Aladi Aruna
Encyclopedia
Aladi Aruna was a politician from India
and Law Minister of Tamil Nadu
. He was murdered during a routine morning walk in Alangulam
in Tirunelveli District
.
, to Vaithiyalingam Nadar and Pathirakaaliyammal. His father was a farmer and also owned a provisions store. He was the eldest son in the family with two brothers and two sisters .
After his primary school education at the Primary school in Aladipatti, he completed his high school education from Tirunelveli. He graduated from St.John's College, Palayamkottai, Tirunelveli. During this period, he won the State-level intercollegiate oratorical competition held in Pachaiyappa's college, Chennai. He also held a Master's degree in Arts and a Bachelor's degree in Law.
He was married to Kamala with whom he had five sons and a daughter. He visited U.S.S.R. to participate in the 'Conference of Peace and Solidarity Council; held in Moscow in 1972.
He started his political career by unsuccessfully contesting in the Assembly elections from Alangulam
as a Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
(DMK) candidate in 1962
. He was later elected to the Assembly on two occasions in 1967
and 1971
as a DMK candidate.He was greatly responsible for the organisation of Cooperatives for the beedi workers during this period.
He later joined the Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and was elected to the Lok Sabha,from Tirunelveli and later M. G. Ramachandran
nominated him to the Rajya Sabha
from Tamil Nadu
in 1984.He also served as the leader of the AIADMK in the Rajya Sabha .During this tenure, he served as a member of the Joint Parliament Committee that probed the Bofors scandal
.He raised a dissent Note on the report of the Joint Parliamentary Committee which examined the Bofors Scam,which was a death-knell to the Rajiv Government and Congress party.
After the death of Shri.M.G.Ramachandran,he rejoined the DMK and was appointed its spokesperson .He was the first person to hold office as spokesperson in the DMK.
He became a Law Minister of Tamil Nadu after winning the assembly election contesting as a DMK candidate in 1996
. He was instrumental in the establishment of the Law University in Chennai and setting up the High Court branch in Madurai.
and M. Karunanidhi
.
His other works include, Hindi Egathipathiyam (இந்தி ஏகாதிபத்தியம்), Aladi Aruna Sirukathaigal(ஆலடி அருணா சிறுகதைகள்) and Kamarajar oru vazhikatti(காமராஜர் ஒரு வழிகாட்டி).
in Tirunelveli district
on 31 December 2004. His friend R. Ponraj who also accompanied him was killed and Socrates, TASMAC
bar attendant from Aladipatti survived the attack.
According to police, Aruna was attacked by a gang instructed by his friend and local educationist S. A. Raja, with whom he had fallen out over setting up of educational institutions in the southern districts of Tamil Nadu
. Raja was arrested in January 2005 but was bailed by the Supreme Court in July 2006.
Two of the accused, Balamurugan and Azhagar, were convicted in Tirunelveli principal sessions court and sentenced to death in April 2008. A third, Veldurai, was convicted for a violation of the Arms Act and sentenced to three years in prison. Six others were acquitted, including Raja.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and Law Minister of Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
. He was murdered during a routine morning walk in Alangulam
Alangulam
Alangulam may refer to:* Alangulam, Virudhunagar, a town in Virudhunagar district, Tamil Nadu in India* Alangulam, Tirunelveli, a town in Tirunelveli district, Tamil Nadu in India...
in Tirunelveli District
Tirunelveli District
Tirunelveli District is a district of Tamil Nadu state in southern India. The city of Tirunelveli is the district headquarters. A unique feature of this district is that it encompasses all five geographical traditions of Tamil Literature; kurinji , mullai , marudham , neithal and palai...
.
Personal life
Aladipatti Arunachalam alias Aladi Aruna M.A,B.L was born in Aladipatti, a village about 30 kilometres from TirunelveliTirunelveli
Tirunelveli , also known as Nellai , and historically as Tinnevelly, is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the headquarters of the Tirunelveli District and the sixth biggest city in Tamil Nadu...
, to Vaithiyalingam Nadar and Pathirakaaliyammal. His father was a farmer and also owned a provisions store. He was the eldest son in the family with two brothers and two sisters .
After his primary school education at the Primary school in Aladipatti, he completed his high school education from Tirunelveli. He graduated from St.John's College, Palayamkottai, Tirunelveli. During this period, he won the State-level intercollegiate oratorical competition held in Pachaiyappa's college, Chennai. He also held a Master's degree in Arts and a Bachelor's degree in Law.
He was married to Kamala with whom he had five sons and a daughter. He visited U.S.S.R. to participate in the 'Conference of Peace and Solidarity Council; held in Moscow in 1972.
Political career
Though born into a family that traditionally held the priestdom of the famous Vaithiyalingasamy Kovil in Aladipatti,he was strongly influenced by the rationalist movement spearheaded by Periyar and greatly enchanted with the silver tongued oratory of Arignar Anna and Kalaignar Karunanidhi.These influences soon became his guiding forces and he entered the political movement even as a young student and actively participated in the now historic "Anti Hindi movement ".(His book "Hindi Egathipathiyam" is considered a treatise on the movement)He started his political career by unsuccessfully contesting in the Assembly elections from Alangulam
Alangulam (State Assembly Constituency)
Alangulam is a state legislative assembly constituency in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It includes the city, Alangulam . It is part of the Tenkasi Lok Sabha constituency.- Madras State :- Tamil Nadu :- References :...
as a Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam is a state political party in the states of Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, India. It is a Dravidian party founded by C. N. Annadurai as a breakaway faction from the Dravidar Kazhagam headed by Periyar...
