-81-250-2456-9| page=185}}</ref><ref name="colonialeconomy186">{{cite book | title=A Colonial Economy in the Great Depression, Madras (1929–1937)| last=Manikumar| first=K. A.| year=2003| publisher=Orient Blackswan| isbn=978-81-250-2456-9| page=186}}</ref>}}

== Notes ==

{{reflist|refs=https://www.news18.com/news/politics/madurai-central-election-result-2021-live-updates-madurai-central-winner-loser-leading-trailing-mla-margin-3697217.html}}

== References ==

* {{cite book | title=South Indian Celebrities Vol 1| last=Balasubramaniam| first=K. M.| year=1934| publisher=Solden & Co.| location=Madras|ref=South Indian Celebrities}}
* {{cite book | title=Encyclopaedia of Political Parties| last=Ralhan| first=O. P. | year=2002| publisher=Anmol Publications PVT. LTD| isbn=978-81-7488-865-5|ref=Encyclopedia of Political Parties}}

{{s-start}}
{{succession box | before= | title=Member of the [[Madras Legislative Council]] | after= | years= 1920 - 1937}}
{{succession box | before= [[M. R. Sethuratnam Iyer]] | title=Minister of Development, Public Works and Registration<br /> (Madras Presidency)| after= [[Maulana Yakub Hasan Sait]] | years=1930 - 1937}}
{{succession box | before= [[Ramakrishna Ranga Rao|Raja of Bobbili]] | title=[[List of chief ministers of Madras Presidency#Madras Presidency|Chief Minister of Madras Presidency]] | after= [[Ramakrishna Ranga Rao|Raja of Bobbili]] | years=4 April 1936 – 24 August 1936}}
{{succession box | before= [[E. V. Ramasami]] | title=President of the [[South Indian Liberal Federation]] | after= Party dissolved | years=1945 - 1957}}
{{succession box | before= None | title=Member of the Madras Legislative Assembly for Cumbum | after= | years=1952 - 1957}}
{{s-end}}

{{Dravidian politics-hor}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rajan, P. T.}}
[[Category:Politicians from Madurai]]
[[Category:1892 births]]
[[Category:1974 deaths]]
[[Category:Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford]]
[[Category:Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu]]
[[Category:Indian barristers]]
[[Category:Knights Bachelor]]
[[Category:Tamil Nadu politicians]]
[[Category:Indian knights]]
[[Category:People from Theni district]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian lawyers]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian politicians]]
[[Category:State funerals in India]]

P. T. Rajan - Revision history

49.204.138.143 at 07:24, 12 April 2022

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