State Ministers to pay tribute to Si Pa Aditanar tomorrow

CHENNAI: Ministers of the State government will pay tribute to ‘Tamilar Thanthai’ Si Pa Aditanar on his 120th birthday here on Friday.

A release issued by the State government on Wednesday said that on behalf of the Tamil Nadu government, Ministers would pay floral tributes to the portrait of Si Pa Aditanar kept beside his statue in Egmore at 9.30 am on September 27.

Mayor of Greater Chennai Corporation, MPs, MLAs, deputy mayor and representatives of local bodies besides senior government officials would also take part in the event.

The State government celebrates Aditanar’s birthday (September 27) as a government function every year.

Born in an affluent family in 1905 at Kayamozhi village near Tiruchendur in Thoothukudi, Aditanar, a foreign educated barrister at law, first launched a bi-weekly magazine named ‘Madurai Murasu’ in 1942 and later a weekly magazine titled ‘Tamilan’.

He launched Dina Thanthi in Madurai in 1942 followed by Malai Malar and weekly magazine Rani. He infused novelty into the Tamil newspaper world by introducing a simple language (Tamil) and vocabulary easily understandable to the people, with catchy headlines. He had also served as an MLC from 1942 to 1953, MLA of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly from 1957 to 1962 and Speaker of the Tamil Nadu Assembly when ‘Perarignar’ Anna was the chief minister of the state in 1967.

Following Anna, Aditanar also served as the minister of state cooperative and agriculture departments after Kalaignar M Karunanidhi took over as the state Chief Minister in 1969.