Shanmugha Rajeswara Sethupathi (9 November 1909 – 4 March 1967) or Naganatha Sethupathi was an Indian politician of the Justice Party and later, the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

and head of the ''

zamindari A zamindar in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semi-autonomous Indian feudalism, feudal lord of a ''zamindari'' (feudal estate). The term itself came into use during the Mughal Empire, when Persian language, Persian was the offi ...

'' of

Ramnad Ramanathapuram (), also known as Ramnad, is a city Municipal Corporation in Ramanathapuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of Ramanathapuram district and the second largest town (by population) ...

or Ramnad kingdom from 1929 to 1967. He was a member of the Madras Legislative Assembly from 1951 to 1967 and served as a minister in

C. Rajagopalachari Chakravarti Rajagopalachari (10 December 1878 – 25 December 1972), popularly known as Rajaji or C.R., also known as Mootharignar Rajaji (Rajaji'', the Scholar Emeritus''), was an Indian statesman, writer, lawyer, and Indian independence ...

and

K. Kamaraj Kumaraswami Kamaraj (15 July 1903 – 2 October 1975), popularly known as Kamarajar was an Indian independence activist and politician who served as the Chief Minister of Madras from 13 April 1954 to 2 October 1963. He also served as the pr ...

's cabinets. He was popular as the main political opponent of U. Muthuramalingam Thevar. Sethupathi had a passionate liking for horses and was a fine sportsman. He represented the Madras cricket team in four

first-class matches First class (or 1st class, Firstclass) generally implies a high level of service, importance or quality. Specific uses of the term include: Books and comics * ''First Class'', a comic strip in ''The Dandy'' (1983-1998) * ''X-Men: First Class' ...

Early life

Shanmugha Rajeswara Sethupathi was born to Raja Rajeswara Sethupathi or Muthuramalinga Sethupathi who ruled the estate of Ramnad on 9 November 1909. Shanmugha Rajeswara Sethupathi had an English education and graduated in law. He succeeded to the throne on the death of his father in 1929. As soon as Shanmugha took over the administration of the estate, the land became embroiled in a number of disputes and lengthy court cases. Between 1935 and 1945, the estate was administered by the Court of Wards.

Politics

Electoral records

He served as the

Member of the Legislative Assembly A Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected to sit in a legislative assembly. The term most commonly refers to members of the legislature of a federated state or an autonomous region, but is also used for several nation ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

. He was elected to the

Tamil Nadu legislative assembly The Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly is the unicameral legislature of the India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It has a strength of 234 members, all of whom are democratically elected using the first-past-the-post system. The presiding office ...

as an

candidate from Ramanathapuram constituency in

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, ...

and

1962 elections The following elections occurred in 1962. Africa * 1962 Algerian independence referendum, Algerian independence referendum * 1962 Chadian parliamentary election * 1962 Gambian legislative election, Gambian legislative election * 1962 Northern ...

and as an Independent candidate in 1957 election.1957 Madras State Election Results, Election Commission of India

Justice Party

Shanmugha Rajeswara Sethupathi joined politics at an early age. He was elected to the

Madras Legislative Council Tamil Nadu Legislative Council was the upper house of the former bicameral legislature of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It began its existence as Madras Legislative Council, the first provincial legislature for Madras Presidency. It was initia ...

as a candidate of the Justice Party and served as a member of the Madras Legislative Council until 1937 when he lost to Pasumpon Muthuramalingam Thevar of the Indian National Congress. During his period of service with the Justice Party, he served in the Economic Depression Enquiry Committee which enquired into the causes and impact of the Great Depression in Madras Presidency.

Indian National Congress

Shanmugha Rajeswara joined the Indian National Congress in 1946 and was elected again to the Madras Legislative Council as an Indian National Congress candidate. He stood in the 1951 elections from Ramanathapuram assembly constituency and was elected to the Madras Legislative Assembly. He served as the Minister of House Rent Control from 10 April 1952 to 13 September 1953 and as the Minister of Public Works from 13 September 1953 to 31 March 1957.

Other interests

Shanmugha Rajeswara Sethupathi had a passionate liking for horses. He owned a stable of over 50 horses in

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

. He also owned an extensive car collection including Rolls Royces and Bentleys. The Raja owned extensive land in different parts of Madras city. Hotel Woodlands is located on the exact spot where the Raja's official residence in the city had earlier stood. The Shanmugha Sethupathi Cup for horse racing has been instituted in his memory. Shanmugha Rajeswara Sethupathi was also a fine cricketer. He played four first class matches during the 1941/42 and 1943/44 seasons for the Madras cricket team scoring 129 runs at an average of 21.50. He also played for the Indians against the Europeans.

Death

Shanmugha Rajeswara Sethupathi died on 4 March 1967 and was succeeded as the titular Raja of Ramnad by his son.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sethupathi, Shanmugha Rajeswara 1909 births 1967 deaths Tamil Nadu cricketers Tamil sportspeople Tamil Nadu ministers Indian cricketers Justice Party (India) politicians Indian National Congress politicians from Tamil Nadu Madras MLAs 1952–1957 Madras MLAs 1957–1962 Madras MLAs 1962–1967