S. Xavier was a lawyer, trade union leader and Swatantra party

Swatantra Party

The Swatantra Party was a classical liberal political party in India founded by Chakravarti Rajagopalachari and N. G. Ranga in August 1959. The party opposed the Nehruvian socialist outlook of the Congress Party by advocating free enterprise and free trade, and opposing the licence-permit Raj...

 politician from the Indian state 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 served as the Member of Lok Sabha for Tirunelveli from 1967 to 1971 and expired on Dec 6th 2009.

Early life

Xavier was born in a Dalit

Dalit

Dalit is a designation for a group of people traditionally regarded as Untouchable. Dalits are a mixed population, consisting of numerous castes from all over South Asia; they speak a variety of languages and practice a multitude of religions...

 family in the year 1920. He graduated in 1941 and entered government service the very same year. He studied law and graduated as a lawyer in 1952 and started practising from 1953 onwards. Xavier lead various trade unions and worker's organisations in Madras state

Madras State

Madras State was the name by which the Indian districts in Tamil Nadu, Andhra, Northern Kerala, Bellary and Dakshina Kannada were collectively known as from 1950 to 1953....

.

Politics

Xavier took an active interest in politics and joined the Swatantra party

Swatantra Party

The Swatantra Party was a classical liberal political party in India founded by Chakravarti Rajagopalachari and N. G. Ranga in August 1959. The party opposed the Nehruvian socialist outlook of the Congress Party by advocating free enterprise and free trade, and opposing the licence-permit Raj...

 established by C. Rajagopalachari

C. Rajagopalachari

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari , informally called Rajaji or C.R., was an Indian lawyer, independence activist, politician, writer and statesman. Rajagopalachari was the last Governor-General of India...

 in 1959. He contested in the 1967 elections from Tirunelveli and was elected to the Lok Sabha

Lok Sabha

The Lok Sabha or House of the People is the lower house of the Parliament of India. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by direct election under universal adult suffrage. As of 2009, there have been fifteen Lok Sabhas elected by the people of India...

.