(DMK) candidate in 1962
Madras legislative assembly election, 1962
The third legislative assembly election to the Madras state was held on 21 February 1962. The Indian National Congress party, led by K. Kamaraj, won the election. This was the last time that Congress won an election in Tamil Nadu...
. He was later elected to the Assembly on two occasions in 1967
Tamil Nadu state assembly election, 1967
The fourth legislative assembly election of Madras State was held in February 1967. The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam led coalition under the leadership of C.N. Annadurai won the election defeating the Indian National Congress . Anti-Hindi agitations, the rising prices of essential commodities and a...
and 1971
Tamil Nadu state assembly election, 1971
The fifth legislative assembly election of Tamil Nadu was held in March 1971. Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam was re-elected, after its first victory under the leadership of C N Annadurai in 1967. This was the first time M. Karunanidhi, contested as the leader of DMK party won the election, since he...
as a DMK candidate.He was greatly responsible for the organisation of Cooperatives for the beedi workers during this period.
He later joined the Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and was elected to the Lok Sabha,from Tirunelveli and later M. G. Ramachandran
M. G. Ramachandran
Maruthur Gopalan Ramachandran , popularly known by his initials , was an Indian film actor, director, producer and politician....
nominated him to the Rajya Sabha
Rajya Sabha
The Rajya Sabha or Council of States is the upper house of the Parliament of India. Rajya means "state," and Sabha means "assembly hall" in Sanskrit. Membership is limited to 250 members, 12 of whom are chosen by the President of India for their expertise in specific fields of art, literature,...
from Tamil Nadu
Rajya Sabha members from Tamil Nadu
The Rajya Sabha is the upper house of the Parliament of India. Tamil Nadu elects 18 seats and they are indirectly elected by the state legislators of Tamil Nadu. The number of seats, allocated to the party, are determined by the amount of seats, a party possesses during nomination and the party...
in 1984.He also served as the leader of the AIADMK in the Rajya Sabha .During this tenure, he served as a member of the Joint Parliament Committee that probed the Bofors scandal
Bofors scandal
The Bofors scandal was a major corruption scandal in India in the 1980s; the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and several others were accused of receiving kickbacks from Bofors AB for winning a bid to supply India's 155 mm field howitzer...
.He raised a dissent Note on the report of the Joint Parliamentary Committee which examined the Bofors Scam,which was a death-knell to the Rajiv Government and Congress party.
After the death of Shri.M.G.Ramachandran,he rejoined the DMK and was appointed its spokesperson .He was the first person to hold office as spokesperson in the DMK.
He became a Law Minister of Tamil Nadu after winning the assembly election contesting as a DMK candidate in 1996
Tamil Nadu state assembly election, 1996
The eleventh legislative assembly election of Tamil Nadu was held on 2 May 1996. The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam led front won the election and its leader M. Karunanidhi, became the chief minister.This was his fourth term in office. The incumbent Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam government was...
. He was instrumental in the establishment of the Law University in Chennai and setting up the High Court branch in Madurai.
DMK
He was expelled from DMK party for alleged anti-party activities. He accused the party of sidelining those who oppose M. K. Stalin emerging as a potential candidate for Chief Minister. He also said that Stalin was unfit to become Chief Minister or lead the party headed by stalwarts such as C. N. AnnaduraiC. N. Annadurai
Conjeevaram Natarajan Annadurai , popularly called Anna , or Arignar Anna was a former Chief Minister of the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu...
and M. Karunanidhi
M. Karunanidhi
Muthuvel Karunanidhi is an Indian politician and a former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. He is the head of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam , a Dravidian political party in the state of Tamil Nadu. He has been the leader of the DMK since the death of its founder, C. N...
.
Books
Aladi Aruna was one of the foremost Dravidian writers in English.He has authored several books in English and Tamil. He has written several books on varied topics. Unfederal Features of the Indian Constitution is notable among his books. He was the editor of weekly "Ennam" .His other works include, Hindi Egathipathiyam (இந்தி ஏகாதிபத்தியம்), Aladi Aruna Sirukathaigal(ஆலடி அருணா சிறுகதைகள்) and Kamarajar oru vazhikatti(காமராஜர் ஒரு வழிகாட்டி).
Death
Aladi Aruna was murdered during a morning walk near AlangulamAlangulam
Alangulam may refer to:* Alangulam, Virudhunagar, a town in Virudhunagar district, Tamil Nadu in India* Alangulam, Tirunelveli, a town in Tirunelveli district, Tamil Nadu in India...
in Tirunelveli district
Tirunelveli District
Tirunelveli District is a district of Tamil Nadu state in southern India. The city of Tirunelveli is the district headquarters. A unique feature of this district is that it encompasses all five geographical traditions of Tamil Literature; kurinji , mullai , marudham , neithal and palai...
on 31 December 2004. His friend R. Ponraj who also accompanied him was killed and Socrates, TASMAC
TASMAC
Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation is a company owned by the Government of Tamil Nadu, which has a monopoly over wholesale and retail vending of alcohol in Tamil Nadu, a state in India. It controls the Indian Made Foreign Liquor trade in the state.-History:TASMAC was established in 1983 by...
bar attendant from Aladipatti survived the attack.
According to police, Aruna was attacked by a gang instructed by his friend and local educationist S. A. Raja, with whom he had fallen out over setting up of educational institutions in the southern districts of Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
. Raja was arrested in January 2005 but was bailed by the Supreme Court in July 2006.
Two of the accused, Balamurugan and Azhagar, were convicted in Tirunelveli principal sessions court and sentenced to death in April 2008. A third, Veldurai, was convicted for a violation of the Arms Act and sentenced to three years in prison. Six others were acquitted, including Raja.