S. P. Adithanar: Difference between revisions

Adithanar was born on 27 September 1905 at [[Kayamozhi]] in [[Tiruchendur]] Taluk of [[Tuticorin]] district to Sivanthi Adithanar  and Kanagam Ammayar as the heir of the Adityans, the highest aristocratic family among the [[Nadan (Nadar subcaste)|Nelamaikkarars]].<ref>{{cite book | title=The of Tamil Nadu| author=Robert Hardgrave| pages=149| publisher=University of California Press}}</ref> His father, Sivanthi Adithanar , was a lawyer. Adithan' sister, Vamasundari Devi, was mother of  Indian business man [[Shiv Nadar]].<ref>{{cite book | title=India's New Capitalists: Caste, Business, and Industry in a Modern Nation| author=Harish Damodharan| date=16 September 2008| pages=191| publisher=Palgrave Macmillan| isbn=978-0-230-20507-9}}</ref> He completed his schooling at [[Srivaikuntam]] and joined  [[St. Joseph's College, Trichy]]. After obtaining a [[Master of Arts|M. A]], he went to [[Middle Temple]], London to study law. He became a [[Barristers in England and Wales|barrister]] in 1933 and practised in Singapore (during 1933–42) and later in his home town Srivaikuntam. He married Govindammal in 1933.<ref>{{cite news|title=Memorials coming up for Adithanar, Ariyakudi Ramanuja Aiyangar |url=http://www.hindu.com/2005/09/28/stories/2005092806340500.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071205082101/http://www.hindu.com/2005/09/28/stories/2005092806340500.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=5 December 2007|work=[[The Hindu]]|date=28 September 2005}}</ref><ref name="malar">{{cite news|title=Tamilar Thanthai Si Pa Adithanar |url=http://www.maalaimalar.com/2009/04/10104103/Historical.html |work=Maalai Malar |date=10 April 2009 |language=ta |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090429102556/http://www.maalaimalar.com/2009/04/10104103/Historical.html |archive-date=29 April 2009 }}</ref><ref name="kaliyaperumal2">{{Cite book| last =Kaliyaperumal| first =M| title =The office of the speaker in Tamilnadu : A study| publisher =Madras University| year = 1992| pages =Appendices| url =http://dspace.vidyanidhi.org.in:8080/dspace/bitstream/2009/4880/5/MAU-1992-055-Appendices.pdf}}</ref>

In 1958, Adithan founded the "We Tamils" ([[Naam Tamilar Katchi#First Founding|நாம் தமிழர் கட்சி]]) party with the platform of forming a sovereign Tamil state. The party's stand was more radical than the [[Dravida Nadu]] demand of [[Periyar E. V. Ramasamy]]'s [[Dravidar Kazhagam]]. It wanted the creation of a homogeneous [[Greater Tamil Nadu]] incorporating Tamil speaking areas of India and [[Sri Lanka]]. The party's headquarters was named as 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 with [[M. P. Sivagnanam]]'s [[Tamil Arasu Kazhagam]] was also involved in the movement to change the name of the state from [[Madras State]] to [[Tamil Nadu]].<ref>{{cite book |first=Sumathy|last=Ramaswamy|year=1997|title= Passions of the tongue: language devotion in Tamil India, 1891–1970|publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]]|ISBN=978-0-520-20805-6|oclc=36084635|url=http://www.escholarship.org/editions/view?docId=ft5199n9v7&chunk.id=d0e7307&toc.id=ch4&toc.depth=1&brand=ucpress;query=%22we%20tamils%22&anchor.id=bn4.34#X |pages=Chapter.6}}</ref> Adithan lost the [[1962 Madras State legislative assembly election|1962 election]] from Tiruchendur<ref>[http://eci.nic.in/eci_main/StatisticalReports/SE_1962/StatRep_Madras_1962.pdf 1962 Madras State Election Results, Election Commission of India]</ref> and was elected to the Legislative Council in 1964.<ref name="kaliyaperumal2"/> The WT contested the [[1967 Madras State legislative assembly election|1967 election]] as an ally of the [[Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam]] (DMK) under the DMK's "Rising Sun" symbol. It elected four members to the Assembly, including Adithan, who won from [[Srivaikuntam (State Assembly Constituency)|Srivaikuntam]]. The party merged with the DMK in 1967.<ref name="malar"/><ref name="barnett">{{cite book | first=Marguerite| last=Ross Barnett| year= 1975| title= Electoral politics in the Indian states: party systems and cleavages| publisher=Manohar Book Service| pages=86| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YbkeAAAAMAAJ}}</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>