Jagannathan Shivashanmugam Pillai (February 24, 1901 – February 17, 1975) was an Indian politician of the Indian National Congress

Indian National Congress

The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...

. In 1938, he became the first Dalit

Dalit

Dalit is a designation for a group of people traditionally regarded as Untouchable. Dalits are a mixed population, consisting of numerous castes from all over South Asia; they speak a variety of languages and practice a multitude of religions...

 mayor

Mayor

In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....

 of Madras. He also served as the first speaker of the Madras Legislative Assembly since India's independence.

Early life

Shivashanmugam Pillai was born in the city of Madras on February 24, 1901 to Pillai Jagannathan, a steward. He had his schooling in Madras and graduated from Loyola College

Loyola College, Chennai

Loyola College is a Jesuit institution in Chennai, India. The college admits undergraduates and post-graduates and offers degrees in the liberal arts, sciences and commerce. It is an autonomous institution affiliated with the University of Madras.-History:...

. He completed his master's in private from Madras University.

Politics

Shivashanmugam Pillai joined the Indian National Congress at an early age and was elected to the Corporation of Madras in 1930. He served as a member of Madras Corporation from 1930 to 1938. Pillai contested in the 1937 assembly elections and was elected to the Madras Legislative Council. In 1938, he was elected Mayor of Madras. Shivashanmugam Pillai remains the first member of the Dalit community to serve as Mayor of Madras city.

Shivashanmugam was re-elected to the Madras Legislative Council in the 1946 elections and served as Speaker from 1946 to 1951.

First Speaker in independent India

The first elections to state assemblies were conducted in 1951. Since independence, the franchise had been enlarged to include all Indian citizens. Shivashanmugam was elected to the assembly and was successfully nominated as the first Speaker. Shivashanmugam served as the Speaker of the assembly from 1951 to 1955.

Later life

From 1955 to 1961, Shivashanmugam served as a member of the Union Public Service Commission. In 1962, he was nominated to the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of Indian Parliament and served as member from 1962 to 1968.