W. P. A. Soundarapandian Nadar

W. P. A Soundarapandian
Born	15 September 1893 Pattiveeranpatti
Died	February 22, 1953(1953-02-22) (aged 59)
Occupation	Leader of Nadar Mahajan Sangam and Member of Madras Legislative Council

W. P. A. Soundarapandian (September 15, 1893 – February 22, 1953) was a leading figure in Nadar Mahajana Sangam and became the first Nadar member of the Madras Legislative Council upon a recommendation by P.T. Rajan in 1920. He is known for his effort to associate the Nadar community with the Self-Respect Movement founded by Periyar E. V. Ramasamy. He was known as the uncrowned king of the Nadar community.

Nadar came from a prominent coffee planter family that owned estates near Kodaikanal. He was the principal leader of the Nadars from the 1920s to 1930's.

Nadar served as a member of the Madras Legislative Council from 1920 to 1937. He represented the interests of the Nadar community in the Justice Party as well as the council. He also served as the President of the Ramnad District board from 1928 to 1930 and Madura District Board from 1943 to 1947.

Invoking the ideologies of Periyar, he urged Nadars to discard the sacred thread and boycott Brahmin priests (including for marriages) and to advocate Self-Respect marriages and inter-caste dining. He was selected by Periyar as the president of the first self-respect conference held in 1929. It is also rumoured that he had provided financial support for the Anti-Hindi agitation of 1937-40. Acknowledging the agitation's popular support, Lord Erskine, the then Governor of Madras wrote to Viceroy Linlithgow in July 1938 that "Compulsory Hindi has been the cause of great trouble in this province and is certainly contrary to the wishes of the bulk of the population..."

Nadar also worked for the upliftment of Dalits, Tiyyas and for other social causes. He succeeded in putting an end to the Kamudi punitive tax.

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