M. Alagappa Manickavelu Naicker (14 December 1896 – 25 July 1996) or simply, M. A. Manickavelu was an Indian politician of 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 founder of the Commonweal Party. He served as the Minister of Revenue for the Madras state from 1952 to 1962. He also served as a member of the

Rajya Sabha Rajya Sabha (Council of States) is the upper house of the Parliament of India and functions as the institutional representation of India’s federal units — the states and union territories.https://rajyasabha.nic.in/ It is a key component o ...

from 1962 to 1964. During 1964-70 he was the Chairman (presiding officer) of the

Tamil Nadu 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 ...

.https://web.archive.org/web/20130127200447/https://eci.gov.in/eci_main/StatisticalReports/SE_1957/StatRep_Madras_1957.pdf

Early life

Manickavelu was born to M. Alagappa Naicker on 14 December 1896. Alagappa belonged to numerically strong

Vanniyar The Vanniyar, formerly known as the Palli, are a community or '' jāti'' found in the northern part of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The Vanniyars were historically considered a lower caste, although some were peasant-warriors in the 14th ...

community of Tamil Nadu. Manickavelu 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 ...

and proceeded to qualify as a

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

. Manickavelu entered politics early in life and became a member of the Swarajya Party faction of the Indian National Congress. In 1926, 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 ...

.Manickavelu served as a member of the Madras Legislative Council from 1926 to 1937.

Commonweal Party

In 1951, Naicker founded the Commonweal Party which represented Vanniyar interests in Chingleput and

North Arcot North Arcot was a former district in Madras Presidency, acquired by the annexation of the Arcot State in 1855 when its Nawab died without issue. It had Chittoor as its headquarters (currently in Andhra pradesh). On 1 April 1911, the Chittoor d ...

districts. In 1951, he contested in the 1951 elections, the first held in independent India as a candidate of the Commonweal Party, an ally of the DMK, and was elected to the assembly once again. Naicker was appointed Minister of Land Revenue and served from 1953 to 1962. When Rajagopalachari stepped down as Chief Minister and was succeeded by

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 ...

, Naicker dissolved the Commonweal Party and merged his organisation with the Indian National Congress. He served as a member of the Madras Legislative Assembly till 1962 when he was elected to the upper house of India's Parliament, the Council of States. He served as a member of the Council of States from 1962 to 1964.

Death

Manickavelu Naicker died in Madras on 25 July 1996.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Manickavelu, Naicker 1896 births 1996 deaths Members of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Council Lok Sabha members from Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu ministers Madras MLAs 1952–1957 Indian National Congress politicians from Tamil Nadu

Early life

Commonweal Party

Death

See also

Notes

References