K. Anbazhagan: Difference between revisions

| term_start = 1977

'''Kalyanasundaram Anbazhagan''' (19 December 1922 – 7 March 2020) was an Indian politician. He was a long-standing leader of the [[Dravidian movement]]<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/tamil-nadu/2020/mar/07/end-of-an-era-k-anbazhagans-demise-leaves-vacuum-in-dravidian-politics-2113607.html | title=End of an era: K Anbazhagan's demise leaves vacuum in Dravidian politics | publisher=New Indian Express | date=7 March 2020 | access-date=7 March 2020}}</ref> and was the [[General Secretary]] of [[Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam]] party for nine terms. He has held several cabinet ministerial portfolios in the Tamil Nadu government under [[M. Karunanidhi]] including Finance, Education and Health and Social Welfare. He was elected as a member of the [[Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly]] on nine occasions. He was earlier elected to the [[Lok Sabha]] the [[lower house]] of [[Parliament of India|India's Parliament]] from [[Tiruchengode (Lok Sabha constituency)|Tiruchengode]] and was also a member of the [[Madras Legislative Council]]. He was popularly referred to as ''Perasiriyar'' (Professor), though he was a Lecturer in Tamil in [[Pachaiyappa's College]] before resigning to contest elections in 1957.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.ndtv.com/tamil-nadu-news/dmk-general-secretary-k-anbazhagan-dies-at-97-in-chennai-2191313 | title=DMK General Secretary K Anbazhagan Dies At 97 In Chennai | publisher=NDTV | date=7 March 2020 | access-date=9 March 2020}}</ref>

 

Anbazhagan was born in Kattoor near [[Thiruvarur]] in [[Tanjore District (Madras Presidency)|Tanjore district]] (now [[Thiruvarur District]]) of [[Madras Presidency]], [[British India]] on 19 December 1922 to M. Kalyanasundaranar and Swarnambal as Ramaiah. He changed his name to Anbazhagan influenced by the Pure Tamil Movement led by Tamil scholar [[Maraimalai Adigal]]. He came into limelight in 1942 when he addressed a [[Justice Party (India)|Justice Party]] meeting in [[Thiruvarur]] as a student after being requested by [[C. N. Annadurai]] and here he came into contact with [[M. Karunanidhi]] for the first time.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/tamil-nadu/2020/mar/07/from-tiruvarur-to-marina-the-platinum-jubilee-friendship-of-karunanidhi-and-anbazhagan-2113692.html | title=From Tiruvarur to Marina: The platinum jubilee friendship of Karunanidhi and Anbazhagan | publisher=New Indian Express | date=7 March 2020 | access-date=7 March 2020}}</ref> He did  his [[Master of Arts]] in Tamil from [[Annamalai University]] and joined [[Pachaiyappa's College]] as a lecturer in Tamil in 1944.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/dmk-general-secretary-anbazhagan-no-more/article31004456.ece | title=DMK general secretary Anbazhagan no more | publisher=The Hindu | work=B Kolappan | date=7 March 2009 | access-date=9 March 2020}}</ref>

 

Anbazhagan resigned as a Professor from [[Pachaiyappa's College]] to contest elections and was elected from [[Egmore (state assembly constituency)|Egmore]] to the Madras Legislative Assembly in 1957. He was a member of the Madras legislative council between 1962–1967 and a close confidant of the DMK founder [[C. N. Annadurai]].   He was a member of [[Lok Sabha]] between 1967–1971. In 1971, he served as Social Welfare minister of Tamil Nadu. He had given up his M.L.A. position, representing [[Park Town (State Assembly Constituency)|Park Town]] constituency, in 1984 putting forward the [[Tamil Eelam]] issue.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/perasiriyar-k-anbazhagan-passes-away-97-end-era-dmk-politics-119686 | title='Perasiriyar' K Anbazhagan passes away at 97, end of an era for DMK politics | publisher=The News Minute | date=7 March 2020 | access-date=7 March 2020}}</ref> He was elected from Harbour constituency in 1996, 2001 and 2006.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.elections.in/tamil-nadu/assembly-constituencies/harbour.html | title=Harbour (Tamil Nadu) Election Results 2016 | publisher=Elections | access-date=8 March 2020}}</ref>

 

==Personal life==

Anbazhagan lived with his wife Santhakumari in Shanthi Colony, Anna Nagar, Chennai. he died on 7 March 2020 at age 97 due to [[diabetes mellitus]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Veteran DMK Leader K. Anbazhagan Passes Away at 97|url=https://thewire.in/politics/veteran-dmk-leader-k-anbazhagan-passes-away-at-97|access-date=2020-06-19|website=The Wire}}</ref>

 

On 24 February 2020, his health deteriorated and became "extremely critical and unstable", and he was admitted at [[Apollo Hospital]] in [[Chennai]] for treatment.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/dmk-general-secretary-anbazhagan-no-more/article31004456.ece |title=DMK general secretary Anbazhagan no more |work=The Hindu |access-date=7 March 2020}}</ref> He died there at 1:05 a.m. on 7 March 2020 due to age-related illness, which led to multiple organ failure. His political party [[Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam]] declared a seven-day mourning after his death.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-dmk-general-secretary-k-anbazhagan-passes-away-at-97-in-chennai-2816341 | title=DMK general secretary K Anbazhagan passes away at 97 in Chennai | work=[[Daily News and Analysis]] | date=7 March 2020 | access-date=9 March 2020}}</ref>

He has sound knowledge of [[Tamil literature|Tamil poetry]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/anbazhagan-struck-a-balance-between-literature-and-politics/article31018446.ece | title=Anbazhagan struck a balance between literature and politics | publisher=The Hindu | work=B Kolappan | date=9 March 2020 | access-date=9 March 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.dtnext.in/News/TopNews/2020/03/07011619/1218789/DMK-veteran-leader-K-Anbazhagan-passes-away.vpf | title=DMK veteran leader K Anbazhagan passes away | publisher=Daily Thanthi | date=7 March 2020 | access-date=7 March 2020}}</ref> Some of his published works include: