Freedom fighter and Communist leader N. Sankaraiah will be conferred an honorary doctorate by the Madurai Kamaraj University, said Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Saturday.
The announcement came on the day Mr. Sankaraiah turned 102. The Chief Minister also greeted him on his birthday.
Mr. Stalin said Mr. Sankaraiah, who was the secretary of the State unit of the CPI(M), studied at the American College in Madurai but could not write his examinations because he was arrested by the British government.
He was first arrested in 1941 when he was a final year student of the American college, and was released just 12 hours before August 15, 1947, when the country achieved Independence. His long political career spanning over seven decades included nearly eight years in jail.
He was elected to the Tamil Nadu Assembly in the 1967, 1977 and 1980 elections.
Mr. Stalin said the government had received requests from various sections to confer a doctorate on Mr. Sankaraiah, who dedicated his life for the upliftment of the poor and Tamil society.
The State government, in 2021, conferred on him the Thagaisal Tamil award when he completed 100 years. The award carried ₹10 lakh and a citation, but he donated the money to the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund.
Published - July 15, 2023 09:54 pm IST
