D. Pandian

David Pandian (18 May 1932 – 26 February 2021) was an Indian Tamil politician who served as Member of Parliament elected from Tamil Nadu. He was elected to the Lok Sabha as an Indian National CongressUnited Communist Party of India (UCPI) candidate from North Chennai constituency in 1989 and 1991 elections. He was the Tamil Nadu State Secretary of the Communist Party of India for three consecutive terms from 2005 to 2015, when he was succeeded by R. Mutharasan.

Early life Pandian was born in Vellaimalaipatti, a village in Usilampatti Taluk, in modern day Madurai district on 23 September 1932. He studied at the Kallar Reclamation School and later at the Usilampatti Board High School. 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. He was the president of Indian Railway Labour Union.

On 21 May 1991, Pandian was seriously injured 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. 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. Speaking later about the incident he would say that he still carried pieces of shrapnel in his body.

Pandian supported the construction of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant. But his later statements indicated a change in his thinking and he has mentioned that exempting Russians from their liability was unacceptable. Some of the other causes advanced by Pandian during his career included speaking for social justice, eradication of superstitions, and promoting science education. He had also served as a trade union leader with the Railway and Port unions. His most recent book, Medai Pechhu was a retrospective on his political career and a narrative on the political history of Tamil Nadu. He was also the editor of Jana Sakthi, a Tamil daily run by CPI.

Pandian was a recipient of the Soviet Land Nehru Award. His son David Jawahar is a former registrar of the University of Madras, Tamil Nadu, and was a professor at the Bharathidasan Institute of Management, Tiruchi.

Pandian died from sepsis at Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital in Chennai on 26 February 2021, at age 88.

Published works Tolstoy: Story of a Lorry Driver State Monopoly and Economics Devaluation and What Happened in Czechoslovakia Medai Pechhu