Chinna Annamalai (18 June 192018 June 1980) was an Indian film producer, writer, orator, and politician known for his contributions to Tamil literature.

Early life

Chinna Annamalai, originally named Nagappan, was born on 18 June 1920, in O. Siruvayal Village near

Karaikudi Karaikudi is the largest city of Sivaganga district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the centre of the Karaikudi Metropolitan Area, the 21st largest urban Agglomeration of Tamil Nadu based on 2011 census data. It is part of the area ...

to Nachiyappa Chettiar and Meenakshi.

Early activism

Chinna Annamalai was expelled from

Devakottai Devakottai is a first-grade municipality in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. Located in the Sivaganga district, the town is situated close to the Karaikudi, near Rameswaram National Highway Road (NH-210). It is one of the major cities comes unde ...

NSMVPS school for organising a strike to mourn the death of

Kamala Nehru Kamala Nehru (; ; 1 August 1899 – 28 February 1936) was an Indian independence activist and the wife of Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of India. Their daughter Indira Gandhi would go on to become the first and the only woman Prim ...

, which prevented him from taking his final exams. Concerned about his anti-government activities, his parents sent him to Penang, Malaysia. There, as a teenager, he led estate workers in a protest against local liquor shops, resulting in arson. He was deported back to India after being brought before the Penang magistrate.

Freedom struggle

Back in India, Annamalai joined the freedom struggle in the late 1930s. Influenced by Kalki's writings, he became a popular speaker, drawing large crowds. On 9 August 1942, the day of Gandhi’s arrest, he was scheduled to speak at Jawahar Maidan in Devakottai. The police detained him at midnight and imprisoned him in Thiruvadanai Jail, 22 miles away from Devakottai. News of his arrest spread quickly, inciting anger among the nationalists and young people of Devakottai who marched to Thiruvadanai Jail. They forcibly released Chinna Annamalai, carried him on their shoulders, and returned to Devakottai. As the crowd approached Devakottai, the British police opened fire. Many volunteers sacrificed their lives to protect Chinna Annamalai. He remained in hiding for a month before surrendering. He was subsequently sentenced to four and a half years of rigorous imprisonment. With the intervention of

Rajaji 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 ...

’s arguments and appeals, Chinna Annamalai was released within six months.

Literary contributions

Following his release, Annamalai moved to

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

on Rajaji's advice and pursued his interests in Tamil literature and music. He founded Tamil Pannai, a publishing firm, to promote books on

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

leaders and Tamil writers, including

Kalki Kalki (), also called Kalkin, is the prophesied tenth and final incarnation of the Hinduism, Hindu god Vishnu. According to Vaishnavism, Vaishnava cosmology, Kalki is destined to appear at the end of the Kali Yuga, the last of the four ages i ...

, T. S. Chokkalingam, T. K. Chidambaranatha Mudaliar, Namakkal Ramalingam Pillai,

Kannadasan Muthiah Sathappan Chettiar better known as Kannadasan (; 24 June 1927 – 17 October 1981) was a poet, film song lyricist, producer, actor, script-writer, editor, philanthropist, and is heralded as one of the greatest and most important l ...

, and Vali. He also organized events to support struggling writers, such as a 1944 function for Namakkal Kavignar, where he presented him with ₹20,000. Annamalai's Tamil Pannai published a book on the Bengal famine, which led to his imprisonment. He ran the weekly magazine Sankap Pantha and published Gandhi's Harijan paper in Tamil.

Film industry

In the film industry, Annamalai wrote scripts for films such as "

Thangamalai Ragasiyam ''Thangamalai Ragasiyam'' () is a 1957 Indian Tamil-language adventure film produced and directed by B. R. Panthulu. The film stars Sivaji Ganesan, T. R. Rajakumari and Jamuna. It was simultaneously made in Kannada as '' Rathnagiri Rahasya'' ...

", "Naan Yaar Theriyuma" and " Dharmaraja". He founded Vetrivel Films, producing movies like "

President Panchatcharam ''President Panchaksharam'' is a 1959 Indian Tamil-language comedy film directed by A. Bhimsingh and written by B. S. Ramiah. It is based on the play of the same name written by Ramiah, itself adapted from the 1836 play ''The Government Inspec ...

", " Aayiram Roobai", " General Chakravarthi", " Dharmaraja" and " Kadavulin Kuzhandhai". In August 1969, Chinna Annamalai formed and coordinated the All India Shivaji Fans Club.

Published works

* Kandarriyathana Kanden (ta : கண்டறியாதன கண்டேன்) * Sarkkaraip Pandhal (ta : சர்க்கரைப் பந்தல்) * Sindhikka Vaikkum Sirippu Kathaigal (ta : சிந்திக்க வைக்கும் சிரிப்புக் கதைகள்) * Sonnal Namba Maattirgal (ta : சொன்னால் நம்பமாட்டீர்கள்) * Thalaiezhuththu (ta : தலைஎழுத்து) * Rajaji Uvamaigal (ta : ராஜாஜி உவமைகள்)

Books Published by Tamil Pannai

* Bharathi Pirandhar by Kalki * V. O. Chidambaranar by M.P. Sivagnanam * Avalum Avanum by Ve. Ramalingam * Sathyamurthi Pesugiraar by S. Sathyamurthi * Naalai Ulagam by Tyagi Ram. Sadagopan

Magazines published

* Harijan (in Tamil) * Sivaji Rasikan * Kumari Malar

Death

Chinna Annamalai died on 18 June 1980.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Annamalai, Chinna 1920 births 1980 deaths Writers from Tamil Nadu Indian National Congress politicians from Tamil Nadu Tamil film producers Film producers from Tamil Nadu Indian independence activists from Tamil Nadu