T. M. Kaliannan

T. M. Kaliyannan a.k.a. T. M. Kaliannan (born. January 10, 1921) is an Indian politician & former member of the Constituent Assembly of India and former Member of the Legislative Assembly MLA, Member of the Legislative Assembly MLC of Tamil Nadu. He was educated in Master of Arts (in English literature)from Loyola College(Madras)and Bachelor of Commerce (Pachaiyappa's Collge, Madras). He belongs to the Kumaramangalam Zamindar family of TN.^[1] In 1942 TMK got a real taste of Independence activism and public life when he participated in the Quit India movement launched by the Mahatma. This and many meetings with several stalwart personalities like Mahatma Gandhi, Shri Rajaji and Shri Sathiyamurthi paved the way for dedicating his life to the service of the People. He held many posts during his public tenure including being the President of the Salem District Board. A keen educator Mr. Kaliyannan Gounder is said to have started more than a thousand schools during his public life. He has also opened several temples and charitable organisations in Tiruchengode. Several early civil projects were also constructed during his tenure such as the Kolli Malai road network through the Kolli Hills in Namakkal Dt,^[2] Tamil Nadu. There are 70 hair pin bends in this engineering marvel. The interesting fact is that the entire ghat section of was built with extremely limited funding and limited faith in the route but all went well and today the mountainous sections are still in excellent condition. The Pallipalayam^[3] bridge near Erode was also constructed with his support.

He was the Vice president of TNCC( Tamil Nadu Congress Committee) when Thiru K.Kamaraj was President. A person who always stays away from the spot light TMK is one who firmly believes in the principle of "Do Good and throw it into the well", he is one who has never hankered after public glory, name or fame. His hard work and easy to approach nature has made him a favourite among those who seek genuine advice in the field of Politics. Due to this approach his work has gone unnoticed by his own party^[4] and the government.^[5][6][7]

He is the only surviving member of the First parliament of India(Constituent Assembly(1948-1952)) and is one of the few surviving members of the First assembly of Tamil Nadu State(MLA 1952 Rasipuram,MLA 1957 Tiruchengode,MLA 1962 Tiruchengode). The Tamil Nadu Government recently felicitated Mr.T.M.Kaliyannan Gounder and a few other members of the first Assembly of Tamil Nadu.^[8] He has also been conferred the honorific title of "KONGU VEL" by the Kongu Association.^[9]

He has also held the position of Director, Indian Bank and Director, BHEL(Trichy) among other prestigious posts. He was elected to the Tamil Nadu legislative assembly as an Indian National Congress candidate from Rasipuram constituency in 1952 election, from Tiruchengode constituency in 1957, and 1962 elections. He was one of the two winners in 1957 election, the other being R. Kandaswami from Congress party.^{[10][11][12][13]} T.M. Kaliyannan is married to Mrs. Parvathi from Kilambadi, Erode and have had 5 children.

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