T. M. Kaliannan Gounder

He was awarded Master of Arts (in English literature) from Loyola College (Madras) and Bachelor of Commerce (Pachaiyappa's College, Madras). He belonged to the Kumaramangalam Zamindar family of TN.[2] Though, he fought against the Zamindari system. In 1942, TMK got a real taste of Independence activism and public life when he participated in the Quit India movement launched by Mahatma Gandhi. This and many meetings with nationalist leaders like Gandhi, C. Rajagopalachari and S. Satyamurti paved the way for dedicating his life to public service. When he was studying English literature at Loyola College in Chennai when he joined the revolution against the British. He was influenced by Mahatma Gandhi and Kamaraj’s ideology.

On 28 January 1950, he was sworn in as a member of the Provisional Parliament of India.[3][4]

He held many posts during his public career including being the President of the Salem District Board. A keen educator, Kaliyannan Gounder is said to have started more than a thousand schools during his public life. He also opened several temples and charitable organisations in Tiruchengode. Construction projects he helped bring to fruition included the Kolli Malai road network through the Kolli Hills in Namakkal Dt,[5] Tamil Nadu. There are 70 hair pin bends in this engineering marvel. The entire ghat section was built with extremely limited funding and limited faith in the route but all went well and today the mountainous sections of the road are still in excellent condition. The Pallipalayam[6] bridge near Erode was also constructed with his support.

He was the vice president of the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) when Thiru K. Kamaraj was president. A person who avoided the spotlight TMK firmly believes in the principle of "Do Good and throw it into the well". He never hankered after public glory, name or fame. His hard work and approachability made him a favourite among those who sought genuine political advice but his self-effacing approach meant that his work went unnoticed by his own party[7] and the government.[8][9][10]

He also held the position of Director, Indian Bank, and Director, Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd. (Trichy) among other 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 the 1957 election, the other being R. Kandaswami from Congress party.[11][12][13][14] For more than 65 years, Kaliannan has been running a free school ‘Avvai Kalvi Nilayam’ at Tiruchengode town.

https://www.dtnext.in/tamilnadu/2021/05/28/kaliannan-last-surviving-member-of-1st-ca-dies-at-101

The Tamil Nadu Government recently felicitated T.M. Kaliyannan Gounder and a few other members of the first Assembly of Tamil Nadu.[15] He has also been conferred the honorific title of "KONGU VEL" by the Kongu Association.[16] On his 99th birthday (10 Jan 2020) he was inducted as an Honorary member of Rotary Club of Tiruchengode. He was the instrumental in opening 2000 schools and 3000 public libraries.

T.M. Kaliyannan was married to Parvathi from Kilambadi, Erode, and they had five children. He died in Thiruchengode in 28 May 2021 at the age of 101.[17] Chief Minister MK Stalin and leaders of parties condoled his death.

"In his young age, he was a member of the Indian Constituent Assembly and a veteran leader of the Congress movement," Stalin said.

Death of Kaliannan was a huge loss for Tamil Nadu and the nation, the Chief Minister said. "He was the last member of the Constituent Assembly (to be alive) and I was grieved to learn his demise," Congress legislature party leader K Selvaperunthagai said and urged thegovernment to accord a state funeral to the departed leader.

PMK founder-leader S Ramadoss was among others who condoled Kaliannan's death.