T. S. Chockalingam (3 May 1899 – 6 January 1966) was a pioneering Tamil journalist, writer, and advocate of Indian indepedence.
During the
pre-Independence period, his editorship of
Dinamani
''Dinamani'' is a Tamil language, Tamil daily newspaper. The newspaper was established in 1933 and is owned by The New Indian Express Group. The first edition was published on 11 September. It is printed and published from Bangalore, Chennai, C ...
accorded him the reputation as the dominant Tamil-language journalist of the 1930s and 1940s.
Early life
Chockalingam was born in
Tenkasi,
Tirunelveli district, to Sankaralingam Pillai and Lakshmiyammal.
He had three brothers and two sisters. His family owned a prominent general store named ''Madathukadai''.
After his father passed away, his brother Chidambaram Pillai managed the business. However, Chidambaram's arrest in the Ash Murder Case led Chockalingam to take over the store, which disrupted his education.
Career in journalism
He started at the ''Tamil Nadu'' magazine under
P. Varadarajulu Naidu.
By 1931, Chockalingam had launched the pioneering quarter ''
anna'' magazine, ''Gandhi''.
He later co-founded the ''
Manikkodi'' magazine with V. Ramaswami Iyengar and
Stalin Srinivasan
Kuppuswami Srinivasan (30 May 1899 - 2 June 1975), popularly known as Stalin Srinivasan, was an Indian journalist and Indian independence activist who founded the journal ''Manikodi'' in 1932. He was also one of the founders of the ''Free Press J ...
in 1933.
Chockalingam became the first editor of the
''Dinamani'' newspaper.
In his inaugural editorial, he encouraged every Tamilian to take pride in their identity and to proudly call themselves Indian when outside
Tamil Nadu. His tenure saw the involvement of prominent writers such as A. N. Sivaraman,
Pudhumaipithan,
C. S. Chellappa
Cinnamanur Subramaniam Chellappa ( ta, சி. சு. செல்லப்பா) (29 September 1912 – 18 December 1998) was a Tamil writer, journalist and Indian independence movement activist. He belonged to the "Manikodi" literary movemen ...
, and
Ku. Alagirisami
Ku. Alagirisami or G. Alagirisami (23 June 1923– 5 July 1970) was a Tamil writer from Tamil Nadu, India.
Biography
He was born in Idaicheval village near Kovilpatti. He was a childhood friend of Ki. Rajanarayanan. He completed his SSLC and ...
as assistant editors. He resigned from ''Dinamani'' in 1943 along with several colleagues.
In 1944, Chockalingam launched the daily newspaper ''Dinasari''.
Despite its challenges, he continued his journalistic pursuits by founding other publications, including ''Janayugam'', ''Bharatham'', and ''Navasakthi''.
In 1988, the
Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature described Chockalingam as one of the most important nationalist journalists in Tamil.
Congress politics
In
1937
Events
January
* January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua.
* January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Fe ...
, Chockalingam was elected to the
Legislative Assembly of the
Madras Presidency
The Madras Presidency, or the Presidency of Fort St. George, also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision (presidency) of British India. At its greatest extent, the presidency included most of southern India, including the ...
as a member of the
Congress party
The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...
, representing Tenkasi constituency.
Contributions to Tamil literature
Chockalingam introduced Pudhumaipithan, a pivotal Tamil writer. He provided Pudhumaipithan with opportunities across various publications he was involved with, including ''Dinamani'', ''Manikkodi'', and ''Dinasari''. It is said that the translation of "''
War and Peace''" by T.S.Chokkalingam has played a major role in forming the modern prose in Tamil.
Biographies
* Jawaharlal Nehru
* ''Vangam Thantha Singam'' on Subhas Chandra Bose
* Kamaraj
Short Stories
* Alli Vijayam
Death
Chockalingam died on 6 January 1966.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chockalingam, T.S.
1899 births
Indian journalists
1966 deaths
Tamil journalists
Indian independence activists from Tamil Nadu
Journalists from Tamil Nadu