Ganapathi Agraharam Annadhurai Ayyar Natesan (25 August 1873 – 29 April 1948) was an Indian writer,

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

publisher Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

and freedom-fighter from the erstwhile

Madras Presidency The Madras Presidency or Madras Province, officially called the Presidency of Fort St. George until 1937, was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India and later the Dominion of India. At its greatest extent, the presidency i ...

. He was the founder and

proprietor Ownership is the state or fact of legal possession and control over property, which may be any asset, tangible or intangible. Ownership can involve multiple rights, collectively referred to as ''title'', which may be separated and held by diffe ...

of G. A. Natesan & Co. which published

nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

books, the most prominent among whom was ''The Indian Review''.

Early life

Natesan was born in the

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

Ganapathi Agraharam Ganapathi Agraharam is a small village of Papanasam Taluk, in the district of Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, India. It is famous for its panoramic beauty of agricultural fields and the Kaveri, river Cauvery flowing amidst them. Ganapathi Agrahram is name ...

Thanjavur district Thanjavur District is one of the Districts of Tamil Nadu, 38 districts of the States and territories of India, state of Tamil Nadu, in southeastern India. Its headquarters is Thanjavur (Tanjore) . The district is located in the delta of the Cauv ...

on 25 August 1873. He had his

schooling A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of fo ...

Kumbakonam Kumbakonam (formerly spelt as Coombaconum or Combaconum), or Kudanthai, is a city municipal corporation in the Thanjavur district in the States of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located from Thanjavur and from Chennai and is the hea ...

He graduated in

arts The arts or creative arts are a vast range of human practices involving creativity, creative expression, storytelling, and cultural participation. The arts encompass diverse and plural modes of thought, deeds, and existence in an extensive ...

from the

Presidency College, Madras Presidency College is an art, commerce, and science college in the city of Chennai in Tamil Nadu, India. On 16 October 1840, this school was established as the Madras Preparatory School before being repurposed as a high school, and then a gra ...

and started a career as a

. He first

apprentice Apprenticeship is a system for training a potential new practitioners of a Tradesman, trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study. Apprenticeships may also enable practitioners to gain a license to practice in ...

d under Glyn Barlow before starting his own publishing company, G. A. Natesan & Co. in 1897.

Indian independence movement

Natesan was involved with the

Indian independence movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events in South Asia with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British colonial rule. It lasted until 1947, when the Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed. The first nationalistic ...

right from his early days. In 1900, he started ''The Indian Review'', a monthly publication in English. While covering mostly nationalistic themes, ''The Indian Review'' also included literary reviews,

illustrations An illustration is a decoration, interpretation, or visual explanation of a text, concept, or process, designed for integration in print and digitally published media, such as posters, flyers, magazines, books, teaching materials, animations, vi ...

and sections on economy and

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

. Natesan advertised on the front page that his publication was "devoted to the discussion of all topics of interest". When

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethics, political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful Indian ...

visited

Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...

for the first time since his arrival in India in 1915, he stayed at Natesan's house at Thambu Chetty Street, Georgetown. His stay lasted from 17 April 1915 to 8 May 1915.

Later life

In his later life, Natesan underwent a change of

ideology An ideology is a set of beliefs or values attributed to a person or group of persons, especially those held for reasons that are not purely about belief in certain knowledge, in which "practical elements are as prominent as theoretical ones". Form ...

and joined the

Indian Liberal Party The Liberal Party of India was a political organization espousing liberalism in the politics of India. History and organization The Liberal party was formed in 1919, and British intellectuals and British officials were often participating memb ...

. He was elected Joint Secretary of the Liberal Party in 1922. He was first nominated as a non-official member to the Council of State in 1923 and for a second time in 1931. During his tenure as a member of the Council of State, Natesan served as member of the Indian Delegation to the

Empire Parliamentary Association The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA), previously known as the Empire Parliamentary Association, is an organisation which works to support good governance, democracy and human rights. In 1989 the patron of the CPA was the Head of ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. He also served as the member of the Indian Iron and Steel Tariff Board in 1933-34. Natesan was appointed Sheriff of Madras in 1938.

Death

Natesan died on 29 April 1948 at the age of 74. He remained active until his death.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Natesan, G A 1873 births 1948 deaths Presidency College, Chennai alumni People from Thanjavur district Indian independence activists from Tamil Nadu Sheriffs of Madras Members of the Council of State (India) Journalists from British India