Era Sezhiyan

Era Sezhiyan
Member of parliament of Rajya sabha
In office
1978–1984
Member of parliament, Lok Sabha for Kumbakonam
In office
1967–1977
Preceded byC. R. Pattabhiraman
Succeeded byconstituency dissolved
Member of parliament, Lok Sabha for Perambalur
In office
1962–1967
Prime MinisterJawaharlal Nehru,
Lal Bahadur Shastri,
Indira Gandhi
Preceded byM. Palaniyandi
Succeeded byA. Duraiarasu
Personal details
Born28 April 1923
Thirukkannapuram, India
Died6 June 2017(2017-06-06) (aged 94)
Vellore, India
Political partyDravida Munnetra Kazhagam 1952-1976 Janata party1977-2001
SpouseDr.Prema
ProfessionPolitician

Era Sezhiyan (28 April 1923 – 6 June 2017)[1] or Rajagopal Seziyan was an Indian writer and politician.[2] His original name was R.Srinivasan and changed his name to fall in line with other DMK leaders who opted for Tamil names instead of Sanskritised forms.[3] He was known for having rediscovered and published 'Shah Commission Report' which was reported destroyed by Indira Gandhi Government.[4]

Personal life

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Seziyan was born to V. S. Rajagopal on 28 April 1923. He completed his master's before entering politics. He married Dr. Prema Seziyan.

Public life

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Seziyan was a well-known writer in Tamil and has written numerous short stories and one-act plays. He joined the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam at an early age. In 1962, he stood for election from Perambalur Lok Sabha constituency and was elected to the Lok Sabha or lower house of the Indian Parliament.[4] He served as a Member of Parliament for Perambalur from 1962 to 1967. In the 1967 Lok Sabha elections, Sezhiyan defeated two-time Congress MP C. R. Pattabhiraman from Kumbakonam. He was brother of Navalar V.R. Nedunchezian and both of them were founder members of DMK.[3] Later, attracted to Jayaprakash Narayan's ideologies, he joined the Janata Party. He represented the Janata Party in Parliament as a Rajya Sabha member between 1978 and 1984. In 2001, he retired from active politics.[3]

Editing Shah Commission report

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The atrocities committed during Emergency 1975 were enquired and published in Shah Commission Report during 1980 but was suppressed by next draconian Government. It was believed that all copies of Shah Commission report were either destroyed or disappeared and after three decades, Era Sezhiyan traced a copy of the report and published with editorial notes during 2010.[4]

References

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  1. ^ "Parliamentarian par excellence Era Sezhiyan passes away". The New Indian Express. 7 June 2017. Archived from the original on 4 July 2018. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
  2. ^ "Drop Hindi option 'proposal', Era Sezhiyan tells Centre". The Hindu. 6 December 2003. Archived from the original on 14 July 2004. Retrieved 29 December 2010.
  3. ^ a b c Kolappan, B (6 June 2017). "Ace Parliamentarian Era Sezhiyan dead". The Hindu newspaper. The Hindu.
  4. ^ a b c "Advani recalls Emergency days, hails Sezhiyan for reviving Shah Commission report". The Times of India. 20 December 2010. Archived from the original on 4 November 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2010.