Pandian was born in Vellaimalaipatti, a village in UsilampattiTaluk, in modern day Madurai district on 23 September 1932.[5][6] His father, David, and mother, Navamani, were teachers in a Christian missionary school aimed at children of the Piramalai Kallar community.[7] He studied at the Kallar Reclamation School and later at the Usilampatti Board High School.[7] He went on to complete to obtain a postgraduate degree in English from Alagappa college in Karaikudi.[6] During this time, he also won the students' union elections as a member of the communist party's student wing. He held a Master of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws degree.[5]
After completing his education, he served as a lecturer teaching English at the Alagappa Chettiar college in Karaikudi.[6][8] He campaigned for the 1957 Tamil Nadu state assembly elections under a pseudonym. However, his name was published in some newspapers resulting in a demand for his resignation. However, the college's founder would encourage him further by presenting him with works of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels.[8]
Career
Before becoming a full-time member of the Communist Party of India, he was the first general secretary of the Tamil Nadu Kalai Ilakkiya Perumandram (Tamil Nadu Art and Literary Federation) launched by communist party leader, P. Jeevanandam. He left the CPI to join the United Communist Party of India (UCPI) led by Mohit Sen and was elected to Lok Sabha from North Chennai. He returned to CPI in 2000 and became its State secretary in 2005.[9] He was the president of Indian Railway Labour Union.[10][11]
On 21 May 1991, Pandian was seriously injured[12] while accompanying the then Indian Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, when the latter was assassinated in a suicide bomb attack. Pandian was scheduled to translate the prime minister's speech for the local audience.[13] Though opposed to LTTE, he was a critic of the Sri Lankan government's approach to the issue of Sri Lankan Tamils and called for peaceful political solutions.[14][15] Speaking later about the incident he would say that he still carried pieces of shrapnel in his body.[8] He was also amongst the first victims to call for the release of the convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, writing to the then Tamil Nadu Governor, Banwarilal Purohit, asking for their release on humanitarian grounds.[16]
Pandian supported the construction of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant.[17] But his later statements indicated a change in his thinking and he has mentioned that exempting Russians from their liability was unacceptable.[18][8] Some of the other causes advanced by Pandian during his career included speaking for social justice, eradication of superstitions, and promoting science education.[19] He had also served as a trade union leader with the Railway and Port unions.[19]
As an author, he had written over 30 books in Tamil and English, spanning topics across economics, social justice, philosophy, and history.[10][20] His most recent book, Medai Pechhu (transl. Public speaking) was a retrospective on his political career and a narrative on the political history of Tamil Nadu.[21] He was also the editor of Jana Sakthi, a Tamil daily run by CPI.[11][22]
Pandian was a recipient of the Soviet Land Nehru Award.[5][6]
