G. A. Vadivelu

Vadivelu, born at Gollahalli, Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu, studied in Dharmapuri High School, discontinued his studies for taking part in the national freedom struggle. He joined the congress in his age of 15 and took part in 1940 Individual Satyagraha and 1942 Quit India Movement and was imprisoned in the Palayamkottai Jail. He died in a private hospital at Salem, Tamil Nadu after an illness on 13 January 2016 at the age of 90.

After the country obtained Independence, Jayaprakash left congress in 1948 to serve have-nots and formed the socialist party. Vadivelu followed him. Vadivelu fought for the causes of down-trodden, imprisoned 17 times in free India. Because of his tireless efforts and his struggles, around 2,000 landless peasants got forest lands and revenue lands in Salem, Dharmapuri and Madurai districts. About 1,800 hut-dwellers of Dharmapuri got house sites in railway lands. Sri Madhu Dantavate, then Railway Minister, mentioned Vadivelu's tireless effort in a conference at Delhi and praised him stating : "Vadivelu is the only man in whole India who got Railway lands free of cost for the poor". When emergency was declared in 1975 he was imprisoned, handcuffed for days together and paraded in streets. In Chennai, the railway department began the metro line work. If it was continued, nearly 12,000 poor families would have been evicted. Vadivelu struggled for them and compelled the government to change the Railway line which saved 12,000 poor families. He is a socialist in words and deeds. Leading a clean life, active and Gandhian, even though he is 86 years old, he is very active and serving the people as usual. He was the state general secretary of Praja Socialist Party, then President of Tamil Nadu Janata Dal for eight years and senior vice president of National Janata Dal for two years. In 2002 he has rejoined congress after 54 years. Now he is a member of AICC and executive member of TNCC and its coordination committee member.

Though India was freed in 1947, Pondicherry territory was not freed. He went to Pondicherry and took part in freedom struggle. During his tenure in Pondicherry, he ran a journal, Samudayam. When Jayaprakash Narayan formed a separate group in congress to serve the down-trodden vigorously, Vadivelu joined Jayaprakash Narayan and have become an active member of his socialist group.

G. A. Vadivelu (12 June 1925 – 13 January 2016) was a freedom fighter and a close associate of Mahatma Gandhi, Jayaprakash Narayan, Rajaji and Kamaraj.