Rao Bahadur Sir Annasamy Thamaraiselvam Pannirselvam (1 June 1888 – 1 March 1940) was an Indian attorney, landlord, politician and leader of the Justice Party.

Early life

Pannirselvam was born on 1 June 1888 into a Udayar community family from Selvapuram in nannilam taluk in present-day

Tiruvarur district Thiruvarur district is one of the 38 districts in the Tamil Nadu state of India. As of 2011, the district had a population of 1,264,277 with a sex-ratio of 1,017 females for every 1,000 males. Geography The district occupies an area of 2,161 ...

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 ...

, India).

Political career

Pannirselvam was the leader of the Tanjore Municipal Corporation during 1918–20 and a member of the

Tanjore Thanjavur (), also known as Thanjai, previously known as Tanjore,#Pletcher, Pletcher 2010, p. 195 is a city in the India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the 12th biggest city in Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is an important center of South Indian c ...

District board during 1924–30. He was an alumnus of

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

and the first Indian Christian to be appointed as adviser to the

Lord Zetland Marquess of Zetland is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 22 August 1892 for the former Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Lawrence Dundas, 3rd Earl of Zetland. Zetland is an archaic form of Shetland. The Dundas family des ...

Secretary of State for India His (or Her) Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for India, known for short as the India secretary or the Indian secretary, was the British Cabinet minister and the political head of the India Office responsible for the governance of ...

. He attended the 1930 Round Table Conference on India as a nominee of the Viceroy to represent Indian Christians. In 1937, Pannirselvam succeeded

Mohammad Usman Brigadier (India), Brigadier Mohammad Usman Maha Vir Chakra, MVC (15 July 1912 – 3 July 1948) was the highest ranking officer of the Indian Army killed in action during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. As a Muslim, Usman became a symbol of I ...

as the Minister for Home of the Madras Presidency, in the

Raja of Bobbili Raja Sri Ravu Svetachalapati Sir Ramakrishna Ranga Rao KCIE (20 February 1901 – 10 March 1978) was an Indian politician and ''zamindar'' who served as the First Minister of Madras Presidency from 5 November 1932 to 4 April 1936 and 24 ...

cabinet. In 1936 he became the member for Home in the Executive Council of the

Governor of Madras This is a list of the governors, agents, and presidents of colonial Madras, initially of the English East India Company, up to the end of British colonial rule in 1947. English Agents In 1639, the grant of Madras to the English was finalized ...

–

Lord Erskine The Lordship of Parliament of Erskine (Lord Erskine) was created around 1426 for Sir Robert Erskine. The sixth lord was created Earl of Mar in 1565, with which title (and the earldom of Kellie) the lordship then merged. Lords Erskine (c. 1426) * ...

. He also served as the Minister for Home and Finance, in the short lived interim provincial government of

Kurma Venkata Reddy Naidu Rao Bahadur Sir Kurma Venkatareddi Naidu KCSI (1875–1942), also known as K. V. Reddi Naidu, was an Indian politician, lawyer, diplomat, and academic. He served as the Premier of Madras Presidency and was one of only two Indians to hold the p ...

during 1 April – 14 July 1937. After the defeat of the Justice party in the 1937 Assembly elections, Pannirselvam became the leader of the Justice party. He was one of the few Justice leaders to win in the 1937 elections, defeating George Joseph 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 ...

from the Tanjore Constituency. The party under his leadership supported the Anti-Hindi agitations of 1937-40. He remained the leader of the party till 1938, when

Periyar E. V. Ramasamy Erode Venkatappa Ramasamy (17 September 187924 December 1973), commonly known as Periyar, was an Indian social activist and politician. He was the organizer of the Self-Respect Movement and Dravidar Kazhagam and is considered the architect o ...

took over the leadership of the party in December 1938. Pannirselvam was knighted in the

1938 New Year Honours The 1938 New Year Honours were appointments by King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the United Kingdom and British Empire. They were announced on 1 January 1938.United Kingdom and Britis ...

list.

Death

On 1 March 1940, Pannirselvam was traveling to London to join the Secretary of State's Indian Council, when the

Imperial Airways Imperial Airways was an early British commercial long-range airline, operating from 1924 to 1939 and principally serving the British Empire routes to South Africa, India, Australia and the Far East, including Malaya and Hong Kong. Passengers ...

flight he was flying in,

Handley Page H.P.42 The Handley Page H.P.42 and H.P.45 were four-engine biplane airliners designed and manufactured by British aviation company Handley Page, based in Radlett, Hertfordshire. They held the distinction of being the largest airliners in regular use ...

''Hannibal'', disappeared in the

Gulf of Oman The Gulf of Oman or Sea of Oman ( ''khalīj ʿumān''; ''daryâ-ye omân''), also known as Gulf of Makran or Sea of Makran ( ''khalīj makrān''; ''daryâ-ye makrān''), is a gulf in the Indian Ocean that connects the Arabian Sea with th ...

, killing everyone aboard.

Legacy

In 1997, the Tamil Nadu Government named the newly created

as "Pannirselvam Tiruvarur" district in his honour.Additional Judges to be sworn in on 31 March
/ref> (However, it reverted to its old name in 1997, when all names of persons were dropped from the names of districts and transport corporations.)Name Of The Game Outlook Magazine, 16 July 1997
/ref> On 31 December 2008, the Government of India issued a stamp (valued at Rs. 5) in his honour.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pannirselvam, A. T. 1888 births 1940 deaths Politicians from Thanjavur district Members of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Council Indian Christians Indian landlords Indian Knights Bachelor People who died at sea Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Asia Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in international waters Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1940