T. N. Sivagnanam Pillai

Diwan Bahadur Sir Tinnevely Nelliappa Sivagnanam Pillai (b. April 1, 1861- d. 1936) was an Indian lawyer, civil servant and politician from the Madras Presidency. He belonged to the Justice Party. He served as the Minister of Development in the government of the Raja of Panagal from 1923 to 1926.

Early life and education

Sivagnanam Pillai was born on April 1, 1861 to Nelliappa Pillai.^[1] He came from Tinnevely.^[2][3] He had his undergraduation in the Madurai Diraviyam Thayumanavar Hindu College, Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu. He graduated in law from Madras Christian College in 1882 and practised as an advocate.^[4]

Sivagnanam Pillai was selected for the Provincial Civil Service and served as a Deputy Collector for sometime.^[5][6] On his retirement as deputy collector, he joined the Justice Party. In 1919, he was elected to the Madras Legislative Council from Tinnevely.^[2] He replaced Kurma Venkata Reddy Naidu as Minister of Development on November 19, 1923.^[5][6][7]

As Minister of Development

Sivagnanam Pillai was appointed Minister of Development on 1923 replacing Kurma Venkata Reddy Naidu. Critics often opine that this was a move planned by the Raja of Panagal to appease the Tamil-speaking people of the Presidency.^[5] Sivagnanam Pillai thus has the distinction of becoming the First Tamil Minister.

During his tenure as the Minister of Development, Sivagnanam Pillai participated in the 9th All-India Non-Brahmin Conference held at Madras on December 19, 1925.^[8] He was knighted in the 1926 New Year Honours list,^[9] and formally invested with his knighthood by the Viceroy, Lord Irwin, on 18 February 1927 at Delhi.^[10]

Personal Life and Family

Sivagnanam Pillai had three children: T.S.Avudaiappa Pillai, Sivakami Ammal and T.S.Ramalingam Pillai. Avudaiappa Pillai, born March 28, 1897, a career civil servant initially served in the provincial Civil Service and after Indian Independence in 1947, served in the Indian Administrative Service until 1952. He acted as the Revenue Officer and Commissioner, Corporation of Madras in 1947. It is noteworthy that the Corporation Councilors passed a resolution of special appreciation acknowledging his dedicated service to the Corporation. He was known for his probity and gentleness and was much respected. His wife, Mrs. Subbammal was a great sports enthusiast and was South India Table Tennis champion.

Mr. Avudaiappa Pillai's only son, Mr. T.A. Ramasubramanian had a bright academic career and eventually retired from the Indian Revenue Service as Joint Commissioner of Customs and Central Excise in 1988. He lives in Chennai with his wife. Mr. Ramasubamanian’s daughter Laxmi is an architect and urban planner. Dr. Laxmi Ramasubramanian graduated with high academic honors,receiving the L.M. Chitale Gold Medal awarded to the top-ranking student in Architecture from the University of Madras in 1986 and a Master's degree in City Planning from the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States. She currently works as a university professor in New York and lives there with her family.

Mr. Avudaiappa Pillai’s eldest daughter, Mrs. Leela Chidambaram is a homemaker. Mrs. Leela’s eldest daughter is Meera Saksena continues the family tradition of public service and joined the Indian Administrative Service in 1976. Ms. Saksena is the first person in the Tirunvelveli Saiva Pillai community to enter the IAS as a direct recruit. She retired as Additional Chief Secretary of Karnataka. Currently, Ms. Saksena serves as Member, Human Rights Commission, Government of Karnataka. She lives in Bengaluru with her family.

Mr. Avudaiappa Pillai’s second daughter, Ms. Sundari graduated with a M.Litt in Psychology and eventually retired as Superindent, Approved Schools and Vigilance Service, Department of Social Defense, Government of Tamilnadu. She lives in Chennai.

Sivakami Ammal was married to Rao Bahadur R.V.Ramasundaram Pillai, the Pannaiyar of Rajapalayam and Ramalingam Pillai became a District Judge and later Law Secretary to the Government of Tamil Nadu. Ramalingam Pillai himself was an alumnus of the Madras Christian College where he did his M.A. in English. Ramlingam Pillai had earlier done his graduation in English at St. John's College at Palayakottai which is known as the "Oxford of the South" and later did his Law at Travancore Law College where he was class-mate to R.Venkataraman former President of India and C.Subramaniam, former Governor of Maharashtra.

Ramalingam Pillai later was appointed as Member to the Pay Commission of Tamil Nadu and later served as Member to the Union Official Languages Commission, New Delhi where he served with distinction.

Ramalingam Pillai was the first person to translate the Thirukural - in English in the verse form. Ramalingam Pillai had the rare felicity over both the languages - Tamil and English and could hold his own in varied subjects including Law, Philosophy, Saiva Sidhantha, English and Tamil Literature.

Ramalingam Pillai's son T.R. Arunachalam was an acclaimed Volleyball player who represented the country at the Olympics and the Asian Games with rare distinction including winning the Bronze Medal. Ramalingam Pillai's daughter Visalakshi is deeply into the study of Saiva Sidhantha.

Freemasonry

Sivagnanam Pillai was a prominent freemason and was a member of the Carnatic Lodge from 1905 to 1914^[11] and 1925 to 1929.^[12]

Notes