Dr C. Natesa Mudaliar
1875 – 1937
Doctor and organiser who built the early non-Brahmin associations of Madras and brought rivals together to found the Justice Party.
C. Natesa Mudaliar (1875–1937), also known as C. Natesan, was born in Triplicane, Madras. He studied at Presidency College and Madras Medical College and practised as a doctor.
In 1912 he became secretary of the Madras United League, a body of non-Brahmin government employees, which was reorganised that October as the Madras Dravidian Association. Its main achievement was a hostel for non-Brahmin students. Wikipedia credits him with establishing the Justice Party on 20 November 1916; he reconciled T. M. Nair and P. Theagaraya Chetty, who had been rivals in the Corporation council, so that they could lead it together.
He was elected to the Madras Legislative Council in 1923 as a Justice Party candidate and served until his death in 1937. In the early 1920s he opposed the proposal for an Andhra University, reflecting the tensions between the party's Tamil and Telugu members. A street in T. Nagar was named after him.
Key contributions
- Secretary of the Madras United League (1912), later the Madras Dravidian Association
- Established a hostel for non-Brahmin students
- Brought Nair and Theagaraya Chetty together to found the party in 1916
- Member of the Madras Legislative Council from 1923 to 1937